What I suggest for the antlers is boiling them for a short time so all the velvet comes off. The antlers will be different shades of brown to almost white in some places. Once you get all of the velvet off let them dry for a couple of days. You can go to an art/crafts store and pick up some oil paint in the small1 oz. tubes (Brown,Yellow and Black). Applya little dab of each coloron a piece of cardboard. I use a clean rag and start with brown first. Don't be affraid to mix the colorsto get the desired color. Apply the oil paint with rag and blend accordingly. If you notice that you have it a little to dark you can always clean the antlers off with paint or laquer thinner. Once you get the desired look, let the antlers dry for 24 hours.I suggest that you clean the skull when you boil the velvet off. You will have a very nice lookingmount. You can also usesome very light sand paper or steel wool to get the tips white. Hope this helps.