Aquarium Project
By admin | August 20, 2008
I have recently started a fairly large project involving many tropical aquarium fish.
The goal is to create a large wall display involving over 30 fish ranging in size from 2″ - 22″
I have set up a photo album so you can follow the progress as I go.
Remember these are “In progress” pictures. so things may change as I go.
This is turning out to be a very fun project for me.
Here is the album
Topics: Other projects, taxidermy | 1 Comment »
Custom Eyes the windows to the soul.
By admin | August 13, 2008
Well not for the everyday job, but there are times when you need something special. Mainly for marine fish and mammals, but also for crocodiles and large reptiles.
I will focus on fish, since that is my main area of focus.
Sharks, Marlin, Tuna, and Tarpon all have a very unique pupil shape. And Glass eyes are just not an option if you are shooting for realism.
A highly realistic eye can add so much life to a fish mount or replica.
In this tutorial I will be focusing on an eye for a large bull shark.
Shark pupils are very unique some have vertical pupils and some horizontal. but most do not have a slit pupil like that of a snake or a cat. The pupil normally has a slight widening at the top and bottom of the slit. If you look close this is actually a series of fissures that contract in brighter light. At night these open up and the pupil will be oval or even round.
The tissue around the pupil is normally darker and has a slight texture, this tissue contracts when the pupil opens.
Here is the referance photo for the project.
Here you can see the darker tissue around the pupil, and the flaring of the pupil at the top and bottom.
we start by sculpting they eye in clay. I use polymer clay (sculpey)
Remember the eye isnt a half sphere. It is domed up at the cornea (the Corneal bulge) this is VERY important to replicate accurately if you wish to achieve a natural depth.
Here is the sculpted eye.
And you can see the corneal bulge. The bulge is the only part of the eye that is “clear”
The eye is molded with silicone. I used silicone caulk with a dap of acrylic paint, smoothed over with dishsoap.
Its a low cost alternative to the other silicones. Although this mold will not last as long, but for this project it fit the bill.
After the silicone set I removed the mold, and poured in a 50/50 blend of bondo.
A registration line is drawn on the casting and the mold so we can line it up perfectly later on.
Here is the finished cast. This was cleaned and lightly sanded smooth.
Next I drew the basic shape of the eye. I will next carve away the corneal bulge and create the dished Iris of the eye.
Here you can see the Iris dished out. I leave a small bulge in the center where the pupil sits. this replicates the lens of the eye under the tissue of the iris.
Next I carefully draw the shape of the pupil. This will now be carved out using a dremal tool and a small metal grinder.
Here is the carved out pupil. BE CAREFUL! this is a tight spot, you want to not just carve down but also hollow it out a bit.
Also remember the flaring at the top and bottom of the pupil, this is carved lightly into the iris, not going as deep as the pupil itself.
Now the fun begins, PAINTING!
Since this is species specific I will not go into the painting. Just take your time and look at the referance.
Here is the eye, you can never have a big enough referance picture for this. the potential for detail is endless.
I only painted the Iris with a little overlap onto the sclera (White of the eye)
Now the tricky part. Casting the clear portion of the eye.
Clean your silicone mold and fill it half the way with clear resin.
Here we put the resin into the mold.
At the same time fill the pupil and iris of the painted eye with resin. This will help prevent bubbles.
working quickly we put the eye back into the mold. Line up the registration line.
I find it best if the eye is rolled into the mold gently rather then pressed straight down. this helps avoid bubbles.
The eye is pressed down and the excess resin flows out. this is sanded off later.
After a few hours the resin is set and the time has come.
Here is the eye out of the mold. I normally place the mold under a lamp for about an hour before handling it.
This helps cure the surface of the resin.
Here you can see the corneal bulge right where it should be.
After the resin is set, I will polish they eye if needed. More often then not, all that is needed is a gentle buffing over a cotton cloth.
Next I paint on the surface membrane around the cornea, as well as the sclera.
The eye is then covered with a hard lacquer.
Here is the finished eye, ready to set.
I normally set them after all painting of the fish is finished. If they are set before I would cover them with molding latex to prevent scratches.
And here is the referance photo again.
As always, Good luck!
And if you have any questions feel free to ask.
Thanks for reading.
~Josh
Topics: taxidermy | No Comments »
Painting a male White Crappie
By admin | August 1, 2008
Painting the male white crappie.
This is my method of reproducing the colors and pattern of this species . There are many ways to do this and this is only one of them.
Reference is KEY! Study your photos, study the live fish. Look close! when you think you have looked close enough, Look closer!
I use many brands of paint and mainly apply the color with a brush.
I am a firm believer that there is no magic bullet in painting, no brand that will cover all of the bases.
That said its time to horde paint, any time you see it! Cheap, expensive, flea markets, department stores, craft stores, art supply stores………………………….. You can never have enough.
in my experience the key to painting a crappie is in the layers. The subtle variation in the patterns of crappie come from the pigment on the skin under the clear scales and the thin flap of scale pocket on the top of the scale. this is VERY hard to reproduce, because we dont have the clear scales to refract the light, so we need to cheat.
this is done by painting in washes and layers using a subtle peppery brush strokes, and pearlesent paints.
The blank primed and ready to paint.
The fish is sprayed with a dark olive drab. I spray it darker on the bars, gill, cheek and throat.
This is the only time I will use an airbrush on the fish. From here on it is all done with a small hand brush.
The surface is buffed with fine steel wool to remove the color on the highlights.
While I buff the fish I keep in mind the color pattern of the bars.
The pattern is now detailed using a dark olive color, and black.
I am painting this fish as a spawning male, so I darken the scale bases on the throat and cheek.
I add a wash of yellow ocher below the lateral line blending in a green on the back.
I now paint every scale with a pearls and iridescent color.
Light pearl below the lateral line. Green on the back in front of the dorsal.
Blue below that and under the dorsal. And purple on the back under the soft dorsal and the top of the caudal peduncle.
Now I work in white over the soft membrane under the pectoral fin and on the soft tissue of the head.
I also tip the scales on the lower portion of the body in white.
The whole fish is then washed in pearl and iridescent colors. I follow the same basic pattern as before, but I do try to overlap the colors some. Also this is a very thin translucent wash.
I go back over the darker patterns on the fish. this time working closer to the edge of the scales.
White crappie tend to carry their color on the scale tips, more so then Black crappie.
I use a combination of blacks greens and browns to get the colors I need for this step.
The fins are also darkened at this stage.
The white patterning is painted on the fins.
I normally do this is two courses. The first is a thin translucent white and the second is a more intense white concentrated more on the center of the spots. This gives the spots a soft edge.
A blend of black and yellow ocher is washed over the fins to tone down the colors.
The back is also darkened with this color.
The scales are again tipped with pearl and iridescent colors. Staying with the same basic pattern.
The white spots were retouched again and a very thin wash of yellow ocher was applied, and it was given a coat of gloss.
Finally the fins were painted and attached.
I then gave the whole fish a good looking at and touched up details here in there.
After that a good coat of gloss was applied.
Here is the fish finished and on its wall base.
Thank you for taking the time and looking through this pictorial tutorial.
If anyone has any questions fell free to ask.
~Josh
Topics: taxidermy | No Comments »
Molding and Casting a White Crappie the Final part (The Casting)
By admin | July 15, 2008
Here is our Final steps in casting the blank.
After the PVA is Dry and the mold is ready to go.
We brush on the Gelcoat. The Gelcoat is your detail coat so make sure there are no bubbles.
I will be using a different resin for the fins so just cover the body.
We dont want this to be too thick of a coat, just enough to give us a good surface.
After the gelcoat is set we mix the resin for the fins.
This is just polyester resin with fiberglass chop added.
I dont buy fiberglass chop pre cut. I prefer to use fiberglass matting cut down to size.
This gives me more control over strand size.
This is put inside the mold and worked up into the fins. Keep it thin as it is just a detail coat like the gelcoat.
Next we add more polyester resin and chop to the inside of the mold, I also add the support block at this time.
After this sets we are ready to join the halves.
Get your clamps ready!
Pour in some more resin and chop and brush it up onto the sides of the mold and the fins. This will be the “Glue” that bonds the two sides.
Then put the halves together quickly, and clamp it together.
Only but the clamps on the edges of the mold and not on the fish itself, the pressure and heat will distort the casting if you do this.
After the resin inside sets yet is still pliable I start to open the mold.
I use a screw driver and work around the edge of the mold.
If it doesn’t separate easily DONT force it.
Run it under hot water and carefully work it open.
And there is our casting.
All we need to do now, is clean the seams, trim the flashing, do any rebuilding with apoxie and paint the fish.
HA! you thought we were done!
Here is the casting cleaned up
Here are Videos of the last step in the process.
I added some music this time, partly to liven it up and partly because i like a moron left my radio on while recording.
Thanks all and enjoy
Part 4
Part 5
Thanks all!
Ill follow up in the future with a painting tutorial on this fish.
Have fun and Good luck!
Topics: taxidermy | No Comments »
Garden Pond
By admin | July 14, 2008
Well work has officially begun. Not that its a lake we are building or anything grand, just a simple concrete garden pond.
I have been arm deep in liquid stone for days. but its starting to take shape.
Topics: Other projects | No Comments »
Updated Website and replica blank list
By admin | July 14, 2008
I finally did an inventory of my molds and have a full list, I will be adding photos as I go.
But for now here are the molds I have available.
http://www.knuthart.com/products.html
Some fish I have in progress are a 24-25″ Walleye, 40″ Northern pike.
Topics: taxidermy | No Comments »
Molding and casting a white crappie part 3 (Mold Preparation)
By admin | July 14, 2008
Now I will go over the next stage in the process.
Mold Preparation
I inspect the mold, I am looking for undercuts and overhangs as well as voids and pockets created by bubbles.
This mold turned out well, I had a small spot by the eye that needed to be ground down, I also cleaned up the fin butts byt the pelvic and pectoral fins.
Undercuts will make it harder to remove your casting, and will damage the mold and casting.
We want this mold to last a while, so any trouble spots are ground down with a dremel and voids are filled with epoxie.
The mold is waxed using carnuba wax and a brush.
Be sure to go all the way to the edge of the mold, and work it into every area of the mold. This is your life line, any shortcuts here and you will regret it down the line.
The mold is then left to dry overnight.
Then we buff the wax out.
I dont use a rag on large scaled fish as I have had issues with rag fibers sticking to the scales and damaging the mold.
The brush allows me to scrub into all of the tight spots and have control through the process.
The brush is wetted with a bit of fresh wax before buffing.
This process is repeated 2-6 times depending on the mold.
Once the wax is dry, the mold is sprayed with PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol)
This creates a barrier and a thin film between the wax and the resin casting. This helps with the release of the casting and the longevity of the mold.
Normally only two coats are needed.
This is allowed to dry overnight.
Next Time I will go over the casting of the blank.
Here is a Video I created that covers the process.
Topics: taxidermy | No Comments »
Molding a White crappie using the bondo method video.
By admin | July 6, 2008
Below are two short videos showing the techniques I used in molding a white crappie with fiberglass resin.
In the near future I will be working on a higher quality DVD showing molding and casting techniques, I will also be offering one on one classes on molding and casting techniques.
Thanks for watching, and good luck!
~Joshua
Topics: taxidermy | No Comments »
Molding a White crappie using the bondo and fiberglass resin.
By admin | July 6, 2008
Here I will go over my basic method for molding a fish in fiberglass resin.
This is a basic rundown there is a bit more involved in my method then this, and each fish is done differently.
Here is our subject. A nice looking 12″ white crappie.
The first thing we do is wash the fish and dry it with a towel.
Then remove the Pelvic and Pectoral fins.
The fish is then Posed and placed in mold bedding to cover one side of the fish (we only mold one half at a time)
I use High Fiber from Hills Brother’s in California.
This is smoothed out using a small sculpting tool and a wet tongue depressor.
(The cleaner and smoother the edges are in the bedding, the easier it will be to separate the mold halves.
Next I add the keys
Now its time for the resin. I use a 50/50 blend of polyester resin, and bondo.
I add both hardeners in the appropriate proportions.
(It will set with just the cream hardener, but the resin will be slightly softer then with both)
After the 50/50 blend sets I add polyester resin, and cover the mold with fiberglass matting.
Here is the mold covered. The goal is to make the mold thin yet strong.
The mold is carefully lifted from the bedding.
I use my finger to slip away the bedding from under the mold, being careful to remove the bedding so asnot to disturb the fins below, once the suction is broken it will lift away easily.
Once the mold is lifted I wash away the remaining bedding and dry the fish and mold.
Then I add a release agent to the edges of the mold. (petroleum jelly)
Then I use a Heat gun to dry the fish, tighten the skin and smooth out the release agent.
(BE CAREFUL NOT TO COOK THE FISH!)
Now we add the 50/50 blend again to the other side. Basically the same method as before.
Again as before, fiberglass matting is added.
Carefully open the mold with a screwdriver, working along the edges until it opens.
Here is the finished mold.
Next time I will cover the preparation of the mold and casting of the blank.
If anyone has question feel free to ask.
Topics: taxidermy | No Comments »
An adjustable carving template
By joshua | November 1, 2007
Here is my technique for making an adjustable carving dorsal template for fish.
It was always difficult to decide on the exact pose of a fish before I skin it. Often if it is in a rather dynamic pose it can be difficult to hold the fish in the exact pose while an accurate dorsal template is traced.
I was given this tip by a friend who does fish carvings. It works very well for me, I hope it can help you as well.
First the fish is traced and measured. when it comes time for a dorsal pattern I trace the fish in a straight position. I will also use a calipers to make careful width measurements as I go.
The next step
I cut the head off of the dorsal template behind the gills.
I then tape e piece of string to the center of the template.
I continue down the body, cutting the body roughly every inch while taping.
When all is done I have a Dorsal template that can be posed in any position while maintaining the integrity of the dimensions. This allows you to be fairly creative in the form shape as well as giving you more time to think up that killer pose.
Topics: Fishing | No Comments »
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