>>2721936>Good taxidermy is damn near impossible without proper training from reliable sources.This. I wouldn't say impossible but I'm internet taught and going on my...6th or more year? Don't give up; it's hard but you'll get there. My first hide was fucking HILARIOUS. Bubble head, big ass cut and stitching down the back, filled with some kind of stuffing. Next was better but just a tube hide. Kept skinning squirrel after squirrel improving. Eventually developed my own method for mounting, figured out what parts would shrink and needed work, figured out how not to cut through whisker follicles. Figured out how not to screw up ears. Figured out how to remove fats. Figured out how to do tails easier (get a Minnsota Tail Stripper for the love of god). Figured out this and that and so on...and now I'm finally at foam forms, lol. I still need to learn to tan and using a not-tanned hide is probably not the right way but it's my retarded way. It's a harsh learning curve. Things will look mummified and shrunk. Things will look puffy and overstuffed. Heads will just be...off. Poses will be wrong. Animals will look...skinny and weird. Ears curl and dry because you forgot to clip ear cards on them. Hides will fight EVERY STEP OF THE WAY from skinning to scraping to getting it on the form to why the fuck do I have extra here but there's a gap around the sides? And drying. Fuck. Eyes will be open different amounts or they will dry different because lol predicting shrinkage. It goes on and on. I've spent easily a couple hundred. Don't let that get in the way; learn how to skin animals, prep hides, maybe even tan, and slowly transition to taxidermy as you learn online, or if possible, in person. You will quickly learn how not to do it. Remember: if it's wet it's going to go bad. Moisture lets bacteria grow. Towel dry the fur, blow dry it, and get that hide dry! (but don't blast it with a heater lol)