How to Paint Grey Feathers - Wings & Feathers Tutorials

Dear Craftworldians,

Marko Miladinović here with you today—welcome to our newest lesson!

In this tutorial, Aleksandra and I have prepared a lesson on painting feathers. This technique can be used to paint wings, feathers, or similar textures.

This particular tutorial focuses on many shades of gray, as I am painting dark gray wings. As always, contrast and ambiance play a big role in my painting approach. In the light areas, I will incorporate many lighter tonal variations of gray, while in the shadowed areas, the tones will gradually deepen into darker shades.

My underpainting consists of a cold violet base, with neutral magenta in the highlights. This violet underpainting helps harmonize both cooler and warmer magenta tones, creating a cohesive and balanced look across the feathers. This approach is especially useful when defining the volume of large wings.

The model I am painting in this tutorial is Tahlia Vedra, Lioness of The Parch by Games Workshop, and this is the third and final lesson featuring this model. The previous two tutorials focused on painting fur and painting wood. I highly recommend checking them out to learn more about fur and wood textures, layering techniques, and to gain further insight into the underpainting process.

- PAINTING FUR

- PAINTING WOOD

Keep in mind, the wings are not yet completely finished, but even at this midway WIP stage, you can already see great results. Take your time, be patient, and don’t give up! You can either be spontaneous or paint carefully in steps—both approaches are valid, and every experience leads to growth and learning.

P.S. If, like me, you have a bunch of feathers to paint, here’s a catchy and funny song to make your progress more enjoyable!

*Anyway, this song keeps reappearing in my head after painting too many feathers, but I highly recommend watching this hilarious video for some fun (its about How metal music videos look on a budget.)—especially if you haven’t had a chance to see Key & Peele before! 😊

Both Aleksandra and I hope you enjoy this video!
Share your progress with us on our Discord channel and social media!

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#craftworldians #underpaintingminis #overlappinglayers

Yours,

Marko Miladinović