Hi to everyone, special thanks to Nancy who gives so much of her knowledge to this forum. I have been doing bird taxidermy for years and do pretty good work but I want to take it up to the top levels. I think I need to improve the details, the little things. Can you tell me a video or book that would help me make the jump to the top?
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There is not any book or video that can open your eyes wider to the things you are missing than to have the experienced judges show you how to interpet your reference photos.
Those that are nay sayers about competitions not helping you learn are either sour losers or dont have the courage to learn and accept they cannot do good work now.
Enter and you will learn! Enter more and you will learn more! Then suddenly you will see your work load increase, then you can raise your prices. Always put you best work in front of your customers.
Good luck
John C
MT SINCERE THANKS TO JOHN C FOR YOUR ADVICE. I WILL CONTACT MY STATE ASSOCIATION AND DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID. I WILL ENTER A COMPETITION. PLEASE MORE FEEDBACK ON HOW TO GET TO THE TOP LEVEL. AND MY APLOLGIES TO TONY AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO REGULARLY CONTRIBUTES LOADS OF GOOD ADVICE TO THIS FORUM, I DIDN'T MEAN TO INSINUATE THAT NANCY WAS THE ONLY ONE.
Live birds and close up photos. A good photo program for the computor. Adobe Photo shop has some really great stuff in thier top of the line commercial program.
Enlarge the photo and define it. Study just the eye, from head on front , side, top, rear and side angles.
If you get the photo study just small areas at one time. You may even need to cut a small circle in a piece of poster board to eliminate distractions.
Take large full view photos from DU mag, and other places and actully draw them out, and develope a scale system for wing placement leg placement and leg angles.
Compare these to your live birds, go to parks, zoos and the like if you cannot get any birds of your own.
This is the Reference library many of us keep telling you guys about.
Do you have a video camera? You can sure get some great bird close ups with them!
I recently have been getting down and deep with fish and am finding many things some judges mark off in shows to wrong. You will be suprised how much you learn when living closeup with your favorite subject.
Same for deer, having a pet deer is a lot of work, but if you want to get to the top of your chosen field its the only way!
It ALL boils down to obtaining and understanding good reference material. To my knowledge, there are no books or videos aimed at competition-level bird taxidermy. Probably because it is so individualized and improvised. At that level, each person's methods will vary considerably from the "norm."
Once you understand the basics of assembly and anatomy then it becomes a matter of mastering the tiny details .... some examples are:
The nictitating membranes in the eyes, the eyelids, the nasal posts and perforation, the inner mouth/tongue and palate structure, and the vent area. Then you must control all shrinkage as well as get the finish work right. This will often mean inlaying colors on the feet, as well as the use of multiple layers of transparent colors to get the effect you want. Forget paint schedules! For competition work they are a pure waste of time and money.
And ... saying it is one thing, DOING it is another thing altogether. I have competed on and off for a lot of years, and although I know what I am trying to achieve, I am not always able to pull it off. That's the nature of competition, though. Murphy's Law rules!
If you go in with the attitude not of wanting to win, but of trying to learn more as well as showing what you can do, then you will have an enjoyable and profitable experience.
What a lot of people forget is that you have ALREADY won, (and won BIG) when you make the decision to enter! Any awards you might get are nice in a sort of "warm fuzzy" way, but it is what you have LEARNED that will translate into the long-term benefits. I am a firm believer in competitions, even though I am well aware that there are some problems inherent in the judging system. So what?!
GO FOR IT!
Nancy M.
Wow! My sincere thanks to John C and Nancy M for all their time and words, I am printing everything you two wrote and keeping it above my work area. And I am really glad to save money on the videos and books and invest into my reference library instead. Much, much thanks for everything.
Find awell known taxidermist in your area that is a consistant competition winner and schedule a 3-5 day one on one seminar with them. It'll probably cost you $1,000 - $1,500, but it is WELL worth it I assure you.
Find awell known taxidermist in your area that is a consistant competition winner and schedule a 3-5 day one on one seminar with them. It'll probably cost you $1,000 - $1,500, but it is WELL worth it I assure you.