Grat looking Buffalo! Looks very real and angry!

Nice. He looks very much alive.

Very nice work Grafton!

Nice,shouldn't he be darker? He looks light colored or grey.

Thanks for the kind words.

He is a bit lighter or washed out in the photo. If a client wants a darker or cleaner buffalo, they can get one.

My personal taste is for a dusty, muddy looking buffalo. I suppose a wild buffalo could look clean if it were coming out of a river. In a still-life presentation, I am trying to capture a picture of the animal the way it appears most of the time. That is why I like my buffaloes, warthogs, rhinos etc.. dirty!

The hard part about this kind of dirty finish work is knowing when to stop. Sometimes I have to refrain from re-creating all the ticks in the ears!

Good work! Did someone from here on the ar get him?

quote:

Did someone from here on the ar get him?

No.

Grafton,
I agree that they should look dirty, I give all my Buff the "Dusty" look, when they are too clean they just don't look right to me.

Excellent job. What medium did you use to paint the skin? I have been using pastels with my finger tips to get that look but its very time consuming.

I do not know a good way of finishing a cape buffalo that is not time consuming! However, the details and finishing are one of my favorite parts of the process, so I do not mind.

I have tried a lot of different techniques, and I do not really have a paint "schedule' but in addition to the regular finish work, here is what I did for the dirty look of this one.

For the body, first I lightly air brushed the body and hair slip areas with Hydro mist (about 50/50 coacoa brown and dark brown) Then after it dried I wiped of the paint from the hair with a damp rag. This step just blends everything together. Some areas were darkened more with straight dark brown.

The "mud" splash coat was a color wash of water and I think Jonas light gray (almost a brown gray). I brushed this on with a large brush, randomly in areas where I wanted a muddy look and over some hair slip areas. After painting it on, I sponged a lot of this off before it dried. This was done over a period of days until it looked right to me. The colors will darken and fade away as they dry.

The face was treated in a similar way but I also "dusted the characteristic dry skin areas with a mix of dry plaster and black (dry) tempera paint. Cement powder also works for this but some kinds have a greenish tint to them. I also dusted a little sifted red Virginia dirt on the horns, inner ears, and top of the nose.

This is a dusty buffalo. For a muddy buffalo I have gone to more extremes by making a mud paste out of dirt, water, elmers glue, paint, etc.. This works great for covering and blending bad hair slip areas, seams, or even areas of missing skin (you know those capes with no arm pits!) How far you go is really up to the client. Some people do not want a filthy looking beast hanging on their wall even though they look better.

thanks!

I disagree on the "dirty look".I think it would be best to have a natural mount where the natural colors of the buff can be observed.What I mean by natural is the real life or actual pigments found on the buffalo.

I think I understand what you are saying. I guess I just think of dirt as a natural pigment for a buffalo.

In some parts of Africa the unique soil color is something that hunters always want to remember. Small details like incorporating the soil colors into a mount is accurate and is usually appreciated.

Unfortunately, the natural colors of the buff are usually gone. What I mean is the skin goes through some changes from the time the animal dies to the time it is mounted. After a skin is tanned, the pigments of the skin are not always true to life. Many buffalo and other animals come back missing huge areas of the epidermis. These areas appear white or yellow.

I guess the best analogy I can think of is a fish. A mounted fish that has not been painted looks like a dead fish that has been laying in the sun for days. All the natural colors are gone. Mammals are similar to some degree. Another example would be warthog. The skin of a live warthog is pinkish under all that dirt. The tanned skin of a warthog missing the top layer of epidermis is often a dead looking yellow color. A pink warthog mount would not be well received.

With long haired animals like deer, the color change of the body skin is not a problem because you do not see it. On Buffalo and other African animals with very fine or thin hair, the actual skin can be seen. That is why it must be painted to look natural.

I prefer the dusty buff.
I do my boars mostly like that too depending on thier area when hunted. Most of my clients get annoyed if they are too 'clean'.
More natural, to me, than a washed and manicured animal.

Good looking mount Grafton. Nothing looks worse than a shiny haired, spray painted black Buff. They are rough looking alive, and usually so rough looking we are forced to "improve" on the natural look. I can visualize the lighter effect from the photo. Most of the Buff I saw last month in Zim were covered in light gray mud. LDK

This is a Real excellent Work.
Congratulation Grafton

Grafton- Great mount! I really like the dusty field look to him. Mount 'em like you found 'em is my favorite. The details in the wrinkle position, nasal passages and ear butts turned out great. I don't think people realize how much work goes into putting the color back into a tanned skin to make it look natural. You pulled it off. Good job. My only suggestion might be to soften the wrinkles on the armpits but man thats gettin' awfull picky for a great mount! Good job again

Coues Taxidermist

Grafton,if I ever go to Africa and shoot a buff,I'll keep you in mind.That is very nice.

Best life like mount I have seen in several years. I would be very proud to have it haning in my home! Thanks for sharing the photo!