I mounted a few heads this year for Upper Deck and his dad. While doing it, I thought I would take a few pics during the process. Obviously these deer were caped, fleshed, salted, and back from the tannery. With that done, here is the condensed version of the process:
Prepping the form.

Putting on antlers.

Attaching ears.

Inserting eyes and adding clay where needed.

Prepping the cape.

Applying hide paste.

Fitting the cape and tucking everything in place.

Finish work and pinning.

The last step is painting the mount with an airbrush (no pics of that). Here is what they looked like before and after:



I was pleased with how they turned out and tried a few new things on these heads that worked well. I will be moving them out to the ranch shortly. The next project is a caribou Upper Deck shot a few years ago. It has a beautiful cape with a long white mane, but the guy who removed it must have used a chainsaw. I have my work cut out for me trying to put that thing back together.
Prepping the form.

Putting on antlers.

Attaching ears.

Inserting eyes and adding clay where needed.

Prepping the cape.

Applying hide paste.

Fitting the cape and tucking everything in place.

Finish work and pinning.

The last step is painting the mount with an airbrush (no pics of that). Here is what they looked like before and after:



I was pleased with how they turned out and tried a few new things on these heads that worked well. I will be moving them out to the ranch shortly. The next project is a caribou Upper Deck shot a few years ago. It has a beautiful cape with a long white mane, but the guy who removed it must have used a chainsaw. I have my work cut out for me trying to put that thing back together.