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I have a good set of reference pics of deer . Really a lot to soak in . I look at my pictures and find symmetry is not always there . Ears are not straight and look sharp enough that they could cut you . But it’s expected in competition . We’re to replicate nature the best we can . But as a standard in reference photos symmetry is not standard in nature . 75 % of my pics or less are symmetrical . So even though nature itself isn’t perfect our comp entries should be ? Is this correct ?
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Deer can open their lacrimal creases individually . That I have on reference . But wouldn’t be a symmetrical mount . Ears . The left ear is not straight , sharp . It’s wavy .
This picture shows rotation . But these ear edges would get docked in competition .
A large part of mounting a competition piece, especially for deer is finding a perfect cape. I would think the first thing a serious whitetail taxidermy competitor would look for on a potential competition skin would be the ears.
Good point, but one thing I like to do, is mount the deer with the ears in different position and eyes also. By doing this, you are not giving the judge a change to get you on symmetry. By mixing things up, you can make your mount look like it is really doing something. Just like your reference is showing you. If you have a good judge, they will understand the look you are trying to pull off.
I don’t see what you are trying to illustrate in your pics. Symmetry is important to be aesthetically pleasing to look at. This is art and while our goal is to replicate nature it is also to create something we like to look at. A good friend of mine owned a mule that had one eye at least an inch higher on it’s head than the other. It was natural, but it sure wasn’t pleasing to look at. Most judges I have been around understand that asymmetry in nature is common, and do not count against it unless it takes away from the look of the piece they are judging.
Asymmetry . With the picture it says wrinkles do not match . Tax e dermist .
hackleback wrote: Asymmetry . With the picture it says wrinkles do not match . Tax e dermist .
Still not sure I follow. The wrinkles in the first pic should not match. The ears are rotated at different degrees of rotation. The second pic, the wrinkles would be behind the ears, something we can’t see in the pic.
It’s to show that the live deer reference did not have straight ear edges . Some do some do not .
Hack, there are many animals, including us, that lack symmetry. Judges will almost always dock you for not having it perfectly symmetrical. The reason… they were docked for it themselves. Now since alot of the manniquins are unsymmetrical, you should try and correct it for a better look. Then have the animal in movement like Vince said, to throw off the judges. Sometimes they get you, sometimes they don’t.
