I have been shoulder mounting whitetails for four years, now mounting about 15 or so a year. I cannot make a eye that I am happy with I have alot of reference photos, I ordered a reference cast from Research Mannikins today, is there anything else that can help me. I know experience is the best, and they are getting alot better, but I think I should be able to do alot better. I am have been working on a whitetail the last couple nights, first night I had everything looking perfect, last night I finished working on it and steped back for a look, my eyes looked terrible. Its not that they changed from one night to the next, for some reason they looked better to me then
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That old addage dont cut it, maybe 50 years ago but sure not today.
WHat may help you is the eye shaping tool sell for about 20 bucks.
All the reference and your trying may never lead up to a good eye. 1000 wrongs will not teach you how to do shape the eye right the first time.
Your clay work should look like a deers eye that has been shaved, i.e. hairless.
Normally the upper eye lid will be out further than the lower eye lid.
the lower will have just a bit of it lower on the middle rear portion.
McKenzie sells a head by Meder with sculpted eyes, one flemming and one alert.
Joe Combs catalog shows how to set eyes, a roll of clay not much larger than a pencil top and bottom. Rutting bucks will have heavier upper lids!
You need to also remember that the rear corner of the eye cannot be seen from the front of the deer. I feel you should just see the rear corner of the pupil from the front of the deer. Sometimes with certian forms you may not see the rear corner of the pupil.
The heavier ruminant swell going down into the tear duct will hide the front corner of the eye.
Upper eyelashes should point down and and way from the eye somewhat, work them to look natural. not tilted or slanted all to the front nor to the rear. The crease above the eye should tuck up into the clay not simply be pushed straight into the clay.
Get your photos, eye cast together and practice until you have it down the best you can do.
Something else many taxidermist nolonger do, but should is
Draw, draw, draw you can also as you get better with drawing the deer eye once you think you have it, close your eyes and draw, draw, draw it.
You will be suprised at after a little while you get to where CLOSE EYED the picture starts looking like a deer eye.
Something else you may wish to do to help yourself, is get some of the eye capsules from www.JIMALLRED.COM and set on eye in the capsule and the other eye in clay, then reverse!
Deer being a prey animal can see alomst 270 degrees
Again from the front you should not see the rear corner of the eye.
Let me know if I can help you.
Thanks alot John I really appreciate the advice, it was just what I was hoping for. I will give it all a try
Thanks again
my problem seems to be mostly in the clay around the eyes. both eyes arent to bad one at a time but i cannot get them both to match each other. Is there any way that I can soak the area around the eyes so I can go back and try to make them look more like each other. I was planning on bringing this mount to our state convention (which I have never been to before) I am affraid if I bring him through the door I will be a laughing stock. Anyway any advice or suggestion that you might have will be greatly appreciated. Thank you
when I was in school and we had our eyes dry up looking less than desirable, we were taught to pin/put a thin stack of wet paper towels over the eye area for a few hours. This should losen your clay to redo them. Also, before you put the clay on- are you using the same amount for each eye? Before starting either eye, measure out a quarter size or so amount of clay for each eye. It works for me, hopefully it will help you out.
Make sure you use a low shrinkage clay like Critter Clay instead of potters clay. When you get used to seting eyes you might try Apoxie Sculpt. There's almost no shrinkage, but you better have it right the first time.
Droptine, Eyes on a deer can make the mount or "break" it. You mentioned that you plan to take the deer to your state show. Good idea! Don't worry about anyone laughing at your mount- everybody has to learn and nobody started out doing the eyes great. Hopefully there will be a seminar on deer at your show but if not you should be able to find someone that could help you there. As for getting them to look equal, when you start to clay the eyes start with two equal portions of clay (one for each eye). When you finish you should have 2 equal remaining balls of clay if you did not need all of it. A common problem with getting the eyes equal is not the clay work but the positioning of the skin. Be certain to tuck the eye lids the same and taxi the skin around the eyes properly to match. When the skin is right the lids should adjust pretty easily. Enjoy, Aaron H.