"Teach me to paint Eagle Feathers properly, please" Topic

Hi, list full of clever miniature painters. I am in process of finishing a good batch of Plains Indians and have left the many eagle feathers for last. I've tried two methods to make those feathers look realistic, or at least emotive, and failed. They look like little bits of poorly-disguised metal.

Could those of you who have solved this problem please share your technique with the rest of us? What colors, drybrushes, washes, etc, do you use to get the proper look?

I, for one, will be grateful.

Thanks, Chick

Hello Chick,

I was once arrested for having eagle feathers but was released when I was able to produce white turkey feathers that I promptly painted to LOOK like eagle feathers.

I'll tell you but you're on your own with the Federal game and wildlife people!

Ok, here's how, paint the whole feather ( I'm assuming they're 28mm ) the darkest brown you have, then lightly dry brush with the darkest gray. On the very tip of the feather paint an off white V with the point towards the shaft. Then fill in the V with off white and highlight with a bright white. But I'm Scottish, so what would I know about American Indian eagle feathers.

As always at your service,

Hairy Haggis

Yeah, feathers are a real to paint so that they don't look naff. Mainly because people insist on sculpting the damn things as rough surfaced so you can "see" the individual filaments! What I really want is something nice and flat and smooth with a raised shaft, like a real flight feather, not something off an extra fluffy ostrich.

Anyway, not brilliant, but the best I can manage for plains indian feathers is to paint them all white. Then do a thin brown wash to pick out the detail. Finally paint a black V on the tip. Technically speaking this should be a dark brown V as they are golden eagle feathers, but black just somehow looks better. If I wasn't so lazy I'd dry brush brown over it!

Evil Twin,

You might consider having photo-etched feather made (there are lots of model railroad photo-etch kits, if you can get the art work). You could have the feathers done as you like, and the added bonous of having them really thin.

Just a thought…

- Joe

Not my area this one. However IIRC coolminiornot.com had something on painting eagle feathers in either the article section or on an artist's link. Sorry I can only remember how great it looked but not its exact whereabouts.

Thanks, Clever painters ! I will try those techniques. They have GOT to be better than my lame attempt.

Chick

Hmmm, I reread Stronty Girl and Haggis, and one has dark feather with light tip, the other light feather with dark tip. Are both correct? The "classic" feathered head-dress shows white body with dark brown tips.

Haggis, I would imagine you have done the research, what with your "almost arrested" story.

Chick

Grognard – sounds interesting! Now all I need is an army of minions to file off the already present chunky, fluffy feathers!

Chick Lewis – it probably depends which species of eagle you pull the feathers off and what body part you got them from. From what I've read, the plains Indians considered the golden eagle sacred and preferred tail feathers from juvenile golden eagles (to get the white with black tip – adults don't have any white plumage). But the bald eagle meant more to the people of the Pacific Northwest.