Red Dead Redemption 2 It’s Art Trophy Guide

It’s Art – Find a permanent home for the squirrel statue.  The squirrel statue you receive as a reward is from a long chain of hunting requests for the Wildlife Art Exhibition.  Begin this quest by picking it up from a bulletin board from a Post Office Station (Valentine, Saint Denis, etc).

The mission is from a Ms. Hobbs, and is called “A Better World, A New Friend.”   Read on to find out how to unlock the Red Dead Redemption 2 It’s Art Trophy.

Red Dead Redemption 2 It’s Art Trophy — What and Why?

This is a laborious achievement to complete, so you may be wondering what you’re in for.  Besides the accomplishment of unlocking the trophy, you get monetary rewards for fulfilling each hunting request.  There are 5 hunting requests in total, and the last one is only available from Epilogue 1.  You can complete the first 4 right as you get them, or wait until post-game to do them all.  It all depends on whether you’re in the mood to hunt down perfect carcasses, and if you need the money.

After you have completed all hunting requests and have met Ms. Hobbs, you are rewarded with the Squirrel Statue.  This item can be placed at Beecher’s Hope, above the fireplace in the living room.  After one day has past, the squirrel statue will disappear.  You can find it again and return it to the fireplace mantle.  In another day gone, it will disappear again.  You will have to find it 6 times in total — and the moment you recover it the 6th and final time, the trophy will then unlock.

Red Dead Redemption 2 It’s Art Trophy — Before You Begin…

• If you know where the general area of animal is located, you can travel out a ways and then come back and it should have respawned.  You should have another chance if it initially got away.  You’ll also need to use this tactic when the animal that is in it’s habitat is not of high quality (i.e. beaver or opossum, etc).
• Weather affects the availability of the animals.  You will find very few birds out during heavy rain.  Time of day also affects availability.  Opossums, for example, are nocturnal and only found at night.  Birds come out in the very early morning, starting at 5 AM.
• Animals can also be spooked by predators or environmental disruptions.  A bird perched on a bridge railing can fly away on it’s own when there are Strangers that cross the bridge.
• Use first-person view for finding and studying birds.  In third-person, it’s harder to look directly up towards the sky due to camera angle limits.
• Along with the previous point, use first-person view for shooting birds with the bow and arrow.  If they fly away overhead, it’s difficult to track them.
• Don’t bother with Dead Eye for birds using the Bow.  It’s not as effective.

Red Dead Redemption 2 It’s Art Trophy — More Tips

• Equip the Varmint Rifle to allow immediate lock-on to any animal for identification and info.
• Be careful while cooking at campsites.  You could cook some stringy meat, and find out soon after that it was the Perfect Chipmunk Carcass you needed for the request.
• For crafting the small game arrow, you’ll likely have the two common components: shotgun shells and arrows.  The final required material — Flight Feathers, are harder to come by can be plucked from certain birds, like the common Western Raven.
• From my experience, it’s not completely necessary to find a pristine, 3-star animal for a Perfect carcass.  I’ve been able to get Perfect carcasses with 2-star animals, but the kill weapon has to be the correct one.
• This guide is intended to be used in conjunction with the Video Guide.  Pay attention to what time of day it is, and what weapon is used.  You can click on the animal carcass name to jump directly to the appropriate part of the video.

Red Dead Redemption 2 It’s Art Trophy — Request #1

You’ll need perfect carcasses from every animal on the hunting request.  This requires that you use the right weapon.  You may have seen these critters all over the place.  When you’re paying them no mind, they love to run underneath the hooves of your horse’s path like insurance scammers.  Until you actually need to find them — then they’re nowhere to be found.

• Rabbit Carcass ➞ use Varmint Rifle
• Squirrel Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

Rabbits and squirrels are available for most of the day during daylight hours and cross nearly every trail or path.  There is no specific area where they congregate, so it’s just a matter of finding the high quality ones.  Squirrels can be found northwest of Valentine past the Dakota River, nearby the train tracks.

Red Dead Redemption 2 It’s Art Trophy — Request #2

• Cardinal Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

Directly west of Emerald Station, is Larned Sod.  Get to know this place well, because in the early mornings there are more than 3 different types of birds here that fulfill the hunting requests.  The Cardinal normally sits on the north side of the fence.  Start from the north at the three-way fork, which is far enough away to respawn the birds if you missed them.

• Woodpecker Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

The Woodpecker can be found east of Watson’s Cabin.  Be careful of the grizzly bear that roams nearby.

• Rat Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

Rats are harder to locate, and good quality ones at that.  A sure way to find a rat is within the Elysian Pool waterfall cave, although these are mangy rats.  But you may get lucky and get a perfect carcass.  Don’t forget your bow and lantern.

Red Dead Redemption 2 It’s Art Trophy — Request #3

• Oriole Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

South of Riggs Station.  Follow the path north of the Upper Montana River eastward.  At the end, there should be an oriole that spawns on a rock.  It should fly away as you approach, so prepare your bow ahead of time.

• Chipmunk Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

Chipmunks are like squirrels but less common.  Find them out during daylight hours; they’re usually chased by foxes or wolves.  Check the area east of the Wapiti Indian Reservation.

• Robin Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

Robins were one of the hardest birds for me to find and isolate.  There is a reliable spot where the American Robin spawns just north of Pronghorn Ranch.  It is nearby where the old hermit hag lives.  Following the Little Creek River all the way northwest until it ends, staying on the south-side of it.  Once near the end, a Robin should flutter and fly high into the sky.  It might circle around back, giving you the chance to bring it down.

• Opossum Carcass ➞ use Varmint Rifle

Opossums are nocturnal and can found during nighttime from 8 PM to 5 AM.  There are only a few spots in the map that opossums can be found, which is good since it narrows the region needed to patrol.  Head up north near the Wapiti Indian Reservation and camp on the flat clearing on the east side of the trail east of Donnor Falls.  Sleep until ‘Evening’, and then you can run your horse from the north trail bridge (over the water) all the way down to the train tracks (and then back up) until 5 AM.



Opossums can spawn at two points down this line — near the campsite at the three-way merge, or just a bit north of it.  The good thing about the opossums is that they are pretty slow, they always are near the trail, and they play dead when you get close.  Unless you get lucky and get a 3-star Opossum early, you’re probably going to have to camp and try this a few times.

For this request, get the Opossum last.  If you get it first, and then go hunting for the birds, the Opossum could turn rotten and then you’d have to go get another one again.  Or just turn it in and mail the carcass from the Post Office if possible.

Red Dead Redemption 2 It’s Art Trophy — Request #4

• Songbird Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

Any variety of Songbird will do.  You can always find some perched on the bridge railing over the Whinyard Strait in the mornings.  Approach quietly from either side of the trail.  No need for cover scent — just remain still and they will land there.  Larned Sod is also a reliable spot.

• Sparrow Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

Return to Larned Sod, where you got the Cardinal (or Songbird).  There are many varieties of Sparrow here in the early mornings, so take your pick.

• Toad Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

Easily found in O’Creagh’s Run during the evenings.  Just make sure you don’t stomp over them, which will ruin their quality.

• Bullfrog Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

Search for Bullfrogs around Bluewater Marsh, north of Saint Denis, in the evening or nighttime.  Use your Dead Eye vision to spot them clearly.

• Skunk Carcass ➞ use Varmint Rifle

Do you remember that trail you ran for the Opossum?  If you did it a few times, then you would notice that sometimes a skunk would run out onto the trail near the south end by the train tracks.  Camp near the site, and sleep until nighttime.  Run the trail from beyond the train tracks north to the camp so the skunk can spawn in.  Keep an eye eastward, since that is where the skunk’s location is.

Red Dead Redemption 2 It’s Art Trophy — Request #5

• Cedar Waxwing Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

Find a whole group of Waxwings just south of Riggs Station in the early morning or around noon.

• Blue Jay Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

West of Emerald Station.  Check out Larned Sod homestead.  A Blue Jay will always spawn on the south fence.  Make sure to approach it at some distance or else it will fly away too soon.  Beware of the owner that will turn aggressive.

• Bat Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

Bats can be found in the Elysian Pool waterfall cave.  They can be flying around in the inner sanctum, or if not, will fly out as you exit the cave near the entrance.  Don’t forget to retrieve your bow and lantern from your horse before heading in.

• Crow Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

Crows can be found in the Braithwaite fields in the evening time (around the ineffective scarecrow), but their presence is unreliable.  There is always one at Larned Sod on early morning, fair weather days.

• Beaver Carcass ➞ use Bow + Small Game Arrow

West of Van Horn trading post — just south of the Elysian Pool.  This is where the legendary beaver is located.  There seems to be only one beaver that spawns here, so if it’s not high quality, travel upwards north and then back down to make it spawn again.  The beaver in the video guide killed itself trying to run away.

Red Dead Redemption 2 It’s Art Trophy — Squirrel Statue Locations

After placing the squirrel statue at Beecher’s Hope, wait a day or so and it will have disappeared.  You can talk to Abigail and she might have something to say about it.  Find it, and place it back above the fireplace.  Tip: You can advance time by sleeping.  However, the game may limit you if you’ve slept too many times in succession.  To get around this, go to Blackwater and camp just south of it until ‘Night‘.  Then go into town, and attempt to enter the General Store or Barbershop.  The game will allow you to ‘Wait Until Morning’.

Below are the 6 locations:

1. The first time the squirrel statue is lost, you can find it in John and Abigail’s bedroom, inside a chest.
2. In the same bedroom, but check the fireplace.  A prompt will appear to retrieve the squirrel statue.
3. Go into the kitchen.  There is a ladder that goes straight up into Uncle’s room.  The squirrel statue is hidden inside a chest.
4. Next to the cow barn, there is a sheep enclosure.  The squirrel statue is placed in the wheelbarrow — a wheelbarrow that is normally not there.
5. Inside the cow barn, go up the ladder and check the chest.
6. The final squirrel statue location — located outside of Beecher’s Hope.  Northwest of Strawberry, travel to Mt. Shann and climb it’s peak.  It’s located there, and picking it up will unlock the trophy.

Leave a question or comment below!  Share this post and help others if this helped you.  Check back for more guides and articles on Red Dead Redemption 2.  Need help with the Weapons Expert Challenge?  Dinosaur Bone locations? The Secret Grave locations?  Or check here for all the Treasures in the game.