DETAILING OF FEATHERS | Bird Painting | Gouache on Paper | PART 2

Hello there, welcome back to my channel. This is the second part of the bird painting video series where I'm painting a robin bird using wash paint. In the first part of this painting video I explained the process of laying the base drawing for the painting along with putting the initial layers of paint and to develop the effect of furs in the body of the bird. If you haven't watched the first part of this video yet then I better suggest you to watch it first because then it will be more easy for you to understand the process that I'm going to focus in this video. I have given the video link for the first part in the form of card in the i button at the upper right corner of this video so please check it out. So you can see that at this stage this bird is mostly in shape in terms of its colors values and texture which are the three most important element of a realistic painting but this is not sufficient enough to make it look like close to the photograph that I'm trying to achieve for this whole bird. One thing which is missing at this stage is the subtle variations of colors and the submerging color from one to another which is the most important factor to make the furs of the bird look realistic because the furs in the bird's body is quite subtle and has a very slight deviation in values as well while moving from a certain value type to another. For an example the area around the eye has a lot of color variations like values of gray mixed with tint of blue along with gumboge yellow and sap green so all these colors are actually playing a key factor in defining the character of this bird which is being reflected through its eye so this is one of the most important thing to look after. Along with this the other example that can be taken under consideration is the gradual movement of the red tones in the neck of the bird merged with gray tones in the upper body of the bird so the most important thing here is to gradually bring that subtle variation in color which can eventually merged into one another without having noticeable shifts so this should be very subtle in nature. You can also see that how I'm just trying to render some of the furs in that neck region of the bird to create even more depth and contrast in the furs. In realistic painting as I said earlier it's all about building layers of paint one over another to create the feel of depth and continuity otherwise everything will look kind of fallen apart and not working as a whole unit where every individual unit will speak for itself but as a whole it will be a big failure. Now for rendering the furs I'm using different tones of vermilion mixed with a bit of burnt sienna and black to create some darker tones while for lighter tones I mixed vermilion with a bit of orange to warm up the colors a bit and then mixed with white to tint the colors. One important thing to notice here is that I'm just brushing the surface of the paper with my brush very gently with the tip of the brush with one stroke at a time. I'm just not trying to create a whole lot of fuzzy brush strokes going in all different directions because at this stage the layer of the paint is supposed to be very smooth and subtle in nature. You can follow my brush strokes to understand the process that I'm trying to apply in order to paint those subtle marks which will eventually represent the fine feathers of the bird. Now for the upper body of the bird which includes the wings of the bird is being painted in the similar fashion as in this case as well. I am following the similar techniques like earlier but the difference is in the selection of the color and the use of the brush strokes as in this case the wings contains a lot of small feathers which I have tried to replicate with short brush strokes. The colors that are mostly used in this part of the bird is a mixture of burnt sienna sap green and slight yellow ochre to highlight the feathers so this wing is a contrast to the body of the bird and hence it becomes the most important and integral part of the painting. Another important thing to look here is the variation in the values as in this region the values are very subtle yet appealing because the end area of the wing is relatively darker in values compared to the area moving above the wing so putting the right tonal variation along with the right texture becomes the most necessary part in this case so the dark should be dark enough to lighten the lighter values. I have also used a tint of vermilion mixed with yellow ochre in some areas to define depth in the wings of the bird as well and for attaining the darker values in the tail end of the wing I have used burnt sienna mixed with prussian blue and a bit of black as I said earlier as well I try to use minimal amount of ivory black in my paintings because it looks very a lot of variation in the feathers which are quite lighter in colors and hence it becomes more challenging to paint them with proper values. In this area I have used a lot of gray tones with a lot of Chinese white to create a very off-white kind of color which defines the highlighted areas in the feathers. I have also used a muted value of yellow ochre in between the gray tones to create depth in color. Now you can see that I'm just trying to paint the feathers in this area in real time and how I'm using the brush very gently to paint one stroke at a time. The brush that I'm using here is a double zero brush with a very fine tip and I'm literally using the tip of the brush to create fine stroke which defines the detailed feathers. In this case as well keeping the areas is blending the strokes where I'm not using any paint in my brush rather I'm damping my brush in water to make it slightly wet and then I am just brushing it in between the two strokes to blend them together which creates a smooth transition between the colors and create a very subtle look. You can also see that I'm just using a lot of colors in the furs which may look crazy but it is the thing which will make your painting look more real because in reality the furs are not only of one color and apart from that there are many reflected colors as well so keeping a good to establish and connect the remaining furs in the lower body of the bird. Now at this stage I'm just making a few more brush strokes here and there to connect the whole body of the bird and to look it more organic and real. I'm also painting another layer of dark tone in the shadow area of the tree trunk on which the bird is sitting to make it even more appealing. Now with a few more impasto brush strokes in the background I can call this painting off. So here is the finished piece guys. Thanks a lot for watching. If this video was helpful for you then please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. See you all with a new video next week. Till then take care. Hey guys thanks a lot for watching. If you want to support my work then please do like, comment and share my works and also don't forget to subscribe to my channel and hit the bell icon which is very important so that you get notified as soon as I post a new video.