critiques please

I don't want to discourage you but my advice would be to hold off on doing an outdoor show until you get some more practice, training, and are producing higher quality mounts. If you start doing business and putting out that quality it will be a decision you regret in the future. You need some more training and study reference a lot. Learn how to read it and study,study, study. Take a day and do nothing but look at pictures of live mule deer. Study the eye shape, eye lashes, guard hairs, hair paterns, ear buts, ears, lip line, brisket, antlers, and overall anatomy. Then look at you deer and pick it apart. Spend a lot of time on here in the archives and read about how to correct your mistakes. And then apply it and do it over again...and again...keep at it. Best of luck. Down the road-

 

X2

 

I would hold off on number 5 until you studied some reference, and purchasing Rick Carters Whitetail A to Z DVD will help you 100%. Everything in that DVD you can use on a mulie. For $30, it will make number 5 better than if you just guessed at it.

 

Mule Deer PIc?

 

He pulled it.

 

Gotcha T

 

He/she did ask for critiques, then ran away. Having a booth at an outdoor show with these mounts is jumping the gun, getting some experience and quality is needed first.

 

Look, from your last comments, I'm going to hurt your feelings so you might want to skip this. If what was said to you is "insulting" then you're in the wrong business. You will never make it if you don't park your ego when you get around other taxidermists.

I didn't see your mule deer but I can tell by the mouthwork on the badger what it must have looked like. Sugar coating honesty is just insurance that you're slower in coming up to quality work quicker. Regardless of what your parents/significant others/ friends and family tell you, unless they're professional taxidermists, they're just trying NOT to "insult" you or they don't know what quality taxidermy work looks like.

That "new business" and "limited budget" don't cut it either. You can play poker on scared money. If you're going into business, you're going into debt. Why not use your money wisely. The money you spent on that "booth to get your name out there" could have been spent on a video by an acknowledged leader in the field. You will learn that you can't buy customers. Your work is the biggest advertising you'll have and word of mouth is going to keep you in business. People coming by your booth form their own opinions. They may not say anything or lie to you so they don't "insult" you, but they'll decide if you get the chance on their trophies. And that judgement will continue for some time as they compare what you did to what their buddies sho w them of theirs. Before they finally trust you without question may take years of you proving yourself.

Now you have two choice. You can drop the ego bit and humble yourself to the honest critiques and criticisms of people experienced in this business, or you can go ask your Mother what she thinks of your work and snub your nose at our opinions. The first one will eventually pay dividends and the second one will insure your Mother loves you. You decide which one you can make a living off of.

 

You have to have thick skin if you are asking for critique. It takes some sort of humility to read the critique posts as a "learner" and realize that you have room for improvement...and that's ok. Everyone has to start somewhere and at some point each one of us on this forum was "starting from the beginning". Look at these critiques as saving your ass and saving your "clients" heartache. One would hope that he/she wants to turn out the best work possible...in order to do that, he/she needs to realize and accept the fact that there is always room for improvement. Thicken up that hide and resolve to do better next time.

 

George....you said it better than me. DITTO on what George said!

 

You said you'd been to "school". I do wish you'd have come here before you learned that all "schools" aren't created equal. In fact, after one or two that I'm aware of, the others are run by "taxidermists" who couldn't make a living off the public so they started teaching gullible people who'll eventually find they wasted their time and money. Remember the parable:"Them than can, do. Them that can't, teach." A lot of truth in that.

 

Nobody insulted you. Nobody called you names. Go back and re-read it. From the photos of your mule deer, you are not ready for business yet. Fact. It had a lot more wrong with it than being short on the form. $30 for a DVD is nothing for something that will help you improve over what you know at this point. The ears are raggedy, ear butts are not even close, the eye shape is wrong, honestly, there was nothing close to correct on the mule deer. There is the honest critique, I did not call you names, punch you in the eye, or give you a bloody nose.

 

You may be new to this business and all but I think if I was you I would change the name of your business real fast. Natures Design Taxidermy is one of the most recognized shops in this industry, doing a very large volume of work world wide. To think you would be trying to elevate yourself off of someone elses reputation is a bit disturbing. Do a google of Nature's Design Taxidermy and you will see that you are no Ray Hatfield. In my opinion, you have already lost integrity and respect. Change the name both on here and on your sign.

 

When you're doing "beginner work" the LAST thing you want to do is quote "get your name out there"......especially at a booth, ya actually should be trying to stay under the radar till you get REAL GOOD! My way is NOT the only way but I say keep putting them together and get your money back out of them on ebay.......This is how I got my start 3 years ago.....not 30 years ago! NOTHING said here has been negative about your skill level , just straight up honest. Good luck

 

I would say your getting some very good advice here from George and others...I have been going to "School" for 2 years now..And I'm just now feeling comfortable in my own skin much less a customers...lol...I paid the Taxi I work under for a 5 part program that he teaches..Deer and gameheads, fur game(lifesize)bobcats,fox,etc..,Birds(upland and waterfowl),Turkeys, and lastly fish...For the first several months all I did was learn how to hold a knife properly and how to flesh deer capes correctly...Then we went to a fleshing machine. I asked why we didn't start out on the fleshing machine, and he told me that if I had started on the machine I would have never wanted to learn with a knife...Point taken..I slowly worked my way into all aspects of deer until now it really is second nature...at least the general process..There are always bumps in the road with every mount but the difference now is that I know how to deal with the issues that come up from doing the same thing over and over and OVER!!
I have since gone through fur game, birds,and turkeys...Still have to start on fish, but as he told me, fish are a whole different process and need to be done lastly because of the fact that they are nothing like any of the previous 4 categories...I have had the opportunity to do several African game, and some very large elk as well...Have done some lifesize with him as well...Best lifesize we did was two bucks locked up fighting..That was a chore...
Now that I'm done rambling my whole point to this is to say that there is no possible way I could be where I'm at now by looking at a few dvd's, or a 3-4 week training course..Not knocking those 2 forms of training, they just need to be used to enhance what you know and to just see things done in a different way that maybe your not use to...
As far as ego goes?? I guess we all have them, but the one thing I have going for me, and this was said by my teacher/taxi, is that I'm my own worst critic..I know when I screwed something up, but I fix the issue right then and correct it...You should always be able to recognize a screw up, and better yet know how to fix it.
I get a kick out of people that post things on taxi net for critique and say"Yes I know the ears are too full" or "the eyes i know are off" and so on...If you know you have some issues on a mount, why in the hell would you not fix them with some reference...Does this go back to entitlement???? I'm going to stop while I'm still being nice..I have a shop to go get finished so I will have an opening this fall..Carry on....Keep yer powder dry...

 

So that is all you got out of this.......? And YES YOU DO NEED TO CHANGE THE NAME now that you are aware of it ...sheesh ,on the other hand I highly doubt anyone will mistaken you for the real NDT !Sheesh, I would be embarrassed if I found out I was using a very successful taxi's name.....if it was me i would be changing it yesterday and making an apology to the owner!