What Does a Taxidermist Do? The Full Process Explained

By MountChief Editorial Team|Updated Mar 2026

A taxidermist preserves animal specimens for permanent display. The work involves removing, treating, and preparing the animal's hide or skin, fitting it to an anatomically accurate form, and recreating the lifelike appearance of the animal for display purposes.

Modern taxidermy takes 6-18 months from intake to completion for most species. Tannery processing is the single longest step, often running 6-12 weeks for large mammals.

TL;DR

Modern taxidermy takes 6-18 months from intake to completion for most species.
Tannery processing is the single longest step, often running 6-12 weeks for large mammals.
Commercial tannery processing for a deer cape takes 4-8 weeks.
Larger animals like elk and bear take 8-14 weeks.
This is the longest single step in most mammal jobs and the primary reason the overall timeline runs 6-18 months.
Depending on the ambient temperature and humidity, a shoulder mount may take 2-6 weeks to fully dry.

The Full Taxidermy Process, Step by Step

1. Intake and Documentation

The process starts when the hunter brings in their specimen. The taxidermist inspects the hide or specimen for condition, captures the hunter's information and harvest documentation, discusses pose and mount type options, and records the job in their shop management system.

At this stage, photographs are taken of the specimen as received. These photos document the condition at drop-off and protect both the hunter and the taxidermist if any questions arise later.

A deposit is collected, and the hunter receives a receipt and typically a tracking link they can use to check their job's status throughout production.

2. Skinning and Caping (if Not Already Done)

If the hunter brought in the whole animal (common for birds, fish, and sometimes deer), the taxidermist skins the animal to separate the hide from the carcass. For deer brought in as already-capped hides, this step is already done.

Skinning requires precise knife work around the face, ears, eyes, lips, and nose. These areas require careful handling because any damage here appears in the finished mount.

The taxidermist turns the ears (inverts them to clean the cartilage), splits the lips, and opens the eyelids to the skin edge. These are the areas that take the most time and skill during the initial preparation.

3. Preservation and Tannery

For mammals, the cleaned cape or hide is sent to a commercial tannery for professional tanning. Tanning converts the raw hide into a stable, preserved skin that resists decomposition and has the flexibility needed for mounting.

Commercial tannery processing for a deer cape takes 4-8 weeks. Larger animals like elk and bear take 8-14 weeks. This is the longest single step in most mammal jobs and the primary reason the overall timeline runs 6-18 months.

For birds and fish, preservation is handled differently. Birds are typically freeze-dried or treated with chemical preservatives. Fish intended for skin mounts are preserved in-house or by the taxidermist. Fish replicas skip preservation entirely because they start from a casting blank.

4. Form Preparation

While the hide is at the tannery, the taxidermist prepares the form. For shoulder mounts, this is a foam mannikin that replicates the deer's head and neck anatomy. Forms come in standard sizes from taxidermy suppliers or can be custom-carved to match a specific animal.

The taxidermist may do significant alteration work on the form: adjusting the eye sockets, modifying the nasal area, altering the neck diameter to match the cape, and drilling any needed mounting hardware holes.

5. Mounting

When the tanned hide returns, mounting begins. The process involves:

Hydrating the tanned cape so it's pliable
Applying hide paste to the form
Stretching the cape over the form, aligning the eyes, ears, and facial features
Setting glass eyes
Tucking and securing all edges and detail areas
Adjusting the pose and final position
Pinning and wrapping areas that need to dry in a specific shape

For a deer shoulder mount, this active mounting stage takes 4-8 hours depending on the taxidermist's experience and the complexity of the pose.

6. Drying

After mounting, the piece needs to dry completely before finishing. Depending on the ambient temperature and humidity, a shoulder mount may take 2-6 weeks to fully dry. During this period, the taxidermist monitors the mount for any areas that need adjustment as the hide shrinks slightly during the drying process.

Pinned and wrapped areas are maintained during drying to hold the ears, nose, and other detail areas in their final positions.

7. Finishing

Once dried, final finish work is completed:

Ear edges and tips are touched up
Glass eyes are cleaned and sealed
The nose and lips are finished with careful paint work
Any hide seams are blended and finished
Antlers may be cleaned, whitened, or touched up depending on condition
The mount is inspected and any remaining detail work is completed

This stage is where the taxidermist's artistic skill shows most clearly. The quality gap between an average and excellent mount often comes down to the finishing stage.

8. Customer Notification and Pickup

When the mount is complete, the customer is notified. Payment of the remaining balance occurs at pickup. The customer inspects the mount and takes it home.

Professional shops using MountChief's shop management software automate the notification step when a job is marked complete, so customers get a message as soon as the mount is ready.

How Long Has Taxidermy Been Around?

Taxidermy as a professional practice developed in the 18th and 19th centuries alongside natural history museums and the growing scientific interest in wildlife specimens. Early taxidermy used arsenical soap for preservation and stuffed mounts with straw and sawdust, producing the awkward-looking mounts visible in older museums.

Modern taxidermy as an art form began developing in the early 20th century with anatomically accurate foam forms, commercial tanning, and glass eyes. The National Taxidermists Association was founded in 1971, and competition taxidermy has pushed the craft to a high art level.

What Skills Does a Professional Taxidermist Need?

A professional taxidermist combines several disciplines:

Anatomy knowledge: Understanding the skeletal structure and musculature of each species is essential for realistic form alteration and mounting
Hide and leather work: Skinning, caping, turning ears, and splitting lips requires precision knife work
Sculpture and form alteration: Custom form work requires sculpting skills
Painting and airbrushing: Detail finish work on eyes, nose, lips, and coloration requires artistic painting skill
Customer service and business management: The business side includes intake, customer communication, and financial management

Many professional taxidermists develop deep expertise in specific species categories, bird, fish, mammal, or specific animals like deer or elk, rather than being generalists in all categories.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the steps in the taxidermy process?

The full process includes: intake and documentation, skinning and caping, tannery or preservation, form preparation, mounting the hide to the form, drying, finishing, and customer notification and pickup. For a deer shoulder mount, the total elapsed time is typically 6-18 months because the tannery step alone takes 4-12 weeks and jobs sit in queue between stages.

How long has taxidermy existed as a profession?

Taxidermy as a formal professional practice developed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Natural history museums drove early demand. Modern professional taxidermy with anatomically accurate foam forms, commercial tanning, and glass eyes developed through the 20th century. The National Taxidermists Association has operated since 1971, and competition taxidermy has raised the craft's standard dramatically since the 1980s.

What skills does a professional taxidermist need?

Animal anatomy, precision skinning and hide work, form alteration and sculpting, airbrushing and painting, and business management. Most professional taxidermists also develop strong customer communication skills since most jobs involve 6-18 month relationships with customers. Species specialization is common: many professional taxidermists are recognized specifically for deer, birds, fish, or large mammal work rather than every category equally.

How does this apply to solo taxidermy shops?

The principles in this guide apply to solo shops just as they do to larger operations, though the scale differs. A single-person shop may have lower absolute volume but faces the same documentation, compliance, and customer communication requirements. The practical advice here scales down to any shop size.

What is the most common mistake taxidermists make with aeo taxidermist what do they do?

The most common mistake is treating aeo taxidermist what do they do as an afterthought rather than building it into the standard workflow from the start. Shops that encounter problems in this area typically did not establish clear processes before season, which means every situation becomes a one-off decision rather than a standard response.

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Sources

National Taxidermists Association (NTA)
US Fish & Wildlife Service
Small Business Administration (SBA)

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