Happy Wet Beast Wednesday

Wing tutorial~

Since it has been asked, I made a little breakdown on how to draw wings.

So, first thing to understand is wing anatomy. I used a swan wing as reference for my artwork. Divide the wing into blocks of feathers. There's sort of three layers to the feathers outlined in the second picture, and these divided along the top joint of the wing where it folds. See the second image. Make sure you bring in these nice, flowy shapes here!

Now that you have these big shapes, you can cut into them and make the individual shapes of the primary and secondary feathers (layer 3.) also make sure they overlap correctly depending on if you are drawing the wing from the front or the back. make sure you stick with a nice rythm and have the feathers get gradually bigger as you get closer to the tip. Like this:

when you go ahead and draw that layer 2 of coverts, make sure that every feather you drew for the bottom layer has (approximately) a feather overlapping it (so you have pretty much the same number of feathers in each layer) and that they line up nicely. But you can also make them a bit more ruffled. Like this:

Other than the flight feathers, the very top part of the wing is very smooth, with shorter, more rounded feathers (almost half-circles!). They can lie very flat or also look a lot more fluffy. think of them almost like overlapping scales. There is also the Alula at the top of the wing, a sort of extra feathery bit that sticks out over the primaries. also don't forget the scapulars which cover over the shoulder blade and are on top when the wing is folded. The Scapulars also have two layers of feathers. (see first graphic).

From there, it's only a matter of lineart and shading or however you want to finish your artwork. Hope this helps with the structure! Drawing wings folded together is a whole other story that I'm not going to get into here... lol.

TL:DR: understand the structure of wings and use references to get it right, work from big shapes to small shapes.

Edit: I demand to be tagged in the results, I desperately need to see more wing art. ÒwÓ

more birdsy stuff;

so i’m definitely an avian hybrid thingy (you know, bird legs, wings, feathers and tail but still humanoid) but i might also be a bird therian? like i can very much see myself as a bird, especially falcons or similar birds and parakeets or similar birds, so maybe something like a cladotherian bird? Idk

A little celebration! I have been doing breath training for a bit, but have only recently started to take it more seriously now that I know what to do. When I first started holding my breath (statically out of the water) for 30 seconds was a real challenge and the furthest I could go was just under 40 seconds. Today I made it to 1 minute 20 seconds, which is twice the length of time which is really quite quick! I am also now able to breathe more or less continuously at 30 second intervals - 5 seconds in, 15 seconds hold, 10 seconds out (though I have to look at a clock to keep the timing). But I am making good progress and can breather deeper and fuller, I can feel the muscles in my back in particular stretch with each breath, and the long slow breaths are becoming more comfortable and better resisting the stinging of the carbondioxide. On next to 2 minutes - 120 seconds!

[x]

first attempts at moodboards, not completely sure if i like them but it was fun :3

An orca (Orcinus orca) breaches off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, USA

by Guy Schmickle

Orca. Filmed in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. From Planet Earth III - Ocean (2023).

Btw if you are a winged being and you REALLY want to fly, you should look into paramotoring!

Paramotoring is one of the cheapest, easiest, and most accessible forms of aviation!

It is where you take a paraglider, and attach it to a propeller you wear on your back. This allows you to take off right from the ground!

There are two ways to do it:

By foot, where you wear the motor like a backpack and run, then slide into your seat (which is attached to the motor) once you're up in the air!

And by a Trike, a 3 wheeled frame that attaches to your motor/paraglider, allowing you to sit as you take off!

This is one of the most accessible sports, as you don't need all too much strength or mobility to do it! It is pretty expensive to get into, but once you have your whole set together, and some training, its pretty easy to maintain!

•ﻌ•𐂯𐂯𐂯𐂯𐂯𐂯𐂯𐂯𐂯𐂯𐂯𐂯𐂯𐂯𐂯•ﻌ•

I get a lot of behavioral shifts/urges, and very strong wing shifts as a Trico, and it makes me feel really dysphoric knowing I can't fly. I'm really hoping one day I'll be able to afford a trike set, and training. I cannot wait to be in the sky one day!

I can't wait to feel the wind on my feathers, being face to face with the sun as it sets. I can't wait to feel weightless for a while, like I have no troubles. I can't wait to feel free!

Southern resident orcas, also known as the southern resident killer whales (SRKW), are an exclusively fish-eating ecotype of orcas that live in and around the Salish Sea. They differ genetically from transient orcas as well as having different dialects and diets. © Rachel Haight - Orca Network

Orca hunting herring. Filmed in Norway. From The Norwegian Fjords: Life in the Twilights (2018).