It's hard to show "good skin" in photos,... there's a depth that just doesn't register well,... and "depth" is the key word to good skin. Good skin has depth, and a texture that's unique, and you really have to see a lot of Koi to register your eye properly on the details of it.
Here are a few photos that may help a little. Look at the texture of the skin, NOT at the colors,... and you can see "good skin". It's a lot like looking at fine porcelain,... there's a surface shine,... but there's also a unique translucency, or a bit of a 3D appearance,... rather than just paint on a flat surface.
The reason why we should try not to look at "color" so much when we're trying to learn good skin quality is this - so many people mistake "finish" for skin quality. They're not necessarily the same. As we know a Koi blossoms like a flower blossoms,... then peaks in beauty,... in a given amount of time. A pretty and "finished" show ready Koi can 'WOW" our eyes with just the completion of the color, but skin quality goes beyond that. SO,... when we understand what true "quality skin" is we can even look at non-gosanke, such as an Ochiba, a Benigoi, a Bekko, or whatever and see if the skin is good, or just okay, or even bad.
This Magoi shows INCREDIBLE skin quality. Notice it has a youthful appearance, a thickness and a depth,... and also a transluscency,... you can see "into" it somewhat.
Here's another example of a non-gosanke Koi that has great skin quality,... in the making. It's still very young here in this pic, but we can see the details or ingredients coming together.
Here's a fish that shows good color "finish", AND good skin quality,... but our eyes get drawn to the color immediately,... and it's hard to concentrate on the actual quality of the skin.
It is important to recognize color, BUT it's really is also important to not be fooled by it. If you can learn to look beyond the color you can spot good skin on even very young and immature Koi, and on tategoi type fish that won't show their true potential until much later.
-- Edited by Lotus Land Koi Farm at 14:35, 2008-08-01
-- Edited by Lotus Land Koi Farm at 14:37, 2008-08-01
