hi!! do you have any reccs for people wanting to get into taxidermy? its been an interest of mine for years, but i have no clue how to actually get started. i already have a couple deer pelts in my freezer from family/friends
The first thing to do is to look up the laws and regulations about taxidermy in your area! In some places it’s illegal to practice taxidermy even on the hobbyist level without a license, so make sure to check your laws to ensure you can practice taxidermy legally.
The most direct path would be to see if anyone in your area is offering taxidermy classes or seminars! The benefit of taking courses is that you will be learning from people who already have years of experience in the taxidermy field, and they can provide helpful instruction and critiques of your work. The downside is the expense, as classes tend to range from a couple hundred to a few thousand dollars for a day to a few weeks of instruction. If you’re serious about breaking into the professional scene of taxidermy, starting a business, or competing in shows, classes are the best way to get a head start!
Now from a hobbyist standpoint, the best way to get started is to gather as much information as possible. The more you know going into your first mount, the easier it is once you get started ordering materials and mounting. If you want to learn from home, there are a few selected readings, videos, forums, and just general information I’d recommend.
Big-Game Taxidermy: A Complete Guide to Deer, Antelope, and Elk by Bargain Price - I’ve read this book and it has some great information about general taxidermy practices. It’s for game heads but can be applied to any medium to large mammal mounts.
Home Book of Taxidermy and Tanning by Gerald J. Grantz - Another one I read for research purposes. It has a lot of good information about different kinds of mounts, tanning methods, and various uses for preserved animal parts. It’s better for information then instruction though!
Herter’s Professional Course in the Science of Modern Taxidermy - I haven’t read this one in a while but it was one of the books that helped me get started. It had a lot of information, some history, and even a section for mounting more odd animals like birds.
Taxidermy Step By Step by Waddy F. McFall - This one is in my library but I’ve only briefly thumbed through it. However it has a lot of good info like how to take form measurements.
An Atlas of Animal Anatomy for the Artist - this is the full online pdf of the book. Though not specifically a taxidermy book, this is the kind of anatomical understanding you want to have of the animals you intend to preserve. Taxidermy is the process of mounting the skin over a form, but the forms will still need top be adjusted to accurately portray the underlying muscle and bone structure. Needless to say, it doesn’t hurt to have a few anatomy books in your library, and there are more specific taxidermy based books for anatomy available.
I’d also recommend some of the older books from pre-1950, especially books 1800s and early 1900s. Things have changed a lot since the beginning of taxidermy, but there’s still some information I’ve only been able to find in older trapping, tanning, and taxidermy books that’s still relevant today.
taxidermy.net - an amazing forum to gather information and materials! I tend to just read through old topics and pin or write down any information that I think is relevant to how I wish to go about my taxidermy practices.
Ojai Valley Taxidermy - the YT channel of Chuck Testa (yes that Chuck Testa). The link is for the playlist of Testa’s Taxidermy Tips where he goes through the entire process of mounting a deer shoulder mount. I watched this while I mounted my first deer and it was incredibly helpful!
Brian Hendricks Taxidermy - another great YT channel with information from start to finish for skinning, tanning, and taxidermy. The link is for a playlist of him mounting a fox, and he even covers very important details such as tail sewing.
Mountable vs Non-Mountable Hides - some animals are not even able to be mounted properly, so it’s important to know the difference between the two.
Documentaries (these are more for fun and inspiration):
Taxidermy’s Best in Show - New York Times
Preserving Lonesome George
World Taxidermy Championship - TheBrainScoop
Memorial - A Tribute to Taxidermy
Now that you’ve done your research and gathered a tanned critter to mount, you’ll need to order materials. VanDykes and McKenzie are our go-to places for ordering forms, eyes, clay, habitats, and really anything else that you’d need. My personal recommendation would be to buy a mounting kit, as they tend to come with all you need and more, including step by step instructions on how to go about mounting the animal. If there’s not a kit available, here’s a(n) (incomplete) tool list of what you’ll need for a basic mount. Some of this will be available on the site while other things you can use off-brand substitutes.
Needles (straight & curved, size depends on the animal)
Thread (dental floss is actually also good substitute and cheaper)
Tucking Tools (clay/ceramic tools)
Dremel (very recommended for carving forms)
Sandpaper (various grits)
Glass Eyes (will need to be measured to fit the form)
Paints & Brushes (acrylic washes will work)
You have all your tools, materials, information, and your animal, so it’s time to set up your workspace. Your work area should be somewhere well lit and have a space where you can set up an area of photo references. When mounting an animal it’s good to have multiple images of the animal displayed around to make the animal look as lifelike as possible. Remember to also think about the ‘mood’ of the piece. Taxidermy is like a 3D photo that captures a moment in the animal’s life. Were they alert, nervous, hungry? These questions help a ton with gathering references and knowing what you want the final product to look like. Even a few concept sketches can help to know how you want everything positioned.
Now that everything is setup, it’s time to start mounting! The videos linked above provide much more detailed information for any large or small mount, but I’ll also list out the major steps that go into completing a mount. These also don’t have to be done in this particular order, but they are steps that must be completed:
Soak the hide to make it easier to slip over the form.
Insert eyes into the form.
Insert earliners into the ears.
Fit the hide over the form to find areas that need to be adjusted.
Make adjustments (sand/carve/mold the form if it’s too loose or too tight)
Add clay to nose, lips, eyes, etc.
Fit hide over the form again, if everything fits, cover the form in hide paste to attach the skin to the form. If things are still too lose or too tight, continue to adjust the form until everything fits.
Tuck the lips, eyes, nose.
Make secondary adjustments (adjust nose, ears, eyes, add/remove clay)
Pin the hide to ensure it doesn’t shift while drying.
Clean off any clay or paste that’s on the fur.
Blow dry, brush, and comb to groom/fluff/dry the hide.
Complete finish work (painting the eyes, ears, nose, etc., extra grooming/brushing.)
And that’s it! Talking from personal experience, taxidermy is just a lot of working and re-working the hide and form to ensure you have the right base for the skin to stretch over. It’s not particularly difficult, but there are certain details and skills that separate the hobbyist from the professional (especially in form adjustment and finish work). Like every form of art, you’ll only continue to improve your craft and become better and more efficient the more you study and practice.
Anyway, I hope this helps, and good luck!!
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