Taxidermy Training Videos

nbell

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I have been considering starting to teach myself taxidermy. I am looking at the videos by Bill Atkins on learn-taxidermy.com. Does anyone have any experience with these videos, or other suggestions of videos you have seen and liked.

Any of you taxidermists out there have advice for going about teaching yourself the art? I think this would top off any hunt to have the satisfaction of preserving the memories on your own.

Thanks for any help, tips, or suggestions.
 
I plan on following this thread as I'm wanting to do the same thing. I'm thinking I'll buy a small animal kit (probably squirrel) and try one of those this fall. I figure if I mess it up I can use it as a decoy or a target...
 
I'd love to do the same. I bought a duck mounting kit from Cabelas a few years back and tried my hand at that. It looked decent aside from me losing some feathers on the back. I would suggest getting a deer kit from Van Dykes or somewhere that sells such things and try your hand at something manageable. I talk with my taxi a great deal and from what he says, deer and similar animals are the easiest to do. The small game might seem like good practice, but there are a lot of small parts in details that require a skilled hand.

I plan to try a whitetail sometime in the near future. I think forms and/or kits can be had for 40-50 bucks.

As for the videos you mentioned, I'm sure about anything you pay for would be worthwhile, but there are a lot of good videos on youtube. It might be more worthwhile to just buy a book with reference pics and just go to town.
 
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I would highly recommend the video series offered by Research Mannikins and TruFitt. I have a large selection of them and find them to be extremely valuable. They are produced by some of the best in the business. Hope this helps.
 
During the spring, there will probably be a taxidermy convention/competition in your state. I would highly recommend joining your state association, and attending the convention. There will be a lot of seminars by highly skilled taxidermists, and you can do some networking. I watched the vidoes and tried to teach myself 20 years ago, but there is no replacement for working with a skilled taxidermist.
Get yourself familiar with the process, maybe even try a couple of projects. Then when you attend the convention, you will learn more in that weekend than a year of trying to teach yourself.
 
During the spring, there will probably be a taxidermy convention/competition in your state. I would highly recommend joining your state association, and attending the convention. There will be a lot of seminars by highly skilled taxidermists, and you can do some networking. I watched the vidoes and tried to teach myself 20 years ago, but there is no replacement for working with a skilled taxidermist.
Get yourself familiar with the process, maybe even try a couple of projects. Then when you attend the convention, you will learn more in that weekend than a year of trying to teach yourself.

NM TAXI nailed it. Once you do a few animals and have the basics down these seminars and competitions can easily get you to a whole new level. Plus they are a great time of fellowship and you can get some one on one time with some of the best in the industry.
 
Ive been a taxidermist for about 10 years. Anybody can order a form and put a cape on it and make it look "ok". Watching videos can show you some of the basics. The problem is when you have questions, and you will, who do you ask? Like MNTAXI said, go to some conventions and watch whats going on. Ask questions. Go here and read everything! WWW.taxidermy.net! Then, if your serious about learning taxidermy, look at some of the schools that are out there. You can always learn something! There are lots of world champions that offer classes. Im doing a class with Joe Meder in July.

The trick to taxidermy is the details! Like I said, anybody can put a cape on a form and it look "ok". Theres a world of difference between ok work and really good work.

If your looking to start your own taxi shop, Ill offer this advice. Be careful what you wish for. It turns into a job really fast. If you open a shop, start out slow. Don't try to take in more than you can do. That's when it is no fun. Take your time and learn o do it right. Have fun with it. If you have any questions, pm me and Ill do what I can to help.
 
I started doing my own fish taxidermy a couple years ago. It is fairly easy to do replicas from fish blanks. All you really need is an airbrush, paint, paintbrushes, and a lot of time. Rick Krane from Anglers Artistry does a fantastic job of explaining fish taxidermy. He has a wide range of fish species available on video.
 

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