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Published: 2007-04-06 07:12:16 +0000 UTC; Views: 52120; Favourites: 702; Downloads: 1511
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Finally!If this still leaves questions, go ahead and bounce them off me and I'll do my best to answer...
don't tell me if I spelled or typo'ed anything though, because i'll just smack you ;}
a few more notes about acrylics, for those who are new to the medium..
there's stuff you can buy to mix them with to extend the drying time or to increase transparency without making them all runny, but I only ever used just plain ol' water. When you're blocking your colors in, just use them straight to get the quickest buildup. Once you've moved to your details, mixing them with a little water to thin them down makes it a lot easier to work them into tiny spaces. Don't overload your brush, and make sure to clean it every time you switch colors.
Since acrylics are plastic, my favorite pallete is just an old bucket lid. Once they've dried, they peel back off and you can use it over and over... acrylics dry awfully fast, but if you need to save your color blobs, you can slip the whole thing into a big zip-loc bag and it'll keep for a few days. I discovered one day that the plastic from the bag and the plastic from the lid actually brought some of my dried paint back to life, which I didn't think was possible with acrylics, but there you go!
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Comments: 106
ravencry [2014-07-09 22:36:22 +0000 UTC]
Thank you for the very informative tutorial, I love the fact that you use laymans terms that I can easily understand. I have never painted a feather (successfully), but I bead the shafts of the feathers and wanted to add a better focal point rather than just the beads.
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featherpainter [2013-07-31 06:13:17 +0000 UTC]
I paint on feathers also, I agree with Nambroth. I like my feather looking natural. During the painting process I use packing tape on the back of the feather, when I am done painting I Β pull it off very slowly. Everyone has their own way of doing things, this is just what works best for me.
Also, Canadian Geese and the Sand Crane are illegal to paint on.Β
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imalwaystired [2013-06-25 06:56:18 +0000 UTC]
I have a few questions! So if we were to glaze the feather, we would mix water and gloss to be able to spray? Or we could just paint the backround a solid color?? I love your feather painting and hope to do one soon!
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burrumgirl [2013-03-02 22:04:06 +0000 UTC]
Excellent tutorial, thank you so much. Just love your paintings too, thank you.
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Kitrei-Sirto [2013-01-21 17:08:07 +0000 UTC]
this is cool, ive just discovered this and its cool so i tried it ^^ its fun, although my painting isnt as good as yours but its still good
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o0Moonlight-Sonata0o [2013-01-16 23:30:24 +0000 UTC]
Awesome painting! Random question, do you think you could paint the entire feather?
I'm making black angel wings for a costume, and, having to drop $100 on 2 lbs of black feathers, I want to be able to reuse them. However, the other wings I'm looking at making are white with pink tips. Is there any way that something similar to this would work?
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Treekami [2012-04-12 04:05:20 +0000 UTC]
this is perfect! I want to start painting on feathers and this will help me big time. thank you <3
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LiliaceaeTigrinum [2012-01-10 01:26:11 +0000 UTC]
I JUST discovered this method of painting and I have to admit I am enthralled! I recently started experimenting in acrylics and want something unique to do but not something that is going to drain my pocket dry. This tutorial is exactly what I was looking for. It's simple, I did like seeing the pallette lol, and left me with very few questions. I do want to ask what the fixative is that you use to hold the feather still. Is it something like hairspray? Or is it more of an actual artistic spray that must be bought?
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wafflemuncher [2011-06-04 18:11:39 +0000 UTC]
This...I will try...It will not be nearly as...amazing...as your work...but you have inspired me!
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Fire13 [2011-05-07 21:18:50 +0000 UTC]
I've only seen two other feather painting tutorials on here but I think yours makes the most sense to me. For someone that has worked with acrylics very little, you do a great job of explaining how the paint will act on the feather and how to build it up. As for preparing the feather, I haven't found anyone who explains it like that and I think you have e best way of doing it. I work with feathers a lot and sometimes spray them with fixative just to make them easier to use so it makes sense to do that before painting them.
Thank you for putting up this tutorial, it really is very helpful. Definate favorite.
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justjingles [2010-10-14 23:48:22 +0000 UTC]
You may have just saved my painting class grade. Thank you.
does this work with oil paint?
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Novawuff In reply to justjingles [2011-01-28 23:57:56 +0000 UTC]
augh just realized i never replied. oil paints will work if you use them over the top of an acrylic base layer. i've tried using them right on top of a raw feather and the oil vehicle from the paints seeped into the feather barbs and made an oil stain halo around the colored paint part. it looked awful and ruined the feather
but on top of acrylics should work.. the acrylic will seal the feather and act like a gesso to build the oils onto :}
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YvonniFhang [2010-10-11 19:16:30 +0000 UTC]
I have a huge collection of feathers at home.... This makes me want to experiment... ^^
Thanks much for the tutorial.
Oh, and by the way, all your art is AWESOME!
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XhorsexgleekX [2010-09-13 00:38:21 +0000 UTC]
How do you suggest I start feather painting? I have no idea where I'll get the real feathers...
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Novawuff In reply to XhorsexgleekX [2010-09-13 03:40:54 +0000 UTC]
most of mine are turkey.. if you don't know anyone who bird hunts, you can get them at craft stores, and also order them online. lemme see if i can look any up real quick...
okay, first result in google for "turkey feathers"
[link]
looks like it woudl be a good place to start..goose feathers also work well. i've seen some really neat one were folks took 2 or 3 flat feathers (so, a turkey tail feather, but not any kind of wing feather) and glued them together on the back, fanning them out a bit like a deck of cards..
[link]
like that! so if you can't find any feathers big enough for what you want to paint, you can always use more of them...
there's some really dumb laws regarding which bird feathers are okay to keep and which ones aren't.. but you're always safe with game birds, which are any of the ones that you can shoot during hunting season. :}
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XhorsexgleekX In reply to Novawuff [2010-09-13 20:21:27 +0000 UTC]
Thanks I'll be sure to try it!
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babbletrish [2010-06-01 21:20:37 +0000 UTC]
Wonderful! I've always wondered how these were made. Thanks for making this!
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wolf-in-spirit [2010-04-18 19:44:23 +0000 UTC]
WOW great tutorial! great advice! thanks for sharing!!!
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Wol4ica [2010-01-07 18:37:14 +0000 UTC]
Awesome, always wanted to know, how is it done. Thanks for that!
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DarkDyami [2009-12-18 21:53:11 +0000 UTC]
OMFG THANK YOU! So much I been looking for about 1 hour now on the web, and everyone starts out with their feathers already sticking together and I have been trying to find someone who says how the hell do the feather stick together while paints. Thank you so much! If I have any questions when painting my Feather do you mind if I note you about them?
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gosia2903 [2009-09-24 13:22:47 +0000 UTC]
I see that it heavy work painting such miracles. How many painted you but?
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wildwolves [2009-06-26 17:19:19 +0000 UTC]
so do you use spray paint or what do you use and also would hairspray work to keep it together?
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PitchblackDragon [2009-01-15 12:41:14 +0000 UTC]
That's a awesome tut you made here ^^
Does it work to fix it with some kind of hairspray too??
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Novawuff In reply to PitchblackDragon [2009-01-16 04:43:41 +0000 UTC]
i dunno... never tried it! i would have to guess that it would work for awhile, but probably not last as long as a laquer spray (since hairspray is meant to be washed out in a day or two...)
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PitchblackDragon In reply to Novawuff [2009-01-16 08:33:36 +0000 UTC]
hmmm yeah but as for the time I draw on the feather it could
be enough. I better just try it and if it doesn't work I'll try something else ^^
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Olvium [2008-09-19 15:58:24 +0000 UTC]
Thank you very much for the great tutorial, the fixative spray was very useful tip. Well done!
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Blood-Of-Anubis [2008-06-14 13:39:10 +0000 UTC]
im going to go try this now, but one question....
i cant find a shop in my town that sells gloss or fixative spray. so would hairspray work the same way?
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Novawuff In reply to Blood-Of-Anubis [2008-06-20 07:12:15 +0000 UTC]
ummm... I'm not sure, actually.. I'e never tried hairspray.... try it!
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wendyBAZUTA In reply to Novawuff [2010-12-21 16:04:47 +0000 UTC]
I know this comment is a bit old that I am replying to but I just wanted to say to anyone reading down these comments to be careful when using hairspray as a fixative for your art work because as time goes by it can go kinda yellowy.
Thanks for the tut btw!
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alhattal [2008-04-04 15:51:27 +0000 UTC]
Wow! u r really good! Do you have to use those fixy spray things , or the shiny stuff?? Coz i don't have any of that ind 2 b honest, *whisper* i am not that keen on buying it...although! Do u think fimo gloss stuff will work?? Or if u dont know that, nail varnish?? i dunno but i'm gonna give it a try anyway!!!
Cheers for putting up a tuto. and it would be fantasticotional if u could answey my quesies!!
Thanks again!
Jessi
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ludicrouslouisa [2008-04-01 03:12:52 +0000 UTC]
I've had the feather mites too :S
That sounds great! Only problem is that I don't have any fixative sprays..
I'm not sure what the laws on feathers are in Australia, but I think they're a lot slacker. However, we have much stricter laws of import of non native species..hence it's VERY hard to buy an exotic parrot here.
I have a lot of cockatoo, magpie and chicken feathers..cocky feathers would be nice to try - they're a lovely clean white with a bit of lemon yellow.
Thanks for making the tute
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QuickSilverRaye [2008-02-26 17:18:12 +0000 UTC]
That's quite impressive. In all my life I've never ever thought of feather painting. And you did a fantastic tutorial there. Very informative. I'm new to this form of art. But is there a way to fix mistakes of sorts? Can you spray fixative on the final product and it'll make it last? Just curious
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wolfA216 [2008-01-08 18:08:05 +0000 UTC]
Do you think that painting the feather with an acrylic gloss gel medium would work instead of a fixative? Because thats all i've got for now, though i'm going to try and get a fixative sometime.
And btw what type of feathers do you usually use?
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monoguru [2007-12-04 16:38:07 +0000 UTC]
well, in asked before and here is the answer, thanks!
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Baphita [2007-07-25 03:11:20 +0000 UTC]
Es muy impresionante: ojalΓ‘ pudiera hacer algo asΓ.
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skullmage550 [2007-06-23 02:33:55 +0000 UTC]
Thank you so much! I was looking for one of these. I have been asking many people these 4 questions...
1. What kind of feathers do you use.
2. Where do you get your feathers?
3. What kind of paint do you use and what brand?
4. How can you stop the things coming out from the shaft (don't know proper name) from splitting? Is there a technique or practice?
Now I can stop looking for people! Thanks again!! But can you answer #1 - 2 for me?
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Novawuff In reply to skullmage550 [2007-06-23 06:20:45 +0000 UTC]
welllllllll anything big.. sandhill crane, turkey, and occasionlly candada goose..
although you probably won't be able to get the sandhill crane ones
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LilMillie [2007-06-03 13:24:57 +0000 UTC]
THATS SO COOL! i wanna do something like that *searches for feathers*
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NauroK [2007-05-22 05:17:22 +0000 UTC]
I've been wondering this for a long time now >w<. I thought it would be sooo much harder then this! But it seems pretty easy, I'll try it once I can find a feather o.O.
Do you have any were certain you get yours?
Anyways awesome tut! Thanks for making it ^^.
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FrescaFrostbringer [2007-05-15 17:07:23 +0000 UTC]
Whooopeee, I just love this^^ Now my aunt has to give me turkey-feathers, then i can start xD Thank you for this great help, wuff
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lavonne [2007-04-26 04:06:05 +0000 UTC]
lol! i know i have asked some tips from you before, this actually helps a ton to see it. thanks!
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gryphonflight [2007-04-25 15:28:48 +0000 UTC]
i was wondering if you could tell me what kind of spray you use for keeping the feather together, i hope it's not a trade secret cuz i wanna try, but i wanna make sure that i do it right. ^ ^
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