Eye Shrinkage.

This is my 4th whitetail head. Just wondering if this amount of shrinkage is normal once dry.

I use Mckenzie tan system, critter clay, Roman 555 glue.

I thin the area around the eye as much as possible with out losing all of the guard hairs.
Eyelids are split all the way, with oil glands removed. I am careful to not over dampen the clay or eye skin while mounting.
One pin at caruncle.
Clay above lacrymal crease to push hair to hair.
Slow dry, bagged and babysat and adjusted twice daily for several days. Maybe 60° in my workshop.
The movement occurred at about day 5 or six. Just as everything feels dry, and can't be adjusted any more. but obviously is not.

I think I can better control the tear duct area with tighter slot and slightly more clay pushed tight on day 1.
Just not sure how to deal with eyelid differently.
If this is normal, I can deal with filling gap with epoxy. Just doesn't look as soft as I'd like. 1sf photo is right after mounting, second is about 10 days later. The harsh lighting is making it look worse than it even is.

 

Thanks for responding,
I did very lightly mist water over the head in general, before bagging, but next time I will focus on dampening the eye area a touch more, especially day 3, 4.

I kept a couple of scrap pieces of hide from leg/ armpit area, amazing how much they shrank and shriveled when dry. Hard to believe that a thin ridge of clay could stop that kind of force.

I will definitely watch the eye shape next time! Thanks for noting that.
I know this deer will look OK once finish work is done, I just hope to improve as I go. I see what is being done by experts on here, and set my standards pretty high.
Even with all of the videos I have bought, watched on YouTube, articles read here and elsewhere, there are so many things that you just can't learn until you do it see it or feel it for yourself.
My dad dabbled in taxidermy in the late 60s through the early eighties. I can imagine how difficult it was back then with mail order classes and a few old books. No wonder people didn't want to share their techniques!

 

Again, thanks for the suggestions.
The apoxie sculpt idea is something I may try at some point.
I will make more of an attempt to model the eyes a bit more closed when using clay, it's just tough to predict how much movement there will be. Experience , right?

BTW, I looked back at my last deer mount (in picture), and I sculpted the eye very similar, with the back corner dropped too low.
Not sure if I'm sculpting my clay that way, or just deforming it when tucking the lids. Weird how habits form. Something to watch reference for.
That deer was my first attempt at detail epoxy work on the eyelid. Rebuilt with apoxie sculpt and added little oil gland pores with Mod podge thickened with liquitex modeling paste. Think I would tone that down a bit if I do it again.

 

I would agree that I over did the details, and then highlighted them further with paint.
I will try to focus more on not making mistakes, rather than trying to distract from them.
Thanks for your input!

There are no shows around here, might consider traveling to ND or MN to see one next year.

 

Heath,
Funny you should mention the fresh clay.
I actually just cracked a new package, and thought it seemed awful moist compared to my old stuff (couple years). I did let some sit out for a while before using, but it was still pretty soft.
I could see that having some effect. Don't have anymore mounts to work on for while, but I'll be sure to air the clay out some more when I do.

 

On this mount, I pulled the cape on, set antlers, etc. before setting the eyes.
The clay was left out while doing that, but it was still quite fresh by the time I was ready for tucking eyes.
I am definitely not confident enough to do epoxy work through the eye opening, but I could practice that with clay first. I do think I'll give the apoxie sculpt a try sometime. There should be enough working time even for me to get things in place.

Thanks for all the advice ,

 

Looking a bit better. Think it will be fine after some paint.
I know it's backward, but I'll add in a bit of nictitating membrane and caruncle detail once this sets up.

This forum must have actually made me worse at taxidermy. Now I see way more problems with my work than I ever did before...

 

I just keep trying to correct things! Wouldn't be half bad if I were at least efficient at the basic mechanics of things like not cutting holes while skinning and fleshing. Luckily not trying to make a living at this.

Thanks to all the coaches out there.

 

Lol,
I know better, but maybe you can convince my boss at work, or better yet my wife...