How To Draw Feathers With Colored Pencils

Colored Pencil Demo – Feathers
past Kathie Miller

Every wonder how artists get the look of feathers? Well I'one thousand going to show you lot how to do it. It's non difficult, but information technology is time consuming. And so get yourself nice and comfy and lets go started. I'm going to show yous step past step how it'due south done. You can follow along with me if you want, or simply read through the kickoff time then come back and follow the steps. Above all, bask the process, don't allow it frustrate you, there is naught like do to become y'all more comfortable with colored pencils.

For the supplies needed, checkout
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Here is our subject field. The magnificent Peregrine Falcon. I'g using Canson Mi-Teintes Light Blue paper. The lite bluish colour was perfect for my mid tones. When you utilise white paper, you lot volition notice you are forever fighting the stark white. Make things easier for yourself and first with a colored paper.

I transfer the drawing onto the newspaper using white transfer paper. When transferring your sketch, be very careful not to press too hard. You lot don't want to emboss the lines into the watercolor newspaper. Later on you have all your lines transferred, go back and lightly erase only the area y'all will be working on. As you work your way through the piece, erase the lines as you go. You want to just barely see them.

I always start with the eyes. If I'1000 not happy with them, the residual of the piece doesn't become done and I start over. The eyes of the peregrine, in fact all the falcons, expect like black marbles, but in fact, if you look really close and the lite is just right, yous can see the pupil and run across that their eye color is actually a very dark dark-brown. I tried to bear witness that here.

Colors
Highlight – white then blue slate
Iris and student – Burnt umber, blackness

Here is a close upwards of the eye. I start lightly with the various colors and sort of sneak up on it. I lay downwards the highlights first, lightly, only to found where they will be. And then I start with the burnt umber again lightly to fill up in where I want it. I slowly piece of work dorsum and forth with the burnt umber and blackness, establishing the various tones. I slowly work with more and more than force per unit area to become the color right down into the newspaper. Somewhen using the colorless blender to really push it into the newspaper then none of the paper shows through. Be conscientious with the colorless blender. One time you lot use it, you can't go back and add anymore color. And then exist sure you're satisfied with what you have before you use it.

Side by side I do the beak. Over again, I work slowly, first laying down where each color volition be and slowly increase the pressure. I burnish this down completely to make information technology await actually solid.Colors:
Cere (nose expanse) White, foam, yellow ochre
Beak – white, blue slate, slate grey, cool grey xxx, l, 70, black

First I lay downwards lightly the dark areas. This will exist the various plume groups and individual feathers. You will notice that at this stage it looks very sketchy. That's OK, were only establishing where everything is correct now. Only mapping out the feather groups.

Colors
Forehead – White, goldenrod, ginger root
Top – burnt umber, warm grey 90, ginger root
dorsum – warm grayness 90, ginger root, warm grey 30

I and then go back and pick out the highlights. These steps are washed lightly and very scribbly. Right now, I'm just blocking in the different areas. Working with a calorie-free impact correct now.

Colors
White, goldenrod, ginger root

The next step is to start getting the diverse shades of gray. It's a little hard to see hither because the grey I used is nigh the exact friction match of the paper. Just it'southward necessary then the next shades don't become likewise lite or as well dark.

Still more, dorsum and forth with the shades to alloy them and first filling in the paper. But all the same not going likewise hard with my pressure.

For now, I'll end here with the head feathers. I'm sure I'll come back later to darken them, but I don't want to become too dark just nevertheless. I too merely blocked in the breast feathers using white but to get a sense of the tonal value around it. I'1000 still using the same colors mentioned above.

I now showtime working on the dorsum of the cervix. It'southward the same steps here, only I endeavor to make them a piffling warmer. Dark colour first, highlights so the centre colors.

I'll stop working on this area until afterward and and so encounter if they demand to be darker. I know they will, but they tin stay like this for now.

On to the back feathers. I started them the opposite from the neck feathers and started with the lightest areas showtime. This is to lay down the feather edges. I'one thousand still using the aforementioned colors here, just in the opposite way as the neck feathers. Light, medium and then dark.

I build each plume i at a time and become the shading of each 1 downward.

I'll zoom in here to testify the pace by step on how I do these feathers. The one important thing to remember when doing feathers is always follow the direction of the barbs. Even though I don't actually describe every single barb, it looks like I do in the stop because I e'er become in the right direction. Even if you're only burnishing, go in the barbs direction.

Outset I lay down the lightest areas and bespeak where the shaft is.

Colors
cool grey 10, 20, 70, 90, low-cal umber

And so I come up back and indicate where the shadows are.

Now it'due south just a matter of dorsum and along with the various shades of grey to fill in the feather existence conscientious non to loose the highlights likewise soon.

I've done a few more to evidence you that every now and again, I'll go back and add together some shadows or splits in the feathers.

A few more than feathers. Detect I do each i separately. I've found that if I try to exercise a few at the same time, they finish upward looking all the aforementioned. It's better to do each one separately, then they are fresh and slightly different from each other. This can be very fourth dimension consuming, but it's the all-time way of doing it.

Again I work the highlights first, then the medium shade

I've shown hither that I get dorsum with a light dark-brown to warm the feathers up a scrap. The feathers of a peregrine are odd in that they are blue/grey, merely with a warm over tone to them.

I'm virtually finished with the wing feathers. I just continued working each plume one at a time.

Phew! Finally finished the terminal wing feather. Good thing I'g not doing the unabridged bird. I might go dorsum and darken these. Don't know yet.

I finished blocking in the breast area. I left some of the paper showing through using the color as some of my shadows.

Colors
white, cream, ginger root, goldenrod, sienna brown

I'one thousand just working dorsum and forth with the white, yellows and reds to get the shading just correct and to fill in the paper.

Finished

I went dorsum into the neck feathers and darkened them a niggling beingness careful not to loose the lighter colors. I think I'll leave it for now. I added the shadow under the beak. It might be a fleck likewise lite. I'll live with information technology for awhile and see if at that place are whatsoever areas that need to be worked a chip more.

When using various colors, I lay down either the darkest colour first, or in some areas the lightest first, then piece of work back and forth with all the colors until the paper gets filled up (non burnished, just covered). And then, depending on the look I want, I will get-go the burnishing. Sometimes, I don't brighten at all, I just continue working the colors deeper into the paper. I don't employ heavier pressure, just keep my pencils sharp and get tighter and tighter until I'yard getting the pencil betoken right into the tiny flecks to encompass them up. I don't go really crazy because if I want it completely covered, I'll brighten to push button the colors correct into the newspaper.

I utilise various colors to blend, I will pick i of the centre colors to blend a trivial and so use the colorless blender to lightly blend the colors. With the heavy burnishing I will start with the various colors, such as white and so the blueish/greys in the neb, then when I feel I take enough color down, I volition get back and really work the colors down into the paper. In other areas, I will burnish a petty with the eye colour or lightest color then lightly burnish with the colorless blender to push the colors around a bit, only not so much that information technology really covers the paper upwards.

I hope you lot enjoyed this demonstration.

To see more demos cheque out my website

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Source: https://thenaturalgift.wordpress.com/art-tutorials/colored-pencil-feathers/

Posted by: mackwently99.blogspot.com

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