Smooth-on mould and cast of a Raven Skull, Art of Taxidermy.

[@twlohwrists]

I absolutely LOVE that you re-use coffee cups! I don't know why Ive never thought of that!

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

😁😁😁 we pay too much for coffee , at least use the cups for something. 😁

[@johnleskinen734]

Another Great Video very simple instructions but still very detailed thanks keep them coming

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

Thanks for watching.

[@Ivory_taxidermy7910]

Beautiful work

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

Thank you.

[@marianotorres2784]

Beautiful, really art of taxidermy. Saludos desde Mexico

[@rushabhyadav4062]

Excellent sir thanks for sharing such an informative video

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

You are welcome.

[@reinisbrics1]

Thank you very much! It will help me for sure.

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

Glad to hear that.

[@petegonzalez821]

Thanks for the video Ben was wondering how you made those heads looks so lifelike. Can’t wait for the next one

[@gavinbirch8696]

Thank you, I’ve been waiting for this video

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

You are welcome.

[@pedrosegura7344]

Fantástico , gracias por el vídeo 😊👌

[@jacobgarvelink2441]

Hey Ben, thanks indeed! I was looking forward to a video of you casting a skull for so long. I notice that most (European?) taxidermist that I follow would still use the actual skull of the bird. I understand that especially with this open beak posture a cast is probably the best, but how do the pros outweigh the cons of using the actual bird skill and doing a cast, in your opinion? I guess smaller birds makes more sense to use the actual skill and Robin sized birds and up a cast maybe? Thanks for your time in advance. All the best from Holland

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

No problem Jacob. Using either has its pros and cons .. real skull pros is that the beak is very strong, usually needs less painting, much less expensive and cons are if it’s broken it’s a pain to repair, setting eyes are much more work , inside of the mouth detail is much more time consuming and not as real , painting them around the edges is very difficult because of over spray . And you are right small birds beak is better off with the real skull.

[@loganreitz5057]

Awesome video is this how you do the bodies as well?

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

No.. I hand carve bird bodies. There will be a video soon.

[@loganreitz5057]

@@ArtofTaxidermy ok cool can’t wait

[@almaalma8164]

Very interesting and helpful. Can you please tell me exact names of products and where to purchase them. Thank you.

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

I froze the screen so you can zoom and see the product name. The company is called smooth-on.

[@jimunrath3199]

Could you comment on any procedures or tricks regarding the detail of the nasal area. Thank you, Ben

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

Hi Jim, the smooth on silicones are so fine with proper viscosity that it will easily seeps into the nostrils… of course if the nostrils are too small you might want to use a fine stick or brush and push some silicone into the small holes before you start pouring into the dam.

[@kingofdeath5600]

Can you do this with the bodies but use a softer moulding material/ expanding foam so it's easy to work with like pushing the wire through it?

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

You can but I personally hand carve the bodies. Much simpler

[@kingofdeath5600]

@@ArtofTaxidermy what type of foam do you use?

[@charliewildman9430]

Hi Ben I watch a lot of your videos and I just had one question about this casting process is when you do a bird of prey do you do more than one cast or do you just fill in the areas what's clay like you did with it Raven

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

Hi Charlie, every silicone mould can give you many casts. Some of the silicones have much better tear resistance than others.

[@hanbroek5670]

Hi Ben, very nice video. I have a question ? can you use the mold for multiple ravens or do I have to make a new mold for each raven?

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

Oh yes... if you use high quality Silicone like the ones I use, you can use the mold for may many birds.

[@hanbroek5670]

I want to use it for birds of prey. Because the nose cap and lips dry up, casting a bird of prey head works the same as with the raven? . thank you very much Ben

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

@@hanbroek5670 Yes.. I had the Raven to show for the video otherwise I could have moulded a hawk.. so its the same process. just close the beak tight unless you want it open.

[@hanbroek5670]

thank you Ben.🙏

[@keystoneoutdoors_mb]

Can you use the mould multiple times or only once?

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

Multiple times.

[@madelynt1615]

Did the skull stink when you took it out of the mold?

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

No.. it won’t smell over night. If you leave it for couple of days it might though.

[@peterlustig8021]

FYI (Esp Germany): The SmoothOn products are high quality products with fitting high prices. Alternatives we have here are Alginat (Dentist supply) And the cheapest version is silicone from the regular stores (not very viscous - mix with sawdust to obtain cookie-dough-like mass and model onto the skull without using a cup) You can also let the skull hang inside the cup and fill that up. The procedure is the same as in the video

[@ArtofTaxidermy]

Many products can be used… but not with the same quality for the end result.

[@peterlustig8021]

@@ArtofTaxidermy very true. Options are available everywhere. I worked with SmoothOn already and that was very satisfying, I have to admit. It just works. But it costs some big bucks