Original Fish Bodies

FISH TAXIDERMY
Original Fish Bodies
by Dan Rinehart
I
AM PLEASED TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN the opportunity to write a series of fish and re-
lated taxidermy articles for BREAKTHROUGH. As an instructor at the Rinehart School
of Taxidermy, I have had the chance to develop and refine techniques and procedures that are equally accurate and efficient. The sequence in which techniques are
performed is just as important as the actual techniques. With this in mind, I strive to develop techniques and procedures that create the minimal amount of wasted energy and effort and create the highest quality. This ideology comes from my background as a professional taxidermist, depending on taxidermy for my income.
The primary inefficiencies in taxidermy stem from a lack of evaluating the procedures
that have a true impact on the quality of the finished mount. If you do not understand the
steps that are of primary importance, you will extend equal effort to all steps, thus wasting time
and depriving the
important steps of additional attention. When I first started skinning fish, I didn’t have a clue as to which steps were of primary importance. The result was that you could “eat lunch” on the fish I skinned. True, they
were the cleanest fish I have ever skinned. Unfortunately, an 18-inch smallmouth bass took more than four hours to skin and scrape! Well, I knew that wasn’t going to provide the shop-rate that would satisfy me. I reevaluated each step and
its corresponding impact on finished quality.
At the beginning of each class I teach, I tell the students that the most important information I am going to give them is the understanding of where to expend the most
and the least amount of attention. In doing so, I am actually giving them
a better start and understanding than I was provided.
With all this in mind, the following article represents a
true combination of accuracy and efficiency in regard to
carving a fish mannikin. Keep in mind that these are the
same procedures I used to win three International Fish Taxidermy Championships (IGT) as well as in my daily professional work. So, let’s get going!
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FISH TAXIDERMY
1. First, place the fish in the action-pose you choose (tail up, down,
straight, etc.). The mouth must then be propped open with a piece of
cardboard (wedged between the upper palette and center of the lower
tongue). Propping the mouth open is essential due to the fact that the
anatomy of the head-juncture and throatlatch-juncture change as the
mouth opens. Using a litho grease pencil, draw a line indicating where
the head juncture is located (this is the point where the mannikin will
meet the skull on the fish). The head juncture is the point on top of
the head where the scales end and the smooth part of the head begins.
2. Like the head juncture, the tail juncture is the point at which the
scales end and the fin rays start. Place a straight-edge along the outermost edge of the tail juncture and draw a line on each side of the tail.
Later, when the fish is removed, we will connect these lines and the outer edge of the tail juncture will be established.
3. Locate the point at
which the throatlatch of the
fish connects with the gullet
and draw a line. This point
is recognizable by following
the throatlatch of the body
as it runs between the two
sides of the gills and tapers
to a point at the juncture
with the head (gullet). The
three juncture points of the
fish mannikin have been established (head, tail, and
throatlatch).
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4. Precisely, use a litho grease pencil to create the “side silhouette” of
the side view of the fish. Start at the head juncture, work along the
back, around the belly, and up to the throatlatch. Important note: when
looking down at the fish from above, there shouldn’t be any visible distance between the silhouette line and the fish itself. If you can see distance, the resulting pattern will be too big. If you cannot see the scribed
silhouette line,
the pattern will
be too small.
5. It is impossible to accurately trace the
body pattern
along the dorsal,
caudal, and anal
fins. Therefore,
draw two lines,
the first being
where the fin
begins, and the
second where the fin ends (the caudal was done in the previous step).
These points will be connected after removing the fish from the pattern.
6. Here is an excellent view of the pattern up to this point. The red
lines indicate the outermost junctures of a fish mannikin (head, caudal,
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FISH TAXIDERMY
and throatlatch). The black lines indicate the beginning and ending
points of the fins. If you look closely along the silhouette, you will notice the grease pencil outline.
7. Place a straight-edge at the back juncture of the gills to the body
and draw a dotted line along the top and bottom on the straight edge
(these dotted lines will be connected later). This line indicates how far
back you will need to cut into the mannikin to accommodate for the
throat and gills of the fish.
8. Choose five points equally spaced down the side of the fish (between the gill cover and the tail juncture) and use a cloth tape measure
to take circumference measurements. Note: do not pull the tape, simply
rest the tape along the fish skin with zero slack.
9. First, notice how the dorsal, caudal, and anal fin reference marks
have been connected with dotted lines. Second, notice how the gill
juncture lines have been connected with a red dotted line. Third, notice that the gill-throat area has been drawn with a black dotted line
(extending back to the gill-throat line). Finally, notice that the five circumference measurements are indicated with a red line along with the
corresponding measurements. This completes the first of the two patterns.
10. It is now time to create the top-silhouette pattern that will create
the outward or inward curve of the fish in relation to the wall. In this
case, I will be positioning the fish in a “fight-out” pose, in which the
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tail is kicked out away from the wall. Unlike the side-silhouette, this
pattern has only two points with which to be concerned. The first point
is the throatlatch juncture and the second point is the tail juncture. Position the fish in the curve desired and draw the reference lines indicating these points.
11. Similar to the way the silhouette lines were drawn for the sidesilhouette (step 4), trace the front and back sides of the fish. On a very
fat or spawning fish, the belly will flatten out and create an erroneous
silhouette. Don’t worry because this will be compensated for in Steps
13-16.
12. Locate the same five points that you previously took circumference measurements from and indicate where they are located by drawing
lines outside the top-silhouette pattern.
13. Start at
one end of the
fish (head or
tail) and take
the first caliper
measurement
of the fish
width at the
point marked
on the pattern. Note:
just rest both
sides of the
calipers on the
opposing sides
of the fish and
do not squeeze.
14. I use
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FISH TAXIDERMY
the front line of the pattern (the one I am pointing to) as a baseline. If
this line has been “bulged” a little from a flattened belly, straighten the
line with a grease pencil. After this line has been straightened, place one
edge of the calipers on this baseline. If the silhouette lines have been
drawn incorrectly, there will be a difference in the back-side silhouette
line and where the other edge of the caliper rests. In this photo you can
see that I drew the silhouette line correctly and no alteration is needed.
15. I have checked caliper measurements 5 and 3 and have found
no difference. However, there is a difference in caliper measurement 2.
Therefore, I have marked the difference with a grease pencil. Next, measurement 1 was checked and found to have the same difference as 2.
16. Using the marks from the caliper readings just measured,
smoothly connect the marks into the back silhouette line to complete an
accurate top pattern.
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17. Add 1- to 2-inches to the
length of the top silhouette pattern
(in the head area). This additional
length decreases the chance of error when cutting from the foam
block.
18. As you have probably noticed through this article, the fish I
chose to use is extremely thin. In
fact, it is thin to the point of being
ugly. I chose this fish over other
more appealing fish so I could illustrate an important point: is is
the responsibility of the taxidermist
to make an ugly fish beautiful. In
this case, that would constitute
adding girth to the fish in order to
make it appear healthier. When adding girth, remember one simple
rule—the difference in girth between a thin fish and a “fat” spawning
fish takes place between the leading edge of the anal fin and the pelvic
fins. The red dotted line indicates the additional belly that I will carve
into this fish. By changing the girth in this area alone, we will increase
the girth of the midsection, yet the fins will still be in alignment.
19-20. The first pattern to cut is the top silhouette pattern. Use pins
to hold the pattern in place and cut along, but not into, the pattern.
Note: the bottom surface of the block of foam must be flat on the
bandsaw table or you will get movement in the block of foam, resulting
in an incorrect cut. In my opinion, I would not attempt to carve mannikins without a bandsaw. If you try to cut a mannikin by hand, you
will have eternal headaches!
After the top silhouette has been cut, place the side silhouette on the
inside of the curve and match
the tail of the mannikin with
the tail-edge of the foam. There
will be extra foam in the head
area—that’s okay because we
planned it that way in Step 17.
Remove the pins and the top
silhouette and cut the side silhouette.
21. This is the result—a block-fish ready for carving.
22. Since we have been so precise with making a pattern of the fish,
it is essential that the center of the front side, back side, top (back), and
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FISH TAXIDERMY
belly (bottom) are never carved. If you do carve these points, you will
actually alter the natural silhouette lines of the fish (bad)! Instead, use a
Sharpie marker to draw lines down the center of the front side, back
side, top (back), and bottom (belly). The result is that the lines break
the fish up into quarters, consisting of the top-left, top-right, bottom
left, and bottom right.
26. We now have our completed carved fish, that is, if the side contours have been formed correctly.
23. Here you can see that I have begun carving the top-right (my
right) quarter. I call this “rough-carving” and it is at this stage that I
perform 80- to 90-percent of the shaping that will be done to the fish.
The remaining shaping will occur with a sanding block. Once I complete the “rough-carving” on the top-right, I then proceed to the top-left
quarter and match the shape (without touching the center lines).
24. Note: the contour of the fish changes throughout the side. You
must study the anatomy of each fish species and have a “mental image”
of the contour while carving. If you have not studied fish anatomy,
place the unskinned fish close by to use as reference while carving and
forming the side contours. Anatomy of fish is another very lengthy article within itself!
27. Revert to the five circumference measurements recorded from
the fish. Using a cloth tape measure, record the measurements in these
five locations. The measurement that you see me take by the head is exact with the actual measurement of 10¼-inches. (Never go under!)
25. Once all the “rough-carving” has been completed, finish the
sanding and shaping with a fine-grit (120) sanding block.
28. As you may remember, we added to the belly girth between the
anal fin and the pelvic fins. The result is that the measurement will be
greater than the original. For a fish like this, I strive to increase the girth
by between 1 - 1½-inches. Here you can see that the girth is ➜
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FISH TAXIDERMY
1¼-inches larger. Continue checking the measurements and if more
needs to be carved, do it. Proceed to skinning or mounting.
29. The fish is now finished. Doesn’t it look better than the scrawny,
thin fish we started with? Looks great, huh? Well, the fact of the matter
is, that aside from specialty, competition, and abnormal fish, I would
never carve fish mannikins. Why? Because it is inefficient. Today we are
fortunate to have commercial mannikins on the market that take care of
90-percent of the fish mounted. Simply match the measurements and
order the mannikin. If you are going to make a living performing fish
taxidermy, you must know how to carve fish mannikins so you can
mount the 10-percent (freaks) that do not fit commercial mannikins.
Economical evaluation of carving fish mannikins: When I am performing at high efficiency levels in my shop, I expect to generate $50.00
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per hour. The fastest I can pattern, cut, and carve a mannikin of this
size is 30 minutes. Thus, the mannikin I just carved cost me $25.00
(not including materials). You can order this same style mannikin for
only $9.50. What would you choose?
I would like to thank Larry Blomquist for the opportunity to write
this article for BREAKTHROUGH and I look forward to writing more. I
would also like to finish by saying that it has been a pleasure to meet
hundreds of taxidermists throughout the country and I hope to meet
you someday! ■
DAN RINEHART is from Janesville
Wisconsin, and is Marketing Manager for Rinehart Taxidermy Supply
and instructor for Rinehart School of
Taxidermy. Dan has won three International Fish Taxidermy Championships (IGT) and one International
Fish Carving Championship. In his
spare time he likes to perform wholesale fish taxidermy for professional
taxidermists throughout the United
States. Call (608) 755-5161.
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