This is probably an odd thought, but I was wondering if there was any form of taxidermy that would let you pose the final product.
So if I wanted to get a dead cat or squirrel stuffed, is there anyway to do it so that I could put them in various poses?
What I had in mind was using something like that to do stop action animation or maybe just an animated gif file.
I’m sure there are probably some software products that can do the virtual equivalent, but let’s assume that I really want to be ab to pose a real (stuffed) animal.
I don’t know the direct answer to your question as in someone to call but I take it you haven’t traveled around rural America much especially in the South. There are lots of really talented taxidermists out there and some consider themselves artists. I have seen examples of animals dressed up and put in poses and elaborate costumes and things like that. Some of the really good ones love a challenge. If you are seriously interested in that type of thing my answer would be that there has to be someone that can do it well. They have lots of different techniques from using most of the original body to sewing the hide over an artificial skeleton and the latter makes anything possible.
Hell, I work in a body parts factory, know some of the top Hollywood special effects experts, as well as a few taxidermists. Between us, I know that we could get it done.
I have a customer who is a taxidermist, I will call him on monday.
From my extensive discussions of his business however I would assume that the skins and such would end up being too brittle over time to be consistently reposable.
Yeah, they pose them all the time - see: your local museum with the “mad at you” bobcat. But I seriously doubt they can "repose" them again and again - what’s in them is a stiff foam.
If your intention is to RE-pose an animal and need flexible skin, replace the original skin with something synthetic that stretches. You didn’t think that the eyes were the originals, did you? Only a tiny portion of any stuffed animal came from nature.
As everyone can see, I know very little about taxidermy. As a child, I had a stuffed baby alligator that I managed to wear out. I think the skin eventually cracked but I don’t recall exactly.
Please don’t go to any trouble on my account. If you’re just curious and want to know, of course I would be interested too, but at this point I don’t have a “subject” in mind. Although the cats are looking at me funny and I might have to take them out before they get me first. (kidding guys - just kidding).
That’s interesting. My first response would have been that you have to remove the fur in order to tan something although I don’t know why I think that. After all, you do have bear skin rugs, some of which I assume are the genuine article. Even if they have the original fur, they can remain flexible - right? Not sure I’ve ever seen one in person though so I can’t say.
I knew about the eyes. It troubles me a little that I knew, but I did. I guess you could do a “fur transplant” and put plugs of fur into some other material. Even for just the joints though it would have to crazy expensive.
Yes, Bear skin rugs are flexible and leather, just like fur coats. In fact, I bet you could make one pretty easy with some foam and some flexible wire. You can buy tanned pelts on the internet, probably not a squirrel, but definitely rabbit or mink. A taxidermist could do a better job with a fresh animal, depends on the realism you’re looking for.
I don’t, but as Sitichensis (thanks btw) points out, it won’t look as real. I was just throwing out and responding to ideas about what the possible limitations might be and how one might get around them.
Were I ever to do this and invest a significant amount of time, I would probably want something realistic. Although going the campy, haphazard route can be appropriate too depending upon your goals. South Park and Robot Chicken come to mind in the latter context. Although maybe “haphazard” wasn’t the best choice of words (my apologies to the fans of each).
I might do that sometime but I am not sure if it is a good idea. My employer is like Big Brother except more competent and effective at finding things out that you say and do. I don’t make the body parts, the technicians in the labs do that. I just make sure they get to where they need to go no matter what and am on call 24/7/365 even during vacation and it gets used. It was a little freaky when I first started but then I got used to it. I watched the movie Wargames a few months ago again though and the NORAD type scenes did seem perfectly realistic and familiar. It is a deadly serious game.
I sometimes work for a taxidermist and I really can’t see this as possible as a complete realistic lifesize. While a tanned hide is flexible, it still won’t stretch & recover like skin can. You’d have a baggy, unrealistic looking beast once you moved it a few times.
If you really wanted to do this, you could articulate the foam body then cut the bits off the hides and mount each section separately on each joint. I can’t imagine it would look very good but if you’re not going for realism, it would work. Today’s mounts use a dense foam material and I doubt they’d last long being moved around a lot.
I have seen articulated deer made for the Department of Wildlife that consist of a head turning back and forth. They don’t last very long and definitely don’t stand up to close inspection…but it fools the poachers.