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Looking For Some Feedback On My First Deer

Discussion in 'Beginners' started by akhenenra, May 20, 2021.

  1. May 20, 2021 #1
    akhenenra

    akhenenra Member

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    Completed my first ever mount (of anything) and would welcome some constructive feedback. Appreciate all the help I’ve gotten from this forum.

    Right off the top there are some issues I know are present. They are:
    1. Ears- particularly the deer’s right ear- I had a bit of trouble with these as I used Bondo but had a lot of issues actually attaching them. So in particular the deer’s right earbutt is mis-sculpted. After going over some of the docs I have I think I have a better idea of how to do it (I think I would have the same problem with earliners, the issue is how to attach the finished ear in whatever way to the manikin head itself). The ears themselves also seem to me to be on the small side, that was throwing me off.

    2. His whole face has kind of a rat or rodent like look that I’m back and forth on- I’m not sure how much is my fault and how much is just the deer- he was shot in PA and has a very long face- I had to dig a little for a manikin that fit him.

    3. Mouth- I wasn’t able to get the skin tucked properly, so his lips separated. I tried to fix it as best I could, but, rookie mistake. I tanned this skin myself so I know I didn’t get it as thin as I could have.

    4. Eyes- same issue as the mouth, I tried to rebuild the eyelids and nictitating membrane a little to disguise that. lmk what you all think.

    5. Nose- after some feedback here I darkened it and added more Mod Podge. I tried not to get it too too shiny and black. Lmk.

    6. Back of the head- I had the most trouble here, I could not get the skin back here to come together in a good way at all. There was too much in a lot of places and not enough in others. Is this common? These aren’t his original antlers so maybe that’s the issue, but since taxidermists use different antlers all the time is there a trick to this? He was tubed, so he looks fine up to right behind the ears, then not so much haha. Fortunately it’s impossible to see unless you’re looking straight down at him.

    7. Painting- I did the best I could here without an airbrush. The inside of the ears and nose were a challenge.

    8. There are two small holes in the cape that I made when I thinned it, my attempt to sew one up looked worse than just leaving it as is so that’s what I did.
    Thank you to anyone who would be willing to offer feedback.
     

    Attached Files:

  3. May 20, 2021 #2
    tem

    tem Well-Known Member

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    keep going and learn from your mistakes. you need to build up your ear buts. there looks like theres nothing at all and giver the effect of it sinking in. join your state association. tons of knowledge and help.
     
    akhenenra likes this.

  5. May 20, 2021 #3
    Tanglewood Taxidermy

    Tanglewood Taxidermy Well-Known Member

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    Rick Carters Mounting A Whitetail A to Z DVD from McKenzie is a must have. It would have helped you to the point that your deer would be much, much better as it addresses Bondo ears and doing the ear butts and attachment, among everything else.

    A person who will succeed in my opinion is the one who can see their own problem areas and seek help to correct them and think that you have done that quite well in see the faults and seeking correction. Your analysis of you work is fairly accurate. Get that video, it is worth any amount of money you have to pay.
     
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  6. May 21, 2021 #4
    Westcoast

    Westcoast Well-Known Member

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    Congratulations on your first deer, continue learning and they will get better. My advice to you is that taxidermy is not a one and done deal. Meaning that if something is shaped wrong or incorrect then pull it apart and make it right. The finished product is all that matters, the amount of times it took to get something right doesn’t. Get a form, earliners, eyes and some clay. Then practice sculpting earbutts, sculpt eyes, sculpt everything. Make it look like a skinless deer. Then, tear it apart and do it again and again and again. Until you learn correct anatomy and musculature it will NEVER look right. Hope this helps!
     
    akhenenra likes this.
  7. May 30, 2021 #5
    Mike Powell

    Mike Powell Well-Known Member

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    There are a lot of issues, many of which you have already identified. Capes and skins often shrink or are overly elongated if they are hung to dry during the tanning process. The cape needs to be thinned well and stretched back into the correct size. Using different antlers can present an issue and you have to test fit the cape and make adjustments to the skull plate as necessary. Pay close attention to the hair patterns as well. For example, on the right leg area the white inner armpit hair is on the outside of the leg.
    A good instructional dvd is very important. There are also some good videos on YouTube (but there are some bad ones too). Rick Carter’s - mentioned above - is about as good and complete as they come. I highly recommend it! Also, get good reference photos. Take photos as you complete the mount, but before it dries (so you can still make adjustments) and compare your photos to the reference photos. Photos seem to help see details or flaws that we miss with the naked eye. To take photos it’s better to stand back 15-20 feet and zoom the camera in for close ups. There’s less distortion that way. Spend some time studying up on how to split the ears, and how to use bondo and ear liners. Get as much input from different sources as you can and keep practicing until you develop the process you are most comfortable with.
    Keep at it, keep learning, and you will see each mount will improve as you move forward.
     
    akhenenra likes this.
  8. May 30, 2021 #6
    George

    George The older I get, the better I was.

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    Did you lengthen the muzzle? That caught my attention immediately. Did you get your E-N from an uncrowded deer or the hide? Many times the face "let's out" when shaved. I was always a fan for the Atlas measurement. Even if the muzzle is longer, stick to the form with the correct Atlas and "pack" the muzzle skin to fit. Nothing looks stranger than a mule nosed deer with a pencil neck.
     
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  9. May 31, 2021 #7
    Tanglewood Taxidermy

    Tanglewood Taxidermy Well-Known Member

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    Your deer is actually a good first deer. I have seen worse. Except the ears and butts. They are really bad.
    I would focus a lot on learning how to do ears. The other issues on your mount are relatively minor and are easy fixes for the most part.
    For me, the eyes and ears gave me the fits and still do to some extent. Unfortunatly, those two areas relay a lot of the deer's attitude.
     
    akhenenra likes this.
  10. Jun 2, 2021 #8
    akhenenra

    akhenenra Member

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    No I did not make any alterations to the manikin in terms of lengthening the face. I had a little bit of a hard time finding a manikin that fit his measurements, as he does have a long face and a thinner neck (I was told that was more typical of NE deer, this one came from PA). I'll take your advice to focus more on the atlas measurement. I had actually gone the other way, assuming that the face would be harder to modify than the neck. THANK YOU
     
  11. Jun 2, 2021 #9
    akhenenra

    akhenenra Member

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    Would it be possible for me to wet the skin and go back in and try to correct the butts? Or would you say don't bother and move on? Thank you for this feedback I appreciate it.
     
  12. Jun 2, 2021 #10
    akhenenra

    akhenenra Member

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    Oh also, I don't know what you mean by E-N, uncrowded deer. This cape was skinned salted and frozen by the hunter, I then tanned it, shaved it, and measured it. The hunter did not measure the deer before skinning it. I think that's what you mean?
     
  13. Jun 2, 2021 #11
    Tanglewood Taxidermy

    Tanglewood Taxidermy Well-Known Member

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    E-N measurement is the eye to nose measurement.
    Neck measurement is much harder for me than the eye to nose measurment.
     
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  14. Jun 2, 2021 #12
    Tanglewood Taxidermy

    Tanglewood Taxidermy Well-Known Member

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    If you want the practice, tear it apart and do it over. But, without video instruction, the outcome will be similar, so, you might want to just move on. Without video instruction, your next one won't be much different.
     
    akhenenra likes this.
  15. Jun 2, 2021 #13
    Westcoast

    Westcoast Well-Known Member

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    Don’t bother and move on, just progress from there. Get your hands on as much reference material as possible. Preferably 3-D material and study,study,study.
     
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