First cougar rug , what do ya think.

[bucklucky]

Here is the first cougar rug I have done and the second cougar I have ever mounted. I sculpted all the lips and made my own cast lip system for the Lion. He is a 8 1/2 foot Tom. His ears were pretty beat up and had cuts and gouges taken out of them. Havent seen many cougar mounts on here so I thought I would post one. I just finished this one .

I added a couple of referance pics I used when sculpting the lips before I mounted the cat.

[Jackjr]

Nice work.  I need one of those.

[robodad]

I have to say that though you did a very nice job on the mounting of the cougar, I don't like it at all, it just looks wrong to have a life like head and a flat as a pancake body, I think the same about bears too so it is not your work at all it is just the whole rug thing, I think it would look much better in a more life like pose then flat on the floor or wall !!  

Did a nice job on it though !!!

[bucklucky]

I have to say that though you did a very nice job on the mounting of the cougar, I don't like it at all, it just looks wrong to have a life like head and a flat as a pancake body, I think the same about bears too so it is not your work at all it is just the whole rug thing, I think it would look much better in a more life like pose then flat on the floor !!  

Did a nice job on it though !!!

I like the full bodie too! Plus its alot more dough for me

[boneaddict]

I don't like the first picture as well as the rest, but hte last one really shows off that you have the right angle of the eyes versus the mouth. The othe r pics look really good too.   Pretty darn good for your first cat rug.  Excellent snarl detail.  The eyes almost look a bit big for the cat, but seriously within reason.  Nice job.

[bucklucky]

Thanks for the critique Bone. Critique away guys!

[ThePascoKid]

I think it looks kickass, god I want one!

[PolarBear]

He looks pissed!  I was thinking that the eyes looked a little big but I am not an expert.  It is a great looking mount!!  Next time mount a couple of fake human fingers hanging out of it's mouth or maybe a stuffed house cat.

[Gutpile]

I like rugs. I've got a Bobcat, a bear on the way, and hope to get a cougar one day. There's not enough room for a full body mount in my house so rugs are the way for me. I will be doing a full body Bobcat when I shoot that big tom but he's not cooperating thus far. I'll be doing a coyote when I get a really big pale male but they are pretty red where I do most of my hunting.

Great job, I agree about the eyes looking big but if it were mine I'd be happy.

[DeKuma]

Not much of a rug guy either what your work is fantastic.  I do, however, agree that the eyes to look a little too big.  They are big in the reference picture, but in better proportion.  Also, I think the mouth could be darker as shown in the reference.
If I was a rug guy, I would be happy though.  Your attention to the details is phenomenal as always.

[bucklucky]

I got too caught up on making him look pissed and got away from my referance on the eyes, taxidermist mistake. If you look at the referance  and compare it to the mount, I reversed the etelids, the top eyelid shoul be a little moire straight with the lower lid haveing the droop or more  rounded look. The back of the eye should have came to a point making the eyes look too "big" or  open showing too much eye if that makes sence. As for the darkness of the mouth , I did lighten it up cause I had it too dark, and you are right  about that compared to the photo. The camera flash really brighten paint up too. I think you are right though.

Thanks for being honest guys, your not gona hurt my feelings! I will only get better getting info on what people , (non-taxidermists and taxidermists ) might see wrong, and it will cause me to look at things a little diferently too. So far all you guys have said are things I found also.

[Ray]

I like it. Looks pissed off.

[bowsandhose]

nice work bucklucky looks good, very nice job on the mouth. whiskers look great did you pluck them and then reattach them? did you do the rugging? cat eyes are tough, maybe a little dark on the nose, and ears might need laid back a bit more. you do some killer work on face detail keep up the great work
  

[Antlershed]

I have no clue what I'm looking for, but it looks really good to me. You mentioned the camera lightened it up quite a bit (I'm assuming the flash)...try standing farther away and using the zoom of the camera to get close. That will make the flash not quite as intense and make it not reflect off the paint as much. 

[Red Dawg]

Nice job. I know nothing about taxidermy but that looks damn good.

[PacificNWhunter]

I agree with red dawg, I don't know much about taxidermy but it's defiantly something I would proudly display! nice job.

[PacificNWhunter]

definitely 

[saylean]

I like it. I would love to get one of those (but a cougar is getting a lifesize, for me). The lips looked really shiny...could be the lighting or whatever. The eyes, while big...I think were fitting for a kitty, since they have big eyes to me anyway.

Good work, something to be proud of for sure.

Grats on your first! Cant wait to see your second.

[cohoho]

I know where I'm going to have some work done when I get my cougar!!!!  Beautiful mount.. 

Of course I think I'd want it full on corner rock looking down at people when they come into my house....

[actionshooter]

I know where I'm going to have some work done when I get my cougar!!!!  Beautiful mount.. 

Of course I think I'd want it full on corner rock looking down at people when they come into my house....

Smilling, of course 

[saylean]

I want a cougar/bear fight scene...

now that would be tight like a frogs arse

[Coasthunterjay]

Overall bucklucky i think it looks first class....you are correct about the eyes and what you said though....wont get a disagreement from me, but also remember that taxidermy is an art, and to every project you have wether it be taxidermy, sculpting, painting, or drawing, all art is crafted in its makers personnal interpritation........But critique? The eyes needed to be more crested in on the outside pushed inwards....the eyes arent to big, just to much of it is showing, almost makes him look like he is screaming to get away from something because he just got the POOPY scared out of him......but he does kind of look pissed.....but i would say more shocked than pissed.......But you know that.....but then again, artist interpritation is the only thing that matters. It looks pretty good though, detail work in the mouth is solid, faded well, maybe a little dark, might have used a little bit more mouthy pink color! ears look good, muscle definition looks ok(referring to the eye brows and the muscle definition in the nose). i see alot of people make those lines across the nose like what you did, its easy to water fawl those lines down like that, most taxidermist do that, but if you look at your own nose when you open your mouth to snarl, you will see that all the wrinkles are at the top of the nose, right at the ridge between your eyes, and alot of taxidermist put to much definition into making those wrinkles in the nose when it should all be in the eye brows and upper ridge of the nose....But honestly, looks real good!

If i needed a good person to do a cat i would either recommend you or have you do it for me.....But looks good!

[Hunting Cowboy]

First of all, this is a quality mount. There are a lot of things that many taxidermists are not able to achieve that you have accomplished on this mount. Some of these will seem obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many professional taxiidermists don't take the time to get many of following things right.

1. Symetrical skiining- the mane is nice and straight (particularly down the tail). And the hide is a mirror image from one side to the other.

2. Whiskers- These are suppose to be sticking out straight or slightly forward. A very difficult thing to do and you'll see many cougar mounts where the whiskers are just slicked back along the face. It requires proper preparation in the skinning and fleshing stages and then being aware during the mounting process. Yours look great!

3. Mouth finishing- Some might have a difference of opinion of colors, but you cannot argue with the fact that this is a professional finishing job on this mouth. The colors are blended very and finished very professionally, Very nice IMO.

4. Ears- These can be difficult on cats because of an extra fold or flap of skin. Yours look nicely done from what I can see. That cat had some pretty black coloring on the back of it's ears!

5. Nose- These can also be difficult trying get the color just right. (At least from my experience). I am unaware of a product that can just be painted on in one application (color) for cougar noses. Maybe there is such a product, but blending differnt colors to achieve a good looking cat nose is not an easy deal. At least for me. You have accomplished that as well. There are slight variations of nose colorations on cats but your intrepatations is nicely done.

6. Eyes- The reference that you've used helps explain the eye set on your mount. Again there are a lot of different things a guy can do. This may or may not be what some people prefer but I think you achieved what you were looking for. The eyes look real and the skin around the eye looks supple and alive. I don't see any shriveled epidermis. Clean and neat!

7. Muscle detail, grooming, finishing- Very well done with a lot of attention to detail.

I think that whoever is getting this mount is probably getting a lot of bang for their buck!

Very nice job Charlie.

[MichaelJ]

Looks scary as hell...  I like it!  Nice job!

Michael

[robb92]

Very nice, thanks for posting the pics!! You do great work.

[MountainWalk]

i myself would be totally satisfied. bravo.

[Bscman]

I think it looks great.

Every taxidermist I've ever talked to has said cats are one of the most difficult things to work with...and I think I can see it--I've seen more poorly done cat mounts than anything else.

Suffice to say yours definitely does not qualify as poorly done. I'd be very happy with that.

For only your second cougar (and first rug), it's even more amazing.
Kudos to you!

[Kanooper]

Damn, that would scare the hell out of me every time I looked at it.  Nice work.

[gramps]

Very Good.  The wrinkles on the nose and the eyes look exactly like the look I got when I missed a cougar in a tree and she hit the ground about 5 feet from  were I stood.  I finished the job later, but will never forget that look....mean critter.

[Machias]

Beautiful work!!

[Falcon]

AWESOME !!!

That will make a great addition to your trophy room !