My first crack at taxidermy

[Rackmastr]

Hey Guys,

Been working with a local taxidermist and learning from him over the past couple months.  He has taken me on as a student and I plan on mounting another 2 animals with him and then learning from him as we continue on.  Its been my goal to work into a part-time business in the future and so far its been a great experience and I feel like I'm learning from one of the best and getting some true value out of my time.

Here is the first deer I mounted with him.  Its a buck I shot in Slave Lake a few years ago.  Snapped the trigger quickly when I saw dark antlers and he didnt turn out to be the quality of buck I wanted, but looks great none the less.

Pics make the lighting look a bit 'weird' but he looks great IMO!

[BBJ]

Thats awesome looks good .

[bigbore444]

Nothin wrong with that Rack. Keep er up. Good work. Send me your prices please.

[nube]

Well done Rack.  I just finished my first all on my own a while back before Alex started to teach me.  It takes a few to get used to things and it helps a ton to have a good teacher beside you.  I think it is a blast doing your own. 

[walleyes]

Lookin good rack,, keep it up...

[ducky_hunter]

great job 

[MountainTi]

Hell of a good job for a first mount. I'm sure seeing as it is your first you wouldn't mind others opinion I'm hoping?
The only thing that needs work are the eyes (which are probably one of the hardest to do on any mount). Other than that like I say it is a really good job, and I'm sure they will keep getting better and better.

[Duk Dog]

Good stuff. Looking forward to seeing it in person.

[mooseknuckle]

Knowing absolutely nothing about taxidermy I think it looks awesome!!

[nube]

Hell of a good job for a first mount. I'm sure seeing as it is your first you wouldn't mind others opinion I'm hoping?
The only thing that needs work are the eyes (which are probably one of the hardest to do on any mount). Other than that like I say it is a really good job, and I'm sure they will keep getting better and better.

What part don't you like.  The shape looks right to me.  they are not symetrical but close.  Not a fan of the color but it may be the camera light.  better than my first!

[MountainTi]

Hell of a good job for a first mount. I'm sure seeing as it is your first you wouldn't mind others opinion I'm hoping?
The only thing that needs work are the eyes (which are probably one of the hardest to do on any mount). Other than that like I say it is a really good job, and I'm sure they will keep getting better and better.

What part don't you like.  The shape looks right to me.  they are not symetrical but close.  Not a fan of the color but it may be the camera light.  better than my first!

Guaranteed it is better than my first would ever be. My artistic talents are pretty much zero. I think the eyes look a little "tired", like I said, eyes are one of the hardest things in my opinion. I'm definately not critisizing, just critiqueing, hope Rack doesn't mind.

[Rackmastr]

I dont mind one bit guys, they definitely are the hardest part of it. 

And ya nube, the light makes the eyes look lighter with a bit more of a 'rust' colour around them than they actually have.  It will be interesting playing with some different colours and base layers with airbrushing in the future.

[Wrongside]

Knowing absolutely nothing about taxidermy I think it looks awesome!!

Gotta agree. EXCELLENT first effort, Rack!

[Daceminnow]

looks awesome rack for your first head. better than some guys that have been doing taxi for a number of years. you've all seen those heads. a complete disrespect for the beauty and majesty of the animal. you just may have the knack and might have to quit your day job. mind if i ask who is mentoring you?

Dace

[Rackmastr]

Dace,

I'd rather not say right now until I confirm that he's okay with me saying so.  Thanks for the kind words guys!

[Angus81]

Looks good, better than some professional jobs I've seen. My wife thinks we should learn, try to bring the taxidermy bills down a bit.

[Geezle]

Knowing absolutely nothing about taxidermy I think it looks awesome!!

X2 what mooseknuckle said. 

Hell of a job for your fist stab it as well!  Make sure you keep us posted with your future works! 

[Rackmastr]

Hey Guys,

Well, here is my second mount that I did while learning taxidermy.  I think it turned out very well and unfortunately the pics don't show it quite as well but I think he looks great. 

I need to snap a few outside as the dark colours kinda make the eyes look a bit goofy.  I'll try and get outside sometime this weekend and snap a couple.

Overall, it was a cool experience working on the buck and I'm loving learning so far!  Having an awesome teacher makes things really good!!

This is a different cape on this buck as we didn't originally plan on mounting this deer and the cape had some damage.  I love the dark accent colors of the new cape though!!

[nube]

Good job Rack.  I did one a couple weeks ago.  I just have to paint it up and will post pics of it.  I was real happy with the way it turned out.  I learned a lot from doing it.  I took it over to Alex after and he showed me all of the stuff that I could have done better and that helped to have a guy that knows what he is doing point things out that you normally would not see.  Every one is getting better now.  I have done 3 now and it gets a lot easier.  I hope I can get time for one more mount before hunting season starts but I am not sure if I will have time.  I have a 190+ buck and a 178" buck of a friend of mine at home here that he said I could do them if i wanted.  I think I may have to give one a go

[Rackmastr]

Ya its definetely nice to have a guy point out the 'little' things that you dont realize when you're looking at it.  Those little things become a lot more obvious when pointed out by a good trained eye for sure. 

Either way, it sure is a lot of fun!  If I could one day make a part-time living on it I'd be a happy man!