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TheAntimonyElement β€” Bird Wing Tutorial

Published: 2010-01-18 08:52:21 +0000 UTC; Views: 353027; Favourites: 16123; Downloads: 7183
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Description Ta-da! Finally! You peeps requested this, like, AGES ago, and here it is! Hope you learn something! Please don't be scared off by its length, I just talk a lot.

I browsed a bit through dA and I couldn't find a tutorial on bird wings that really covered it ALL--from bones to wing shapes and feather groups. All the tuts I found seemed to assume that you were starting with some basic knowledge of how bird wings worked. I don't know if you are, so here's one that works from the ground up!

Yes, this is based off the tutorial style of the incomparable (Go read her tutorials on drawing humans; I promise you will learn something!) because I feel that it's a very clear and dynamic way to show people stuff. So yeah.

Other Stuff:
Interesting web sites, if you want to learn more:
[link] --Explore this site some--it has some really cool interactive stuff. Also that game! XD My bobolink always gets eaten halfway through.
[link] --some more in-depth stuff on the physics involved.
[link] --lots of info on wing shape and purpose!

Great reference books:
-Birds of Prey: Majestic Masters of the Skies by Paul D. Frost--glorious, two-page spreads full of raptor close-ups. My copy is much loved.
-Raptors of the World by James Ferguson-Lees and David A. Christie--what need I say?
-Reader's Digest Book of North American Birds -- beautifully illustrated, with cool tidbits of information about all the birds.

...and I don't want to hear that you don't have the money to buy books. Libraries need love too, and there is one near you--go get to know it!

All photos that are not from Wikipedia were taken by me. The canada goose picture was found here: [link] and the peregrine falcon here: [link] .

Phew. That was rather exhausting (and hopefully exhaustive! ) so I hope you enjoy and appreciate! Wings are gorgeous; do them justice!

Also: has a wonderful gallery full of images of birds in flight--go check it out, it's a great reference! Thanks to for suggesting it.

:EDIT: HOMFG A DD THANK YOU SO MUCH and !!!!!!
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Comments: 2652

Xoraithan [2020-01-06 23:36:34 +0000 UTC]

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DinoGirlJ [2019-06-25 01:14:40 +0000 UTC]

This.
This is a flipping lifesaver, thank you so much.

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Zadric1 [2019-03-18 09:39:08 +0000 UTC]

this is a really helpful

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AuttumntheGuardian [2018-04-13 02:13:59 +0000 UTC]

You are a hero. The best wing tutoriel i've ever found! Funny, interesting, educational, it's just perfect!

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Midday-Mew [2018-04-11 21:41:38 +0000 UTC]

Which category of wings listed in section 2 of this tutorial do scarlet macaw wings fall under?

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TheAntimonyElement In reply to Midday-Mew [2019-05-06 17:43:06 +0000 UTC]

Scarlet macaw wings are short-ish and broad, because they have to navigate through dense jungle when the fly. Β 

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Midday-Mew In reply to TheAntimonyElement [2019-05-07 19:18:59 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! ^^

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Pushdug [2018-02-15 19:39:23 +0000 UTC]

I found this tutorial years ago, when I first joined dA. I keep going back to it year after year, because it's so darn good. Informative, correct, easy to understand, full of good tips and tricks. Thank you for making it!

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BrokenFin369 [2018-01-12 23:34:06 +0000 UTC]

Oh my gosh you don't know how much this helps. I'm on a quest to correctly draw angel wings.

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TheAntimonyElement In reply to BrokenFin369 [2018-01-21 23:09:17 +0000 UTC]

Glad to hear it!Β 

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pokemonsonicgirl123 [2017-12-22 23:30:26 +0000 UTC]

This is really helpful. I've only drawn an avian, but I can definitely use this for ref.

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TheAntimonyElement In reply to pokemonsonicgirl123 [2018-01-01 07:30:44 +0000 UTC]

I'm glad! Β 

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NinjaSquid42 [2017-10-31 00:25:18 +0000 UTC]

This is a really nice and informative post! Thanks for making this, I'm going to use it to help draw my bird OCs from now on!

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TheAntimonyElement In reply to NinjaSquid42 [2018-01-01 07:31:57 +0000 UTC]

Excellent! Β 

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ArcFireFox [2017-08-26 00:49:56 +0000 UTC]

Thankyou so much for this tutorial. Β Β 
Wings are my favorite anatomy to draw, but also one of the hardest.Β  this will really help me. ^^

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TheAntimonyElement In reply to ArcFireFox [2018-01-01 07:33:17 +0000 UTC]

I'm glad to hear it! Β 

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A-Bright-Idea In reply to ArcFireFox [2017-08-29 02:38:02 +0000 UTC]

thanks for sharing this with me!

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ArcFireFox In reply to A-Bright-Idea [2017-08-29 03:51:26 +0000 UTC]

You are most welcome. this is the best wing tutorial I have ever seen. ^^
Only down side is that I cant seem to get it to zoom in properly when looking at it outside of this Deviant page.Β Β  But at least we got access to it here. ^^

Speaking of which, here ya go Β  You may find use of this too. XD

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Helmie-Art In reply to ArcFireFox [2017-09-01 19:54:30 +0000 UTC]

This is the best tutorial indeed. I read it through a few times, there's so many thing to pay attention to! Practice is key here, for all of us ^^

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stars-water [2017-08-08 01:19:05 +0000 UTC]

I realize this is ages old, but... Seriously, thank you so much for this. It's such a pain in the ass to get everything to fully make sense in my head, and not only is this wonderful information but the added humor in it makes it a lot easier to keep going.

The one thing I'd argue you didn't really add in here is the full range of "shoulder" movement.

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TheAntimonyElement In reply to stars-water [2018-01-01 07:35:04 +0000 UTC]

I'm glad to hear it was helpful for you!Β 

Honestly, this is so old now, I might make an updated version at some point... Β 

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stars-water In reply to TheAntimonyElement [2018-01-01 12:49:33 +0000 UTC]

Haha, I was wondering a bit about that when I saw the date. ^^ If you ever do, I'd love to know about it!

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W0lfpup [2017-06-26 02:06:13 +0000 UTC]

this was made 7 years ago but its soooo helpfulΒ 

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TheAntimonyElement In reply to W0lfpup [2018-01-01 07:35:15 +0000 UTC]

Β 

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AngelicDragonPuppy [2017-06-06 04:17:16 +0000 UTC]

This is incredibly helpful and I thank you for making it. I feel like such a goober for never noticing the front wing / back wing differences before!

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TheAntimonyElement In reply to AngelicDragonPuppy [2018-01-01 07:35:50 +0000 UTC]

Believe me, when I finally noticed it, so did I! XDΒ 

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Neo-Zander [2017-03-28 15:17:01 +0000 UTC]

I keep coming back to this tutorial! Some of the best reference material for drawing wings ever. Excellent and insightful work. Cheers!

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OshieK [2017-03-21 21:43:20 +0000 UTC]

Wow, this is very helpful and insightful! Thank you for making this tutorial, it's extremely helpful. And, i'm pretty sure i shall be using it the next time i decided to draw something with wings.

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revirag [2017-03-11 15:42:04 +0000 UTC]

This is great! Thank you

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YellowLuckyPig [2016-12-04 08:11:08 +0000 UTC]

I have question is there dragon tutorial somewhere, if anyone reads this post do send me the links, any kind of dragons, I take pretty much angel wings tutorials I trying to design a many wing backed human -> is my objective.Β  dragons I have yet to get be very possible.

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LimitlessEndeavours [2016-11-15 18:11:38 +0000 UTC]


This is me before your tutorial:Β  Β 
This is me after:Β  Β 



Now I hate wings a little less! Thanks for this great tutorial. This helps me out SO much in my next projectΒ 

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Chica247 [2016-11-06 20:11:02 +0000 UTC]

Oh wow this was a big help :0

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Buttergriffin332 [2016-10-17 23:06:03 +0000 UTC]

No one here realizes how happy I was when I saw the tiny griffin in there!!!

I'll be looking at this a lot for my art

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CureRougefan [2016-10-04 21:56:41 +0000 UTC]

Very helpful!

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Capsura [2016-04-17 21:07:30 +0000 UTC]

YEEEEEEES

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Flynn-Fletcher4ever [2016-03-18 06:47:47 +0000 UTC]

nice one. thanks for the tutorialΒ Β Β 

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PersonaThief [2016-03-01 21:03:25 +0000 UTC]

This is a fantastic tutorial, and I just HAD to thank you! My wings have gone from:

www.furaffinity.net/view/11254…

to

www.furaffinity.net/view/19248… andΒ www.furaffinity.net/view/19239…

All thanks to going over your tutorial (and practice) a buncha times!

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sunziana [2016-02-01 16:55:06 +0000 UTC]

great tutorial

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MayneStreet [2016-01-22 21:32:27 +0000 UTC]

Bless.

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CatchLite [2016-01-08 23:07:07 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much! This is an outstanding tutorial on wings, feathers and more! Very informative and fun to read as well. I've learned so much from this

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HazelLeaf04 [2016-01-05 13:00:23 +0000 UTC]

This helped me so much! (The wings on the character I was drawing were giving me more trouble than the actual character does in the story she's in.) πŸ˜„ Thanks for this!

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SilverStarStrike [2015-12-25 04:04:05 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for this! I really want to improve on wing anatomy. >.<

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chinmoy808 [2015-12-17 06:56:40 +0000 UTC]

Great on getting dromaeosaur wings. What's that? You're confused? Well, DINOSAURS HAD FEATHERS!

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DoSkippy [2015-12-10 02:07:26 +0000 UTC]

Instafave Instawatch Instacomment Instasubscribe Instalove Instafollow Instastalk Instaatyourwindow Instahello ^-^

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duckchoo [2015-12-04 14:34:45 +0000 UTC]

This is so informative and it's very helpful.

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bluesonic1 [2015-12-01 09:31:19 +0000 UTC]

Love this so much, thank you for making it (Aaaand I just looked at your username and realised you're a DC artist, very cool! )

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Shade-Neko [2015-11-27 21:14:45 +0000 UTC]

I love you for this, thanks mate!!

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Starbronze [2015-11-10 01:45:33 +0000 UTC]

This is probably the most helpful thing I have come across on Deviant Art. Ever. Before and after my account.Β  Β 
before this I just drew spike feather stuff that i couldn't figure out what was wrong with. I came across this tutorial by comment stalking (surprise) and it changed my life forevaaaah Β 


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ImmaGoddamPony [2015-10-22 21:19:19 +0000 UTC]

thanks for this omg

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InfiniteEscape-MoogB [2015-10-15 23:56:43 +0000 UTC]

I think I got an affection erection from this like, I love love love reading about birds and understanding them more. This tutorial is so detailed and so interestingly fun. Good job!

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