You can also buy or scavenge from construction sites different thicknesses of foam sheathing and hot glue them together, for instance 2 inch foam glued up will many duck bodies. The glue joint gives you a center line throughout the entire piece to aid in symmetrical carving
Hot glue will melt those insulation foam and wreck your sanding snd carving. One should use water base contact cement if planning to glue the 2” sheets.
Hi, im an intern at a museum where we do taxidermy and I had a question for you, you use foam for small mammals too? And what about bigger mammals? What material do you use? What methods would you say are best for bigger animals? Also what do you do to rearrange feathers and prep them once the piece is finished? We do most of our taxidermy on birds (the museum has a focus on birds) but we have some mammals that we wanted to taxidermize and we are looking into a bunch of methods but haven’t come to any real conclusions on how to mold the body yet. Great video by the way, been watching your videos for some time now, high quality content!
Hi Stuart The blue foam can be used to carve and mount any animal you desire… you just have to strengthening them with metal structure inside the foam. The best and easiest way to get the forms for your mammals is to buy the commercially available forms .. if not possible you can carve the body by hand, parts by parts and attach them together. If you want to learn more about what I do in details you will need to join the membership .. that’s why it’s there so it answers all the questions you have.
Thanks for this video! All your works super helpful. I currently wrap all of my bodies, but I agree I always feel like I lack detail. I work on a lot of small birds (hummers, sparrows, etc for museum work) and any imperfections show up on those little guys.
I also know that you use that neat grey cylindrical foam for the neck. Is it also more accurate to carve the neck from that foam than wrap a wire with cotton?
For sure it is more detailed. You can be more detailed with cotton too but much harder and takes more time. I used to wrap bodies too but once you learn how to carve you won’t go back.
Umm, I have a crow and I threw away the inside of itsbody because I didn't realize I needed it for anything... What should I do? Maybe hold it together and try to guesstimate? I'm hoping a pro would know I feel like I know the size but it's my first and I really don't wanna mess it up
I didn't freeze the bird until I had already done the first bit because I was impatient and thought it would be easier.... And I just realized I froze the bird in a totally unnatural way because it's in our food freezer >.>
If you still have the body somewhere , I would take it and put it in the freezer after shaping it properly. Let it freeze and use it for measurements. If it’s not in one piece , then hold it together , or pin it together temporarily and then freeze it again in the right shape.
I just posted a video in the membership zone about wire and foam... but if you are not a member you wont access it... good foam aint cheap.. there are cheaper insulation foams from hardware stores that come in max 2" thick ness you can practice on them but wont be enough because you can only carve up to 2" thick.. you can probably glue them together and make a thicker foam but overall its not a good one to sue for mounting... maybe alright to practice.
@@ArtofTaxidermy thank you so much for your advice! I'll look into some hardware store foam to see if there's anything relatively cheap. I just found your channel so I'm not a member (yet) but I hope to have enough money to become one in the future. You have really good videos with a lot of detail and deserve to be compensated for that
You can also buy or scavenge from construction sites different thicknesses of foam sheathing and hot glue them together, for instance 2 inch foam glued up will many duck bodies. The glue joint gives you a center line throughout the entire piece to aid in symmetrical carving
Hot glue will melt those insulation foam and wreck your sanding snd carving. One should use water base contact cement if planning to glue the 2” sheets.
Have not had any issues. I keep my glue temperature low, however the contact cement makes sense, thanks
Hi, im an intern at a museum where we do taxidermy and I had a question for you, you use foam for small mammals too? And what about bigger mammals? What material do you use? What methods would you say are best for bigger animals?
Also what do you do to rearrange feathers and prep them once the piece is finished?
We do most of our taxidermy on birds (the museum has a focus on birds) but we have some mammals that we wanted to taxidermize and we are looking into a bunch of methods but haven’t come to any real conclusions on how to mold the body yet.
Great video by the way, been watching your videos for some time now, high quality content!
Hi Stuart
The blue foam can be used to carve and mount any animal you desire… you just have to strengthening them with metal structure inside the foam. The best and easiest way to get the forms for your mammals is to buy the commercially available forms .. if not possible you can carve the body by hand, parts by parts and attach them together. If you want to learn more about what I do in details you will need to join the membership .. that’s why it’s there so it answers all the questions you have.
Thanks for this video! All your works super helpful. I currently wrap all of my bodies, but I agree I always feel like I lack detail. I work on a lot of small birds (hummers, sparrows, etc for museum work) and any imperfections show up on those little guys.
I also know that you use that neat grey cylindrical foam for the neck. Is it also more accurate to carve the neck from that foam than wrap a wire with cotton?
For sure it is more detailed. You can be more detailed with cotton too but much harder and takes more time.
I used to wrap bodies too but once you learn how to carve you won’t go back.
Just the one I've been waiting for.. Thank you so much 👍🏻
Welcome
Do you think most foams work fine?
Thanks! Great videos!
Actually no... in fact most foams wont work.. it has to be a hard density, carve-able foam.,,.. Thanks for watching. cheers
Umm, I have a crow and I threw away the inside of itsbody because I didn't realize I needed it for anything... What should I do? Maybe hold it together and try to guesstimate? I'm hoping a pro would know I feel like I know the size but it's my first and I really don't wanna mess it up
I didn't freeze the bird until I had already done the first bit because I was impatient and thought it would be easier.... And I just realized I froze the bird in a totally unnatural way because it's in our food freezer >.>
If you still have the body somewhere , I would take it and put it in the freezer after shaping it properly. Let it freeze and use it for measurements. If it’s not in one piece , then hold it together , or pin it together temporarily and then freeze it again in the right shape.
Great video thank you so much this helps a lot. What foam do you use?
T cũng rất quan tâm đến chất liệu foam mà bạn dùng
No problem !They are made by "DOW" company, I buy them in large bulks from construction suppliers
Another good lesson and video on taxidermy from your channel. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge.
Glad it was helpful!
another great info video, once again many thanks for sharing your skill set. Cant wait for the next one
Most welcome. Thanks for watching.
Fantastic, fantastic, thank you 👌
Do you have any recommendations for foam to practice on? I've never really done any carving before and I wanna hone my skills on something cheap
I just posted a video in the membership zone about wire and foam... but if you are not a member you wont access it... good foam aint cheap.. there are cheaper insulation foams from hardware stores that come in max 2" thick ness you can practice on them but wont be enough because you can only carve up to 2" thick.. you can probably glue them together and make a thicker foam but overall its not a good one to sue for mounting... maybe alright to practice.
@@ArtofTaxidermy thank you so much for your advice! I'll look into some hardware store foam to see if there's anything relatively cheap. I just found your channel so I'm not a member (yet) but I hope to have enough money to become one in the future. You have really good videos with a lot of detail and deserve to be compensated for that
@@punxsutawneyphilofficial Thanks a bunch.
Is this blue foam the same as used for insulation in house construction?
Nope. This is different. This is used in boat and dock buoyancy industry.
Excellent sir 👌👌👌
Many many thanks
Super useful tutorial, thanks so much!
No worries Matt. Glad you found it useful.
Very interesting I'm curious as to how you would mount a porcupine
Their skin looks like a bird skin from under skin. The quills roots are sticking out. You just gotta be careful not get poked 😄
@@ArtofTaxidermy cool thank you
Thank you, I want to do a bluegrass real soon here in New Mexico.....
Give it a world. 👍
Que material utiliza que lo pueda conseguir en México saludos
I don’t know what is available in Mexico.
@@ArtofTaxidermy what's the name of the material?
@@juanfrias3582 Its a Buoyancy billet for building docks and boats.. it is made by thecompany called DOW.
How big is a square foam؟ ❤
It comes in 8’ x 2’ , 1’ block
Nice
what type of foam is that
Constructional dock foam.
Curious to know, what that is you are sanding that body with..
just a coarse sanding paper.
What is the material are using to do the body in this video?
Foam.
@@ArtofTaxidermy thank you
Can you please tell me the complete materials to do taxidermy
Do you have a link to the foam? Do you glue it together?
No I order it from our local construction supplier store. These foams are in large blocks. 8’ x 2’ x1’. They are used in building boats and docks.
What type of foam do you use?
They are made by "DOW" company, I buy them in large bulks from construction suppliers.
What bird was that?
Spruce grouse
Sorry, blue grouse!