Finishing Deer Nose And Eyes?

There is a tutorial in the tutorial section that gives step by step oil painting eyes and noses that is equally as good as air brushing.

 

Just click on tutorials above the gamehead section. click on the pinned thread titled list of tutorials by subject. scroll down and click on Finishing a whitetail eye with oil paints by Eddie B.

 

None of the pictures come up for me any one else

 

I do all of my finish work with acrylic paints and an artist brush. I have an airbrush but never use it. For the eyes, I use Grumbacher Warm gray, Lamp Black and Burnt Umber. For the nose, I use the same three colors with the addition of Light Cadmium Red. Acrylics dry fast. You can use oils if you need more time for blending.

 

I just opened it up and all the pictures were there. Try this link http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index.php/topic,112882.0.html

 

Dave Byrd, on tanning and painting threads, you always seem to go against the grain and yet your methods produce outstanding mounts proving that one doesn't have to possess the "fancy stuff" to produce quality, but rather, possess talent developed further by study and practice.

I used acrylic paints like you suggested, different colors, but same technique and had great success.

 

Thanks for the compliment, Tanglewood. Much appreciated!

 

The ones of the nose do not come up any more. The narrative is still there though.

 

I did a deer for competition, my completed the whole thing in 5 days from prepping the form to final building of habitat. I get a critique that left me upset and asking even more questions about how. I didn't have enough detail in ear butts, seems to me as if someone had squeezed the ears as the edges felt curled up not flat as I had carded them. Also eyes were painted wrong. Too harsh, but Brian gave no ideas of how to change? Just you need more practice. STILL PI$$ED. from March.

 

I use to use a small paint brush all the time it turned out pretty good and my customers loved them

 

A

round the eye I used rich brown and in front of it either coco brown are dark brown life tone paint

 

Don’t be upset! Be thankful that you had a chance to compete and get an honest critique. It looks like you got a third place ribbon so good job! There are obviously several things you need to work on so take the critique to heart and learn from it. A judge at a competition is there to tell you what needs improved. It’s up to you to then follow through with study and research to educate yourself on how to make those improvements. There’s a lot of good information and training material available that will help you know how to correct the areas that the judge pointed out. He was right... you need more practice; more study; more reference! Take it to heart and apply yourself and before you know it that white ribbon will turn blue!

 

I seal the skin, then using FP10 white over everything, then FP70 chocolate brown over the white, then going out only 1/4 inch from the eye goes FP&! burnt umber. the last 1/16th or the eye lash area is a FP29 black umber.

 

Sent a message off to eddieb to see if he can fix those. Stupid Photobucket broke them.

 

I guess it's not unsuspected that I stay away from blowing roses, so here goes.
I KNOW there are some extremely gifted people out there who CAN finish mounts with traditional paints and brushes. I've seen it done and I know it can be done, but for the life of me, I fail to understand WHY? Any artist is capable of using most any medium. If you're good with a paintbrush, you can be exceptional with an airbrush. NO COMMERCIAL TAXIDERMIST SHOULD BE WITHOUT AN AIRBRUSH. This is not flat canvas and you're not working a one dimensional object where you must provide shadows and shades. This three dimensional object will provide its own shadows and many paints will change shades when applied with an airbrush. Fading, blending, and depth (which is vitally important to the fish guys) can be effected so much more easily with one.

Learning should be a daily process for taxidermists. I used a Paasche H series brush for over 40 years. I swore by it and against the newfangled double action brushes. Yet it bugged me that I was allowing a mechanical device whip my butt. I put the Paashe in the cabinet and picked up the $300 Iwata. I screwed up royally but nothing lacquer thinner wouldn't wash off. I spent a solid week working the gun, finding out what it would do and what I was capable of. The Paashe never came back out of the cabinet.

You can buy a cheap airbrush for $10 at Harbor Freight and a can of "air" will run you a couple bucks (no compressor necessary). Buy a few of the basic colors in the 1 oz. bottles. You can choose between the acrylic (water based) or the lacquer but if you have good ventilation where you work, I think you'll find the lacquer more forgiving. Buy the black, chocolate brown, cover white, and flesh. These will get you past the novice stage and make your confident.

 

Once you get an airbrush, it is highly unlikely that you will go back to a brush. Some like using an artist's brush, I prefer the airbrush.