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Goshawk — Basic Wing Tutorial
Published: 2008-01-09 04:34:09 +0000 UTC; Views: 14595; Favourites: 238; Downloads: 0
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Description
People have been bugging me to do this for ages, and I finally got around to it. There's so much more I could have said, but I decided to try and keep it simple.Those "pile-of-fluff" wings annoy the hell out of me... but then I am a bird fanatic and study bird anatomy. Still, I think that having a good understanding of bird anatomy is necessary for drawing wings; it looks good and makes you look knowledgeable.
A couple of links to help you out:
coloured map of wing feathers: [link]
amazing wing photo collection: [link]
Good luck! Remember - it's taken me, what, almost six years to get this good at wings? And I'm still not prefect... folded wings and certain angles still give me all kinds of Hell. You're not going to draw perfect wings on your first try unless you're copying a photo - and no, I don't use photos references except on very rare occasions when I need to know how certain things fold.
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Comments: 53
Thank you! I'm glad you think it's helpful. I'm considering doing a new version with more anatomy stuff now that I have an actual ornithology textbook to reference.
I look forward to seeing more wing stuff from you!
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Thank you for showing me! It's great to see what people have made using my tutorial.
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can I please have permission to post this tutorial in sigresource.com? with a link back to your DA?
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I'd prefer if you posted just the link to my tutorial and not the full picture. I'm... not really comfortable with my resources being posted on other sites.
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ok hun i assure you .. no intention of piracy at all 
but I will do as requested
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I'm sure you have no intention of piracy, I'm just paranoid.
Thank you!
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I understand 
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Thanks, this is really helpful and informative. I was wondering if you had any good link to sites on being a falconer? I just always found it interest in birds.
I was actually reading about working with golden eagle a while ago, I heard it was really dangerous unless you're really good because they can unpredictable. I don't know if thats true or not though!
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You're welcome! [link] This is an excellent website that covers many aspects of falconry. Also, check your state's wildlife/parks/game agency for their falconry regulations as well as the US Fish and Wildlife service. Falconry is extremely time consuming, so I don't suggest taking it up unless you've done a lot of research. Hell, I've done a ton of research and I'm still not ready to get my permits.
Working with golden eagles is extremely dangerous. They can kill you. You really have to know what you're doing.
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u r giving me hope i have to practice if i want to draw amazing animals lol..lets start drawing!
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w00t! You did it ^_^ Now I can point folks to this if they need help (not to mention I could use a refresher every now and then)
I tried my best on that Corvus thing...but I got really effing tired and there was such a small portion of his wings I was drawing so....It's not bad, better than most could do at this stage in the game. Its awesome you should see it...
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Yep. Your nagging won out. lol
Can't wait to see him..... I hate shading the lesser coverts, so it's okay if you got lazy.
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I did hah and for people like us its not that great but you'll like what I added in the background.
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Interesting...
I did wonder if the prmary esction of the wing was the equivalent of the human hand. Now I know.
I don't spend a lot of time looking at birds.
For obvious reasons.
Thanks for the Tutorial.
It may come in handy one day.
(does this Tut apply to chicken wings?)
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Yep, it is.
lol No problem!
Yeah, it applies to all bird wings. The first link I put in my description is actually a chicken wing.
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I didn't check the links.
Sorry.
Heh.
My GF likes chickens.
She wants us to keep them as pets one day.
One day I'll have to ween myself onto the idea of handling a bird.
One day.
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I didn't check the links.
Sorry.
Heh.
My GF likes chickens.
She wants us to keep them as pets one day.
One day I'll have to ween myself onto the idea of handkling a bird.
One day.
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Bad boy! They're very helpful.
She likes chickens?!
Those birds are really stupid... and messy. And loud...
*imagines Gaz handling chickens* lol......
Meanwhile, I'll be a falconer handling birds of prey that can rip your spine out. Have I mentioned that I want to fly a golden eagle someday?
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But apparently quite affectionate.
I dunno about loud.
If you avoid getting Leghorns they're not so bad.
And we all know roosters are pro-active anyway.
You can't fly on a golden eagle... can you?
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Affectionate? Since when? Must be a type of chicken I haven't met.
You mean spurs? Those things are vicious...
No, silly. I'm talking about falconry. When a falconer says they fly a bird, it means they've hunted with that bird. Do you know anything about falconry, or is everything I'm saying new to you?
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Fuck Spurs...
x_x
Ugh...
I dunno my brain hurts and I think theres still quite a fair bit Don't know about falconry.
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Well, falconry did originate in Europe and was popular in Britain. I know that you Brits don't have to go through all the licensing and paperwork we Americans have to in order to do falconry. I always laugh when I see a British falconer flying a Harris's Hawk.... because they're from here, not Europe. lol And yet they're so popular in British falconry... Have I ever mentioned that you Brits are hilarious?
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Lots of people find us hilarious.
Not that I fully understand why.
¬_¬
I dunno why it should be any easier for us to manhandle protected/endangered species wether birds of Prey or not.
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Brits have a very dry and witty sense of humour. I enjoy that type of humour.
We have something called the Migratory Bird Act, which protects all migratory birds, not just endangered birds, though those are protected even more heavily. There are buttloads of permitting and paperwork involved... But Britain doesn't have a Migratory Bird Act or equivalent. So you can have a bird of prey just like a pet. How wise that is, though...
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Dry, perhaps. Yes.
Some would say it's kind of "dead pan" I dunno.
Anyway I agree.
I'm sure the RSPB would get involved if a wild bird, protected by migration or the endangered species list regardless. It's unlawful as far as anyones concerned.
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Royal Society for the Protection of Birds or something like that, right? I've been on their website. I read somewhere that, if the bird isn't endangered, you could keep it like a pet and go on your merry falconer way without a license. Maybe the laws have changed...
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Well most Birds of Prey are protected species.
Keeping Pigeons is Ill advised.
Litterally, you will get ill.
YUK!
Keeping a raven could be done I guess.
*shrug*
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Cool. I don't really know that much about British wildlife laws... not yet at least.
Pigeons are nasty. They fly well, though.
Keeping a raven here is illegal... but I want to anyway.
Dangerous, though.
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Perhaps yeah...
those buggers are carnivorous and I doubt they're tamable at all!
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You can't domesticate them, but you can kind of befriend them....
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Yeah...
good luck with that though.
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Come now, you think I'm afraid of getting bitten? I know I will.
I work with animals; getting hurt is a given.
Also, not everyone is as afraid of birds as you.
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Not even slightly.
In a humanoid sense, Ravens are the equivalent of a Mercenary.
They serve their own purposes and come and go as they please,
you can try make them a friend, but don't expect them to be so loyal.
If you wanted me to put a fine point on it there it is...
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Well, seemed like it...
That's what I like about them. They're also brilliant.
I wouldn't expect it to be a loyal pet... I've studied falconry, and God knows birds of prey are not loyal, loving pets. I don't even consider them pets.
That's why earning their trust means so much more.
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I believe falcons to be loyal, their very trusting as far as I'm lead to believe and a trusting animal is a trustworthy one...
IMHO
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Falcons? LOLOLOLOLOL Not really, dear. They tend to be high-strung, and if they decide to leave you, they're gone. Not to mention that if they don't like your face, they just might nip it up.
They're not as bad as accipiters, though......... freaking psycho birds.
Popular culture makes falcons out to be noble, honourable creatures, but that's not quite the case. You have to work with them to get a true feel of them. It's hard to describe them with words.
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I see...
culture has mislead me there then.
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Now I wanna draw birds and get tendinitis also!! Well I wanna draw some thing with wings.
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Have fun and good luck! Remember... practice practice practice. And you don't want tendinitis, trust me...
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I could never quite grasp the feather structure on a bird wing before, though I knew the gist of it.
After reading this tutorial I have a much better understanding, so I want to thank you for putting this up. It's well written, easy to understand, and the examples are nicely done. It was also a good idea to add the different wing types at the end, showing that even wings can offer a lot of variety.
That colored diagram is also really helpful too. I'll have to check the photo collection tomorrow, it's late here.
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I'm glad it helped! I think *windfalcon has a more detailed tutorial. You should check hers out too!
Everyone I send those two links to says they help a lot.
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