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Bird Wing Tutorial
Published: 2010-01-18 08:52:21 +0000 UTC; Views: 385565; Favourites: 16060; Downloads: 7189
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Description
Ta-da!
Finally! You peeps requested this, like, AGES ago, and here it is! Hope you learn something! 
Please don't be scared off by its length, I just talk a lot. 
I browsed a bit through dA and I couldn't find a tutorial on bird wings that really covered it ALL--from bones to wing shapes and feather groups. All the tuts I found seemed to assume that you were starting with some basic knowledge of how bird wings worked. I don't know if you are, so here's one that works from the ground up!
Yes, this is based off the tutorial style of the incomparable (Go read her tutorials on drawing humans; I promise you will learn something!) because I feel that it's a very clear and dynamic way to show people stuff. So yeah.
Other Stuff:
Interesting web sites, if you want to learn more:
[link] --Explore this site some--it has some really cool interactive stuff. Also that game! XD My bobolink always gets eaten halfway through.
[link] --some more in-depth stuff on the physics involved.
[link] --lots of info on wing shape and purpose!
Great reference books:
-Birds of Prey: Majestic Masters of the Skies by Paul D. Frost--glorious, two-page spreads full of raptor close-ups.
My copy is much loved. -Raptors of the World by James Ferguson-Lees and David A. Christie--what need I say?
-Reader's Digest Book of North American Birds -- beautifully illustrated, with cool tidbits of information about all the birds.
...and I don't want to hear that you don't have the money to buy books. Libraries need love too, and there is one near you--go get to know it!
All photos that are not from Wikipedia were taken by me. The canada goose picture was found here: [link] and the peregrine falcon here: [link] .
Phew. That was rather exhausting (and hopefully exhaustive!
) so I hope you enjoy and appreciate! Wings are gorgeous; do them justice! Also: has a wonderful gallery full of images of birds in flight--go check it out, it's a great reference!
Thanks to for suggesting it.:EDIT: HOMFG A DD THANK YOU SO MUCH and !!!!!!
Related content
Comments: 2653
I'm so glad to hear that, I'm happy it helped you!
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this is definately the best guide out there, you left no topic untouched, and it is so helpful for realistic bird wing rookies like me. I`ll most likely be reading this over and over everyday! thank you so much for putting it up, its wonderful!
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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! 
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I actually used "alula" earlier on Words with Friends, and didn't know what it meant xD
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Hahaha, well, NOW YOU KNOW. XDDD I love weird words.
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totalu awesome
thank you so much. ^^
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You're very welcome! ^^
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This has helped me so much with my own art! Thanks so much for creating this.
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You're so totally welcome, it's honestly just wonderful to hear that. 
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this is so well done and helpful!
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Thank you very much!
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this is like the best thing that ever happened to me in my quest to draw good wings. I still kinda suck but practice makes perfect, right?
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Absolutely! It took me years to figure out a lot of this stuff, and longer to get comfortable drawing it.
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This is absolutely amazing, thank you so much! 
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oh man! this thing is a beast! an super amazing tutorial I say
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Why thank you so much!
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This is amazing! Very helpful and I learned a few things by reading it.
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I'm so glad to hear that!
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Such a great tutorial. Thank you!
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You're so welcome, glad you liked it!
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This is AWESOME. Thank you.
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You're awesome too.
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after coming back and using references from this tutorial several times, i came to realize something
you forgot to tutor us on how to shade the damn things
lol i mean one could use the pics you provided as reference, but i remember i used to always shade each individual feather as if they were like scales xD; i still have some trouble shading, because feathered wings are just a pain in the butt
perhaps you can squeeze a little side note in there..? xD;
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Well, I'm not sure if I will be able to do a whole tutorial just on shading, because I personally suck at coloring things. 
Oh! One more thing: when coloring in big feathers (and big feathers only!) like the primaries and secondaries, I do actually draw out the vanes in the feather. That is, I draw in quick sketchy motions, starting at the shaft and moving up and out in a "V" shape from the shaft. See this drawing? [link] <--that much detail isn't needed, but you can definitely see the "direction" you should color in a feather. It really makes a difference in how realistic the final piece looks.
Hope that helped! :3
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[lol, i meant altering this deviation so it included shading]
lol tahnks for the notes, thats actually something i didnt know, about the feathers getting lighter at the base xD; which is weird, since i own like 20 birds, i guess i just never noticed taht. lol, i actually color my feathers dark at the base and light at the tips xD;; waht i did notice though is that usually with birds that dont have slotted feathers, the way the feathers are on the wing kinda makes it look like one shape, like a kite, rather than all the feathers really doing their own thing. i was observing some seagulls in my backyard and the feathers looked more like a pattern on the shape of the wing rather than actual individual feathers being thickly shaded. and the wings are particularly flat, rahter than scales [what i was talking about] where they puff or bump out a little bit, and theyre not really solid like scales either. lemme see if i can find one of my really super old pics to show you what im talking about xD [link] wow that took forever to find. lol, so dont critique this at all, cuz this was almost 2 years ago xD but see how the feathers look kinda... not-flat like they should? lol im gonna go ahead and advertise my art some more btw, but with good purpose xD this is one of my more recent works, like literally i drew this last week [link] theres still a few issues with the pfs and sfs, and detail is lacking, but i wanna first try and re-acquaint myself with feathered wing anatomy before i go into all the detail xD feathered wings are so difficult, why do they exist xD; why cant birds just be simple like bats my god.
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Well, I think the thing to keep in mind is that all wings, no matter what bird they're attached to, have their own "shape" that the feathers make up. Some wings are smoother and some are more jagged, but they all overlap to create that "kite" shape you were talking about. The best thing I can suggest to help with this is to practice the technique I showed in my tutorial, of drawing two "imaginary curves" for the shape of the wing before you actually draw in any feathers. You can erase the lines later, but your feathers should all line up around that curve. Primary feathers will probably "break out" of the lines a bit more, while secondary feathers will follow the curve almost perfectly, with no breaks. Does that make sense? Really, it's just a matter of practice.
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okay thanks :3
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This is really, REALLY helpful, truly. I've been doing wings wrong for years. :/
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Haha, no worries--it's never too late to improve!
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i remember drawing the evil the mop and brocolle, then drawing 1,2 and 3
now thx sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much,
this HELPS ALOOOTT
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You are soooooooo welcome!
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OH MY GOSH THANK YOU! This has finally enabled me to understand wings!
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Thank you, this is a great leap into understanding for me - having canvassed the Clamp-kawaii, mop and broccoli (eek!) styles in the past.
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It's so great to hear that, thank you! ...and never fear, I'm sure your characters will appreciate trading in their mops for really impressive wings!
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A true and sincere thanks for doing this tutorial.
I even had observed that for a opened wing, a basic shape of a thumb (don't forggeting the other rules and the anatomy) is a good start to draw a wing.
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It certainly is! The alula (thumb-feather) is really not a very major structure on a wing, but I use it all the time as a "starting point" when I draw wings, since it makes things so easy to visualize. Thank you so much for your comment, I'm glad the tutorial helped you!
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You'rewelcomeyou'rewelcomeyou'rewelcome.
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One of the best tutorials I have ever seen!
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Wow, thank you so much, I'm so glad you found it helpful!
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This is a really good tutorial!
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You're so totally welcome, I'm glad you found it useful!
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