Learn taxidermy & insect pinning at your own pace.
30 min • Squirrel Mount Step-by-Step
Pretty Dead guides you through taxidermy and insect pinning step by step, helping you understand the techniques, anatomy, tools and materials behind the work. When something doesn’t go to plan, you’ll also learn how to troubleshoot it — so you’re not just following instructions, you’re learning how to work independently.
You crushed your goal of completing 3 small mammal mounts this month.
Follow clear, practical guidance through each stage of your project, from preparation through finishing.
Learn why techniques work, how materials behave, and how anatomy influences the finished piece.
Figure out what happened, what you can do about it, and how to avoid the same problem next time.
Pretty Dead gives you practical, step-by-step guidance built around what you’re actually making. Learn techniques, understand anatomy and materials, troubleshoot problems as they happen, and get help figuring out what comes next.
There are no weekly assignments and no falling behind. Work through a project from start to finish, learn a specific skill, or come back whenever you need help at your workbench.
Get recommendations based on your experience, interests and current projects.
Learn practical taxidermy and insect pinning techniques with clear, focused guidance.
Explore anatomy, structure and proportion so you understand what’s happening beneath the surface.
Know what you need, why you need it, and find suitable alternatives when possible.
Follow complete taxidermy and insect pinning projects at your own pace.
Figure out what went wrong, what you can fix, and what to do differently next time.
Look back at finished projects, see what you’ve improved and decide what you want to work on next.
Get practical feedback and guidance based on the project you’re working on.
Discover useful tools, materials, suppliers, workshops and opportunities to keep learning.
Teaching taxidermy since 2017, with more than a decade of professional practice behind the work.
Pretty Dead Taxidermy was founded in 2014, bringing together art, anatomy, traditional taxidermy skills and practical problem-solving. Since 2017, we’ve taught hands-on taxidermy workshops to students ranging from complete beginners to people developing professional skills.
Our approach to teaching is simple: understand what you’re doing, understand why you’re doing it, and learn how to solve problems when things don’t go exactly to plan. Because in taxidermy, they often don’t.
After years of teaching in person, we saw the same challenge again and again. Students could follow along confidently in a workshop, but once they were back at their own workbench, remembering every little detail — or figuring out what went wrong — was much harder.
So we built Pretty Dead’s virtual coaching app to bring that guidance home with you.
Instead of rigid lessons or one-size-fits-all instructions, the app helps guide you through your own projects step by step, understand techniques and anatomy, choose tools and materials, troubleshoot problems, and build confidence through actually making things.
Traditional skills don’t need old-fashioned teaching methods.
Whether you’re making your first rat, pinning your first insect, or developing more advanced skills, Pretty Dead is here to help you understand the craft, solve problems and become a more independent maker.
Built with powerful AI, this app is unlike anything you've ever used before. Your entire experience will be designed just for you.
It only takes a few minutes to get started.
Share your experience, interests and the kinds of projects you want to work on.
Pretty Dead uses your answers to recommend projects, skills and resources that match your interests and experience.
Prep • 3 min
Lesson • 5 min
Project • 30 min
Reflection • 6 min
Follow step-by-step taxidermy or insect pinning projects, learn individual techniques, or pick up something you’ve already started.
as of Aug 23
as of Aug 24
Troubleshoot problems, ask questions, review your work and figure out what to do next.
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Feedback from people who have learned with Pretty Dead.
Tell us what you want to learn and what you’re working on, and Pretty Dead will tailor the guidance, projects and troubleshooting to you — so you can build your skills at your own pace.
