Best Meer Non-Traditional Animal Artisan (and best American Bison)?

[BurleyVonPuffington]

If someone's had an artisan do a pet from a photo and was satisfied, that would be likely near perfect, but my question is who does the best animals OTHER than horse, eagle, dragon, dolphin, Labrador Retriever or similar, or bulldog (surprisingly to me at least, some do bulldogs very well). Carvers are readily available who can do all those shapes beyond just well, and into awesome.

However, many carvers can't tell the difference between a bear and a lion, and I've not found a soul who can do a good American Bison. They all look inaccurate and/or cartoonish to me, with the horns, hair or skull structure way off. And I've looked at a thousand pics, and my eyes and rest of my head are hurting.

Before the end of the year, I'd like to commission a cropped Doberman Pinscher (tiny bowl diameter, and behind head, is fine, since it won't be smoked often at all and I mainly want an art piece; the cropped ears would break off if I smoked it a lot), and an accurate-looking American Bison for a good-looking, dedicated smoker in a pretty large size.

Any names at all to even so much as consider?

 

[brian64]

I've not found a soul who can do a good American Bison.

Yanik is my favorite carver...below is my buffalo carved by him. The only problem is his drilling is hit and miss.

 

[BurleyVonPuffington]

Thanks! Very nice! I'll search his work specifically. Most owls seem to look horrible, too, but I've seen one that was perfect, so I have hope. It only takes one guy or lady who both can and will do it for me to get what I want.

EDIT: Checked and I was right. I saw a tiger Yanik did that looked distinctly like a tiger and not any other big cat or a bear. Expensive, but I'll pay if it looks right. I'll take some money out of the food budget; I could stand to lose 25 lb.

So now I have at least one bison/buffalo option. What frustrates me most about the looking for a carver thing is the human face/head is supposed to be the hardest thing in all of art to sculpt or draw, and we have LOTS of carvers who do INCREDIBLE human faces, and some of the same people will then do a lion that looks like a bear and vice versa.

 

[9mmpuffer]

Yanik is the best but his engineering is terrible.

 

[anotherbob]

Thanks! Very nice! I'll search his work specifically. Most owls seem to look horrible, too, but I've seen one that was perfect, so I have hope. It only takes one guy or lady who both can and will do it for me to get what I want.

EDIT: Checked and I was right. I saw a tiger Yanik did that looked distinctly like a tiger and not any other big cat or a bear. Expensive, but I'll pay if it looks right. I'll take some money out of the food budget; I could stand to lose 25 lb.

So now I have at least one bison/buffalo option. What frustrates me most about the looking for a carver thing is the human face/head is supposed to be the hardest thing in all of art to sculpt or draw, and we have LOTS of carvers who do INCREDIBLE human faces, and some of the same people will then do a lion that looks like a bear and vice versa.

Not always sure realism is what they're going for. It's hard to tell when the thing being carved is iconic. But if money was no object you should see some of the antique meers and even briars from back in the day. Saw one meer with realistic skin texture.

 

[BurleyVonPuffington]

Not always sure realism is what they're going for. It's hard to tell when the thing being carved is iconic. But if money was no object you should see some of the antique meers and even briars from back in the day. Saw one meer with realistic skin texture.

You said...skin?! Wow.

 

[anotherbob]

You said...skin?! Wow.

yeah. It's that type of carving that in the 1600s would spread rumors about deviltry and necromantic alchemy. As in yeah it looks less like a carving and more like a proportionally shrunk head turned to mineral. Not even the most impressive one in my opinion. I saw one table top pipe that had a carved forest scene with dense foliage, The foliage was individually carved.
If I ever become filthy rich, before starting a charity to avoid the temptations and possible corruptions of life being too easy I am going to try and purchase a goodly collection of amazing antique meers.

 

[BurleyVonPuffington]

While I know the ears would need to be shortened a bit into a "working crop" to prevent them from breaking off, this is a bust from my office. It looks great, and it's really not complicated. It's almost all about perfect proportions, and balance, rather than an incredible amount of detail.

 

[BurleyVonPuffington]

yeah. It's that type of carving that in the 1600s would spread rumors about deviltry and necromantic alchemy. As in yeah it looks less like a carving and more like a proportionally shrunk head turned to mineral. Not even the most impressive one in my opinion. I saw one table top pipe that had a carved forest scene with dense foliage, The foliage was individually carved.
If I ever become filthy rich, before starting a charity to avoid the temptations and possible corruptions of life being too easy I am going to try and purchase a goodly collection of amazing antique meers.

OT, but I'm always thinking of good and/or funny names for new tobacco blends, and you've nailed two good ones there: Devilry (100% Latakia; cover art is Satan giving the finger to Pirate Kake and their weak sauce 75%); Necromantic Alchemy (contains every single one of the 79 known species of tobacco).