I’ve been working on two bears for a woman in IL. The fur is an absolutely beautiful dark mink–nearly black. It is probably one of the prettiest furs I’ve worked with. However, when working with dark fur it can be hard to distinguish the facial features as much. Not only does the fur have a shine that distracts from the details, but the dark color tends to de-emphasize seams. As a result, it can be difficult to get a good expression on the face of a bear made completely out of dark fur.

I gave the woman a choice of having me create the whole bear from the fur she sent or making a two-toned bear using some lighter mink I had on hand.

I initiall suggested that the face be done in the lighter mink and the muzzle be in the darker mink. However, she asked me to make the head dark with a light muzzle instead.

I was very pleased with the way the bears turned out in the end.