I will not claim to be an expert at real wing anatomy by any means, but here’s a quick lil tutorial on how I draw wings.
Most wings can be divided into sections, which helps when drawing them. I call these sections of feathers the ultra-technical terms Top, Short, and Long. (I know there are real anatomical terms for these, folks…this is more of a shorthand to stylize type of deal.)
Sometimes people draw the Short feathers section going all the way up over the tops of the Long section, but there are generally always Top, Short, and Long sections even in stylized wing art.
Once you have a process for drawing wings down, you can just sketch them out, but when you’re just learning it helps a lot to think about what the shape is under the feathers. Here’s a good process to try:
Draw a stick figure wing with circles where the joints are.
Pretend it’s a bald wing (spicy chicken wing?) and draw the shape you think the fleshy parts are under feathers.
Draw the basic outline of the wing. It’s good to think of where the edges of the Top, Short, and Long sections are as you draw the outline.
Add more feather details, keeping them short except for in the Long section.
You can apply this same kind of process to wings with different numbers of joints, chibi wings, bigger more elaborate wings…
Tips & Suggestions:
Try making the feathers pointy or round on the ends.
Draw the feathers going from the top edge downward. All of the tips point down unless you’re drawing wings that are really fluffy on top.
Remember the feathers overlap – draw the edges of the Top section first. so the Short and Long look like they are coming from underneath the Top.
Knowing how to separate the wing into sections will help you draw wings from different angles and in different poses, too.
Curving lines will make feathers look soft, and very straight lines will make them look stiff. Both can be interesting looks for wings, especially sharp or armored wings!
Reference pictures are the right way to learn to draw something! I encourage you to type “wings” into Google Images and look at not just photos of real wings, but how many other artists have stylized wings in their art.
Since you are stylizing, don’t stress about being perfectly anatomically correct. Of course there’s nothing WRONG with drawing accurate-to-life wings, but it’s not a requirement.
Mess around with proportions – make the Long feathers reaaaally long, or make the Top feathers fluffy and the rest smooth, etc. Have fun with it!
“Look at their pink noses, Sam. That one is colored like an Oreo. Look, that one has a star on his forehead. Sam, Sam, listen to the little sounds they make. We don’t deserve guinea pigs.”
This is all I had in me tonight guys. I’m just too drained to do much more…
Dean’s fist swung hard and connected with Sam’s jaw. He went
down, hard.
Sam’s hand went up automatically in self-defense.
But Dean had pummeled into him until his eyes were bloodied,
his cheek split open, his breath coming in sharp gasps. But Sam had refused to
fight back. He never raised a hand to his older brother as Dean cracked his
jaw, sending sparks to the corners of his eyes.
“Dean,” he said. It was simple, it was quiet. It wasn’t enough.
“Dean, this isn’t you. Please.” He tried again.
Dean smiled. “Oh Sammy, I have to disagree.” He leaned in
close to his brother, until Sam could feel his breath He gently caressed his
brother’s cheek, running his thumb across the broken skin. “This is the most me
I have ever been.”
Sam was near losing consciousness. He wouldn’t be able to
take much more of this beating.
Which is why he welcomed the final punch that sent him into
darkness.
_____
The bruising on his cheek took over a week to heal. The deep
purples and blues had faded into greens and yellows. By the time Cas returned, the
cut had healed into a nice thin scar running just below his eye.
When Cas saw him on the couch, he ran over to him, nearly
tripping on his way.
“Sam! What happened? Where’s Dean?” Sam jumped when Cas’
thumb touched his cheek, right where Dean had.
“It’s a long story Cas,” said Sam, holding his ribs and
grimacing as he sat up. “I’m glad you’re home.”
Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more…?
Nick and Charlie are characters from my debut novel, Solitaire. Heartstopper updates three times a month, on the 1st, 11th, and 21st.
i really appreciate reblogs and shares – please help me spread word about this comic! i’m so excited for people to read it!
Karate, SPN Demonic Octopus Guardian 