AuroraInbags Kingdom Death
Phoenix Feathers - walkthrough
The phoenix feathers aren't all that hard to do, just takes a bit of patience since there's so many of them. The colors I've been using are Scale75s: Violet SC-56, Mediterranean Blue SC-51, Carribean Blue SC-49, Graphene Grey SC-58, Creme Weiss SW-027
I start by giving the entire area a layer or two of the violet.
Normally I work on a row of feathers, but for this walkthrough, I'll show on a single. I cover approximately two thirds of the feather in the Mediterranean Blue. I try to follow the lines in the feather, so the flow looks more natural.
Then I add a few layers of the Carribean Blue in approximately the last third of the feather.
Now I start mixing my colors. The violet gets mixed with the Mediterranean Blue. I add some airbrush thinner to the mix. Not that I am using an aribrush, but it makes the paint more transparent. Then I glaze this color over the transition between the violet and blue on the feather, blending the colors a little bit. I blend the Mediterranean Blue with the Carribean Blue and do the same for the lower part of the feather. Lastly I thin some Graphene Grey with water, to an almost inky consistency, and draw a line down the middle of the feather. Lifting up the brush in the end, so it doesn't go all the way down.
I then mix some of the Violet with the Creme White, and paint small lines on the Violet part of the feather, going halfway down the Violet and Blue mix on the feather. I repeat this with a mix of the Mediterrenean Blue and Creme White, going over the Blue area, and a bit down into the mix of the Mediterrenean Blue and Carribean Blue. And then finishing the last part of the feather with Carribean Blue and Creme White mixed together. The lighter you make these lines, the more contrast you'll get on your wings, giving depth to the thing.
And this is how the feather looks when its all done (this picture is more true to the colors than the ones above). A lot of work, but not very difficult.
And here's how my palette looks, while working. The top row from left to right is the 5 base colors I work with. Below is the Violet and Mediterranean Blue mix and the Mediterranean Blue and carribean Blue mix. and the bottom row shows the 3 base colors mixed with the creme white.Some thoughts: For big projects like this I really like working with the Scale75 colors, cause I can thin them quite a lot, even with just water, and the pigments still hold together. If you work with different brands, consider using a thinner medium, rather than water, for thinning the colors. Specially if you go all the way to an inky consistency.
I originaly zenith primed this bird, but chose to ignore highlight and shadows, when i decided to go this route with the feathers. Its taking long enough as it is, and I think the vibrancy of the wings makes up for the lack of depth. That said, adding some even lighter stribes in the middle of the feathers where they are at their highest, and darkening down the feathers close to the body, would probably add a lot to the bird (including work :p )
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