Very cool. How did you get into the hobby in the first place?

Idk, I used to draw nothing but dinosaur skeletons when I was a kid so that might have something to do with it. I didn’t get into taxidermy until I was around 30, though. I started by collecting dried bird wings for drawing reference, then started buying beetle-cleaned skulls to finish cleaning myself, then I just started picking up roadkill and getting coyotes from a couple predator hunters I know.

I just think it’s fun, especially hide tanning. There’s a lot of ways it can go wrong but if you do the steps right you’ll end up with a good finished product, and it’s less work than doing art while still having the reward of making something with your hands. I got into it while I was really depressed and in the middle of a years-long art block, so it helped.

Very cool! Thanks for the explanation. My art career followed a similar pattern, but I find myself at the "collect skulls and freak people out by IDing them' stage.