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windfalcon — Deciduous
Published: 2011-07-31 17:38:32 +0000 UTC; Views: 6242; Favourites: 413; Downloads: 119
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EDIT: After some suggestions from *Zephyri , I made some changes to the leaves. Then I saw some other things that bothered me so I fixed those too. :3 The changes are pretty significant, which is why I'm editing this. The first version can be seen here: [link] if you're curious.Broad-winged hawks are an under-appreciated species. These incredible little hawks migrate from the northeastern United States all the way to South America. They leave in late August and don't return until April. That is one impressive migration! They also eat pretty much anything they can get their talons on, and unlike most buteos, make their home in thick forests.
I have the pleasure of working with one of these awesome birds, and painted this through inspiration of Chico, an educational bird at Horizon Wings Raptor Rehabilitation and Education Center . Chico fell out of the nest as a chick and broke his wing in such a way that it never healed right, so he was raised as a program bird. He is one of the most expressive birds I know, and he is always the first to spot another raptor overhead. If we see Chico look up, we look up too, and most of the time there will be something soaring high above.
This is a sister piece to Coniferous - another fantasy-touched raptor painting (broad-wings do not have purple-tinged feathers in real life!), but in a leafy environment instead of evergreen.
Watercolor and colored pencil on cold-press Fabriano, 8 X 10 inches
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Comments: 41
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I love the way you did the leaves! They really add to this portrait.
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Great work on the details and all the small parts, your watercolor skills are inspiring! Well done!
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Yes, I see a huge difference. I really like the leaves now, I need to get good at foliage >.<
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Even lovelier; the light and reflective surfaces are much better represented.
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Ditto on the photo at thumbnail stage! Gorgeous handling of tonal range. And I'm not sure how you could put much more detail in the leaves - potentially a little more colour variation - get some pure ochres, and maybe even some pink blushes in there here and there to give it a little variation, and give it some colour rhythym with the hawk - maybe even a quick pass of a deep purple in the shadows? Either way a teensy point in what's a gorgeous piece. You're putting us all to shame banging out these awesome artworks.
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I did some edits on the leaves - you might have to force refresh to see them. You can compare it to the original here: [link]
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Oh! See, that's the sort of suggestion I was looking for :D Purples in the leaves, I didn't even think of that. The monochrome was bothering me a bit, particularly in the highlights. I may go back and add a wash of rose in places and see what that does. I used a little purple in the shadows, but I think it got swallowed up by all the green. Then again, I was using ultramarine violet, which is a weaker shade than something like, say, dioxazine.
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Yay! The touch of purples really ties the leaves in with the bird.. makes them feel more cohesive! Nicely tweaked!
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I knew there was something off about the leaves, but I couldn't place it. Thanks for your help :3
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Oh man, when I saw the icon in my inbox I thought this was a photo! lol WONDERFUL job with the lighting, and the details as usual!
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Stunning! the hawk is so beautiful, i love his eyes, and the detail in the feathers and leaves is amazing! Truly a wonderful piece of art!!!!!!
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No problem! They're a wonderful organization.
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again, such beautyfull artwork,
love the grean and brown colortones,
Phill
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Someone I used to know online had a conure named Chico. Anyhow very well done and very interesting that he serves as a raptor detector.
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This is really beautiful and well done. When I saw the thumbnail I thought it was a photo, but I can see now that I was wrong. Thank you for the information.
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very lovely! I love pretty much any hawk, and broad wings are one of my fav! I really like how you've done the breast feathers, looks nice and fluffy! :'D
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Chico is very fluffy in real life :0 You should see him in the winter! He fluffs to double his size.
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haaha ooh I love fluffy birds! 8D
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I think I saw one of these in a dead tree we have in our front yard. Impressive bird!
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I love the multicolored undertones and the leaves are really well done. Thanks for the info too
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I love how you did the colours on the wing, but I would have liked to see a little more detail in the leaves as well. I work a little with birds as well, but I'm still studying animal care, but my inernship will be on the bird department of a lokal zoo.
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How so? I'd love to hear your suggestions 
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The bird and it's feathers shuold be the most detailed thats true, but the leaves are a bit too plain looking, witch is a shame for the rest of the drawing. Maybe a little more shade in the leaves would help. Just don't look at the references anymore and play with the colours a little like you did with the wings.
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After a suggestion from *Zephyri , I made some changes. :3 You might have to force-refresh to see them, but she mentioned the leaves needed some color variation. It wasn't a problem with using reference but rather making the leaves to monochrome.
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