Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hello, and welcome
to this course. I'm truly happy
to have you here. In this course, we will
paint a vibrant parrot filled with rich colors
and striking contrast. This project is a
fantastic opportunity to practice colorful favors, smooth transitions,
and strong lighting while working on a truly
eye catching subject. I will guide you through
every stage of the painting, showing you how to simplify the process while achieving
a realistic final result. Let's get started right now.
2. Before getting started: This new tutorial video, we are going to work with a
stunning animal, the parrot, and this stunning animal
will also be very good to make some progress because you will be able to work on many, many different things
in one subject. First of all, there
are the favors, and you will see
how to be able to paint some beautiful and
big fevers like this. And the fevors are
really colorful. The colors are very intense, and so that will be
great to see how to mix such beautiful
and vivid colors. Also, the texture of the face near the eye is also
very intricate, and that will be good to see how to deal with
such an element, such a complex element. The fevers also won't be the same throughout the
entire subject. And so we will have to
adapt and see how to paint certain favors and how to deal with some other type of fevors. And also, the colors are very different from one
another in some areas, and we have to create some
transitions with some color that are full of contrast and very different
from one another. So this will be also very
interesting. And finally, the there is also a lot of texture, a lot of details. So we will see how to create such a nice
texture on that big. So it is a really
fascinating subject, really pretty long to paint, but still a great one to work on and to
make some progress. And for this subject,
I will be working on an 81 by 65 centimeros canvas. Line and canvas, but that can be done also on oil painting paper. If you want in a smaller
or bigger format, it's really up to you, and I will be using the grid to make sure that my drawing is
in the right proportions. As for the materials, I will use my
classical materials. Plus, I will also use
the fallow blue and the several blue to make
sure that I am able to create some very intense
color that I couldn't mix without these two
colors on my pate. And also I want to use the swath brush because I didn't know about
it at the time. But that can be very helpful for the painting of the
fevers at the top part of the head and also for the intricate this
very complex area that we have around the eye. So that will be a
pretty long subject to paint, but really good one. And now let's get started.
3. Organization of the painting: Let's see how to organize our painting with this
beautiful parrot. We have a long
subject ahead of you, ahead of us, so we need to organize and plan
things a little bit. The great thing about this
subject is that it includes many area that can be
painted independently, so it's perfectly
possible to work on it over several sessions. So unlike my usual approach, I won't be starting
with the eye. And the reason why is because the area around the
eye is one of the most complex and it didn't seem like the best way to gain
confidence with this subject. Instead, I will begin with
the plumage on the right, then move up to the upper area before painting the
head and the beak. What I do recommend, however, is to try and finish
the section you start. For instance, if you begin painting the beak,
try to complete it. If you start the plumage, finish it entirely before
the painting dries. Stopping halfway
for your section and letting it dry makes it more difficult to come
back to it later because that means you
have to remix your colors. And now let's get started.
4. Mixing the blue colors of the parrot: Before mixing the colors, let's first analyze
the different ones. In this image, we can
appreciate the richness and subtlety of the blues in
the parrot's plumage. I've selected seven
key shades here, which gradually vary in
intensity and temperature. At the top, we see a very
light turquoise blue, almost pastel, which corresponds to the areas most
exposed to light, especially on the upper back. As we move downward, the blues become more saturated
and intense, shifting towards cyan and then into deeper
blue green tones. Some shades have a color,
slightly greenish hue, which feels very natural
in a tropical setting. Others are much darker
and help create depth and define the
shadows between flavors. This contrast between
light and dark Areas is what gives the bird
its volume and realism. This solo gradient is crucial for capturing the
texture of the plumage. It's not just one flat blue, but a harmonious palette that reflects light shape and
surface beautifully. And to be able to mix
these different blues, my traditional palette
won't be enough. I will need to use the tallow
blue and the several blue. And thanks to these two colors, I will be able to
create intense blues. Let's start mixing
our bluish colors. I begin by taking a large amount of tallo
blue. Be careful. It can look quite similar to ultramarin blue
on my palette, but this is definitely
my hallo blue I'm using. So I mix it with a
generous amount of burnt timber and a touch of yellow to create those
very dark shades, almost black that we
see in the plumage. It does look a bit like black, but adding a large amount of tallow blue and just a hint of yellow gives it a slightly more bluish, slightly
greenish tint. It is a subtle difference, but still a little bit
noticeable when we apply it. Then I move on to mixing bluish colors that are
not quite as dark. So I start with the same base. But this time, I add
a small amount of white and mix it all
together and see what I get. So here we are
starting to create the darkest bluish shades that we will be
using in this area. My first color was
pretty good right now, but in terms of
value, I would say, but it leaned a bit too
much toward the green. I added too much yellow to it. So I gently shift
it back towards a bluer tone by adding more
of that rich fallow blue. So we finally got these color, so I put way too
much yellow in it, and so took a little
white to readjust it. Now I'm going to create something more light,
and therefore, I'm adding more white to my
color to make it lighter, but I still add a little bit of yellow to make sure
that it tends to be some kind of blue green
color as we can see. On this area of the feathers. And also, I'm re
adding a little bit more of tallow blue to it
because I wanted it to be a little bit darker
and therefore reduced the amount of white in
terms of proportions. And that's why I also
added a little bit of burnt amber and
ultramarine blue to make it a little
bit more dark and also to make it a
little less intense, a little less turquoise, because these two colors are less intense than
my fallow blue, and therefore, it made my
color less intense as well. And so now I am
mixing this something even lighter by increasing
the amount of white. And just like I did with
this previous color, I'm adding some yellow
to it to make it a little bit greenish
and also a little bit of this ultramarin blue and burn tuber to make it also a
little bit darker in the end, but also a little less intense, so a little a little bit
more normal, let's say. So I have this new
pretty nice color. And now I'm going to mix
this very intense kind of flue recent color that we can see at the top of the fairs. And so that's why I'm using this several blue to get this color that is
a little bit different. And so I'm adding also a
great amount of white, but also a little bit of yellow and hallo blue to
make it a little bit more turquoise like we did with the other color because even though this color is a
little bit different, it's still part of the
kind of same color family. So that's why I felt it
was a little bit important to add some thalo blue
and yellow to it. And now I'm going to do
the same thing as before, starting with a base
of several blue, which is a little less intense and less turquoise
than the fallow. To create something
slightly darker than the previous color
I have just mixed, you might be wondering,
why did you add red? Well, red when mixed with
yellow makes orange, and orange is the
complimentary color of blue. So adding just a
bit of it softens the intensity of the blue slightly and so make
it less intense. It's actually a way to
tone it down a little. At this point, I feel that my color is still
a bit too dark, so I add a generous
amount of you might notice that my white on the palette has a bit
of a bluish tint, but that's not really
a problem here, since I'm only working
with blue mixes. So the slight blue cast
doesn't matter much. Now, the color
looks pretty good, but I think it needs
to lean a bit more towards the blue green
with a slight of turquois. So that's why I'm
adding some yellow but also adding a little
bit of tallow blue. And so now I also felt that the previous area needed to
be a little more yellow. So I added some yellow
to it, as well. And from this new color, I am also going to make an even lighter variation by adding a large
amount of white. And these lighter tones
that we have just created, these free ones will also be very useful for
the fevors at the bottom, where we have pronounced highlights and a significant
contrast in value. So now with all these
colors prepared, I think that we are good to go and we can start
painting this subject.
5. Painting of the background and the first feathers: Here we go, and here is my
canvas with the drawing already done using a grid
to ensure great accuracy. The very first thing I am doing is to darken the
background in black, the one you see
next to the parrot. The reason I am doing
this is because black really affects the
way we perceive colors. If the canvas remain white instead of having that
black background, the colors placed next
to it might look off. And if I were to
paint the colors of the parrot without this black background
already in place, it is quite likely that once I added the black
at the very end, the parrot will
appear too light. So this black background
actually helps me. It serves as a reference
to make sure I place the right colors with
the right value next to it. So I am starting by painting
that black background. And as you can see, I begin by working all
around the edges. This way, when I go on to paint the rest
of the background, I won't risk going over the area where I will
paint the parrot later. You can also notice that
as I work on this outline, I am really trying
to be very precise, to carefully follow the shape
of the parrot's outline. And so I will do this on the entire outline before painting the rest
of the background, still using a flat brush. So now the outline
has been painted, and I can now fill in the rest
of the background without worrying about the paint spilling over into
the parrot area. I am using a fairly
white flat brush, and I am applying my color. As you can see, I am
really trying to spread it as much as possible to
get a very smooth finish. I don't want any fig blobs
of paint building up. So I am really stretching
the paint out, making broad sweeping strokes. And whenever I notice that
there is too much paint, well, I use the brush just
like I am doing now to pick some of it up
and apply it elsewhere. If needed, I reload the brush to ensure
I have enough black. But the goal is really to spread the color as much as possible to get a very smooth surface. We don't want any texture
in this background because any raised areas
will catch the line and ruin the clean
and flat look. So I will do this across the
entire background to have this beautiful and very smooth black background
all over the area. And here is the
finish background. We are now ready to start
painting the parrot. Let's start the
painting of the parrot, and what we are going
to do first is work on the small area you can see on the side right next to
the black background. I begin by applying the slight bluish touch
along the edge of the black background because
we can see that there is a fairly thin line along
the favor in that area. So I am adding it, and I am
trying to make sure it barely blends with the
black background so I don't muddy the
color too much. I would say that this
blue looks pretty good. You will also notice
that it is not the same value of blue
all along the line. So I just depending on the area because some parts
are lighter than others. And it is important to work
with this variation in value because that is what helps the faber appear a
bit more realistic. So for this part, I am using a very fine brush
because this requires precision to make sure that this blue line stays as thin
as it is in the reference. Then right next to these elements that I painted
with very light blue, we have those very
darker touches that help the lighter
blue stand out nicely. So here I am using
a blue that is very close to black,
very dark blue, as you can see on my palette and I am applying it
while making sure that to spread the
color properly and stay well within
the intended area. Now you will probably notice
that one fevor is missing. In fact, it is the one
located next to the big. I didn't think to include
it in my drawing. I simply forgot it, and I
painted the background over it. I only realized it too
late, and in the end, I thought that the result looked very good even
without that fevor. So that's not a big
deal if it is missing. If you remember to draw it, don't forget to add it. In my case, it simply vanished. It's not dramatic. The result would still look
coherent, so it's fine. And as for these two blues
that are very, really, very different from each other, I try to make sure that
they barely blend. I want them to just touch with only a very slight
transition between the two. I am not necessarily looking
for smooth gradient. I really want that
light blues to stand out just like in
the reference photo, compared to the dark
blue right next to it. Then with this
fairly fine brush, I can go back in and reapply a few lighter touches to make it stand out a bit more compared to what
I had done so far. And even within the dark area, I have added a few
slightly lighter touches to improve the texture
we can see in that spot. Now I am going to create
some new colors for the little brownish area touches that we can
see in the area. It looks to me like it is
kind of orangey brown, slightly golden that leans
quite a bit toward yellow. So that's what I mixed. I started with a solid base
of yellow, but very quickly, I had to add some red because with that strong
presence of yellow, it was starting to
turn a bit too green, so I had to rebalance that. And now I have ended up with a color that's pretty decent
for painting this area. What I can do next is create a slightly more orange
variation of it. So that's what I am doing, adding some orange and mixing it with the color that was
already on my brush. And also blending a bit
with the color next to it. And now I can go ahead and apply this all
along the section. But the challenge
right away is that we are working on
a very light area, a kind of orange tone, which is very different from
the bluish color above it. So what we really need to avoid here is letting
too much blue mix in with this new color we are applying because these color
are totally different. And if too much blue blends in, it could make this area looks a bit muddy and not very nice. So that is something
we want to avoid. When I apply the color, I make sure it barely mixes
with the color next to it. If it does mix too much, it's not the end of
the world, though. We can always fix it later, but I prefer avoid creating extra unnecessary
work for myself. So I try to keep the blending to a minimum with the
surrounding color. For the lower area that we
are currently painting, we can see that it has a
kind of brownish gray tone. So that's what I am
trying to create using a good base of burn tumber
mixed with ultramarine blue, which helps to get
those gray tones. And I am trying to make sure that it is not
too dark either, so I can use it to paint
this area properly. You may notice that
there was a color added near the one we
had just mixed earlier, this kind of brand that
is a bit yellow, orange. And that was actually
the same color I was initially trying to mix, but I messed it up a little, instead of insisting on
trying to fix that same mix, since I realized I had too many colors going on and it would have taken
too long to correct it. I prefer to just start the
mix over from scratch. That's why I skip this part
of the video because it was pointless pointless
mixing attempt. So now let's paint this
lower part of the plumage. You will notice it
is a very dark area. So that's what I
have just applied. But even so it shouldn't
be too dark either, because we still need to
make sure that there is a visible difference in value between this area
and the background. So that's what I am doing, and I will continue working upward to finish this
section of the plumage. It is a small area, not the most complex, but it makes for a good
and gentle warm up before the big task ahead with the rest of
the parrots flavors. So here we are working with
these slightly darker tones, and I am applying them now. And then we need to work
a bit on the texture in this area because it is not a
completely uniform surface. There are going to be some lighter and darker
touches here and there, which will help make
it look realistic. And as I apply my color, I'm really trying to
be precise, first, to avoid going over
the bluish favors that we will be
painting later and also to avoid overlapping the areas we painted
earlier because otherwise, it would mean having to
repaint and rework them. So with my brush,
which isn't very big, but not extremely fine either, I'm trying to be precise enough to stay clear
of these zones. And at the same time, as
I am applying the colors, I am using small
strokes like this with the brush to create a
slight blend between the elements and to make
sure that everything I have applied within this dark
area connects well together. I am referring to everything within this
dark section, of course. All right, now I am going
to work a bit more on this area by adding
some lighter touches, like we can see on the
side of the feather. It doesn't need to
be extremely light, but these few slightly
lighter strokes that I am adding here and also in the central area will help make this section
look more realistic. In the end, these are just
little touches that don't like much that don't look
like much on their own, but they contribute to a
more realistic result. So here we go. I am finishing up this part with
those small touches, and then we'll be done and ready to move on to the next section, the large blue feathers.
6. Painting of the big blue feathers: So here we go, and
let's begin working on this large feather
that we can see here. It is a feather that is
overall fairly light and it's a great opportunity
to get going with a beautiful feather and some
stirring blues, as well. So let's go ahead and
start applying all colors. The goal here is to try to apply the color precisely, at
least to begin with. We are not trying to
create texture just yet. We will be working from broad
strokes to find details, and the process will be
the same for each faber. That means we observe the fever. We ask ourselves which
color it is made of where we might see lighter
areas or darker areas. Then we move forward by applying color across the entire
area accordingly. And of course, the
goal when applying the color is to stretch it much to stretch it out
as much as possible so that we end up with
a very smooth surface. That smooth surface will
make it much easier to work with later when we add
texture and little details. All of that will be much easier to apply if the base is smooth, if the blending between the
different blues is clean, and if the transition between
zones are already soft. So here I am applying my color. You can see I am using a
medium sized flat brush, which allows me to spread
the paint quite easily and helps prevent any areas from becoming
overloaded with paint. What we can observe
about this faber is that on the lower part, there are some
slightly darker zones, while on the left side, there are some slightly
lighter areas. And even between
those darker areas, there are zones that are
a bit lighter as well. So that's what I am trying to recreate now as I apply
my color like this. As I apply my color in the area, I am also blending the two
different blues together. There are some paintings
where I choose to do the blending after
all the colors have been applied once I have placed each part of the
color in the area, and sometimes,
like in this case, I blend the colors
together as I go. While I am still
working on a specific. There really isn't
any strict rule. It's more about how you
feel in the moment. Here, as I was
applying the color, I felt it made sense to blend the two
elements right away. But depending on other
parts of the parrot, I might choose to apply
all the color first and only do the blending once
the whole area is painted, once there is color everywhere. So sometimes I will
want to wait until the end to do the blending
and other times I want. And now in this upper part, you can see that there is a
slightly lighter strip that helps separate the fare
a bit into two parts. It's like there is a small
division within the fiber. Even without adding
added details yet, we can already start to
make out that division, a faint line between
those sections. But I will have to emphasize
it a bit more because right now you can kind of
guess that it is there, but it's not entirely
visible yet. And with small darker strokes
like I am about to do, I will be able to
enhance that effect a little more to make sure
that it really stands out. So now the fever is starting
to have a bit of relief. We can see it's
gaining some volume. What really makes it appear
more free dimensional and realistic is all
the detailed work we will do with the fine brush. We are going to really
focus on the texture so that it becomes clear
that it is a parrot feather. And this work, in
addition to improving the texture will also enhance the relief and
volume of the fever, making it look more
free dimensional. Now, if we look at the
colors of my favor in the painting and compare them
to those of our reference, we can see that my
color is too light. I realized this during the editing process
of this tutorial. When I painted that favor and
looked at the final result, it didn't strike me right away, but now it's obvious when
I did this video and compare it to the reference
that it looks too light. It didn't jump out at me earlier because it is a
section on the left side, which is the brightest
area of the parrot. The right side is
more in shadow, so it wasn't really shocking
in the final result. Also the work on the
light and shadow areas within the favor is
still fairly well done. That's why even though
I made this mistake, it's not one that really
compromises the final result. So if you want to
darken it a bit more and match the
reference more closely, you definitely can, or you can also choose to keep it very
bright, like in my painting. In the end, it didn't affect
the final result too much. And once we start
working on the texture, you will see that there
will be some darker touches added anyway that will make this favor a
little bit darker. And so with this fine brush, I am working more
on the details. You can see that I started
by adding the central line, but it's not a straight line. It is a slightly jagged one. So I added it with
small stroke laid over this light to blue
with some kind of dots to make this line. What really makes
this favor look more realistic is the
detailed work we do. The small lighter
and darker touches we add within each area. All these elements,
when combined, create a texture that
truly looks realistic. If you look closely, if you really zoom in on the
favor on the photo, you will see a lot
of tiny lines, lots of little dots placed
next to each other. And in the end um, up close, they don't look
like much on their own. But it's all these elements
together that make the final result look
like a realistic fevor. And that is exactly what
I am doing here, too. I am adding some darker
touches with this fine brush, then adding a few
lighter ones as well. And this is how the fevor
starts to look truly realistic. At this point, I have already added quite a
few darker details. Now I can go back and had some lighter ones
because what we can also notice is that along
the edge of this fever, there is a lighter
area, lighter strip, lighter band that contrasts with the darker zone we
painted earlier. And this contrast between light and darker area
is what helps give the fever more volume and more three
dimensional appearance. What we can also
notice in this area is that among the darker
elements I had added, there are also some
lighter touches. So that's what I have
been working on here. I also see that the line I had painted isn't
completely uniform. Within this same line, there are some slightly
darker touches. So I am adding those on top, always in a somewhat
irregular, broken up manner. This way, it creates
irregularity, and it's exactly
this irregularity that contributes to the
realism of the favor. And now I am going to keep
working on this area a bit, adding small darker
touches next to those lighter elements along the stripe I painted earlier, which helps it stand
out a bit more. And I like distributing these
little brush strokes in a somewhat random way
to create the texture because it really
contributes to improving it. Folding up a part of the favor, I would say that we are good. Now what I have just done is take a slightly
lighter color, and I am adding it right next to the dark line we
painted earlier. This helps make that
line stand out more and enhances the sense of
depth within the favor. And now it is time to
work on the lower part. We are going to build
up the texture in the same way we did
for the upper area. The goal is to achieve
the same level of realism across the
entire favor and, of course, across
the whole painting. But even just within this favor, we don't want the
top to be highly detailed while the
bottom feels unfinished. That kind of inconsistency
would be really noticeable and would
hurt the overall result. So here, I'm going to focus
on refining the whole area. I am asking myself whether
there might be some zone that should appear a bit lighter than what I have done so far. And as soon as I spot
any, I add them, small strokes that help define these lighter areas and at the same time, enhance
their texture. In fact, while I am refining the texture
in this precise way, I'm also adding
subtle highlights and shadows that I
had in place earlier. Earlier when we were
applying the base color, the goal was to block in
the broad color areas. But what we now see is that
within these large areas, there are many smaller
shifts in tone, and it is by lariaing this
that we create more volume, more realism, and
richer textures. I would say that I have added all the necessary light
elements for this area. And now what is really going
to make those lighter areas stand out are the small darker
touches I am about to add. So I observe my reference
photo and look for areas that appear slightly darker than what I have painted so far. And then I go in and add them. It is really this combination of light and dark elements placed
next to each other that allows the favor to
look more realistic and creates even more depth
within the faber itself. At this stage, the fever
is coming together nicely. It's starting to look
truly three dimensional. But what will make this
faber stand out even more is the presence of all
the other fevers around it. For example, that very dark area to the
right of this faber, the way the shadows fall onto
one faber on to another, and that is what will create
even more volume and give the overall area an
even greater sense of realism than what we
have achieved so far. We can now move on to
the fever on the side. And as I mentioned a moment ago, there is this shadow area
next to that first feather, which is very quite dark. It is this dark element we
are adding that will make our first feather
appear slightly more raised compared to the
one we are painting now. That first feather we
painted is position higher than the one we
are working on now. And it's thanks to the
shadow that we are adding now that we are able
to perceive that difference. So you can see that right
next to that first feather, there is this very dark shadow. I have a plan in my color, and I'm trying to
blend it just a little just barely
because I like to make sure that
all the elements in my painting are somewhat
connected to one another. So I try to let them
slightly touch, but I don't want a real
transition between the two. They remain two distinct
elements, two separate febers. And then as we
move to the right, we can see that the shadow fades and becomes
gradually lighter. But the transition
doesn't happen instantly. You can see it is
fairly gradual. So I started by applying
a slightly lighter blue and I will keep going with an even
light blue in that area. And this way, we get
a natural looking shady and a fever
whose color shift from something dark to something
lighter with a transition that appears almost
invisible within the area. And I am continuing with
a lower area that is even lighter than what I applied
in the section above. And here, as you can see, I am using a medium sized brush that allows me to stretch out the color and make sure that my colors blend well with
each other afterward. So here I am also mixing a
bit more color on my palette, and we are continuing
the application. And little by little, this is how the plumage will
take shape with each faber being creating one after
the other in the same way. But And these bluish tones I am applying here, the slightly lighter color, I am going to make sure
that they blend nicely with the other colors we applied
earlier in the upper section. So now I am switching back to a slightly darker blue
because the one I had was much too light and wouldn't have allowed
for a proper transition. And here we go again,
applying the color. You want to avoid applying too much so you can achieve
a smooth blend. And if you notice that you
have added too much paint and the blending isn't working well. You can always
wipe your brush on a tissue to remove the excess
color that is built up. And I am darkening
the side of the favor a bit more because I felt
it was a little too light. But overall, it is
looking pretty good. What I am going to do now before adding the details to
this favor is work on the one right next to
it and apply color there as well because these
two fevers are very similar. They share the same
color palette. Plus, the one we just
painted is quite small, and I like to be a little
bit efficient when I work. So I think it makes
sense to handle both fevors at once and add
details to them together. Now, looking at this next favor, we can see a gradient as
well from right to left. We have a fairly strong
shadow on the right side. The closer we get to the left, the lighter it
becomes, like here, with a bright area right next to the shadow of the
favor we just painted. And it is this contrast between light and light
and dark elements placed side by side that
really helps the favors stand out from one another and shows the volume
between them. On the left, you
can notice that I have left a small white space that corresponds to the area where there is that
slightly orangy element. For now, I have decided
to leave it aside and come back to it once the surrounding
colors have dried. This way, it's a
voice blending with the nearby colors
and ensures that this area stays clean and
vibrant in terms of orange. And I am continuing the work, continuing the blending
so that afterward, we can really start focusing on the texture of these
feathers and make sure they look just as realistic as that first large blue
feather we painted earlier. For these feathers,
I think that we have managed to establish
a really solid base. And now what I am going to do is use this small fine brush
to work on the texture. I'm going to add a
few lighter touches, and then I will add some
slightly darker ones. And it is thanks to that
that I will be able to achieve fevors that
look truly realistic. Now, yes, it does take a bit
of time, but in the end, the extra time we spend
on each of these feaors adding this texture isn't something that takes
that long either. In just a few minutes, we can turn a feaver
that looked pretty good. That was fairly well defined into one that looks
really realistic. And I think that just taking those few extra
minutes, it's not much, but it's enough to take outward
from something that was already nice to something that
becomes really impressive. This new step, adding texture, really helps our painting
gain a whole new dimension, making it look more
three dimensional, more detailed, and
more realistic. So I really think
it is worth taking that extra time to
work on all of this. So sometimes these
details will take the form of fairly
random elements. It is a bit like scribbling with the brush at times with small strokes going
left or right. Without really
making much sense. And then, over time, it
is a bit more defined, a bit more precise. For example, just
below this light fab, I added this dark
element because it helps the light
faber stand out nicely. And then on the fever
we are working on, you can also notice
a kind of small line that is quite defined
on the upper part. So I tried to really make
it stand out before. So in the areas that are a bit confusing where there are
lots of overlapping elements, well, in this area, I don't necessarily try
to be extremely precise. I go in with some kind
of small random touches. But then there are other parts that are very clearly defined, shapes that you can
really distinguish, more geometric form, for
example, like a line. And in those cases, I try
to be more precise and stay fairly true to what I
see in my reference photo. I am also going to rework the edge of my
fever a little bit because I feel like there is
this small light touch between these two favors
and that separation. That little element between
the two will help them stand out more and create a bit of
relief in that area as well. Oh. I have these light lines
that are a bit defined. Now that they are in place, I'm going to work
a bit around them by adding some slightly
darker touches, which will help those
lighter elements stand out nicely in this feather area. But then I also thought that the lower part wasn't as
light as what I had up here. So I didn't hesitate to blend it a bit with the
darker surrounding color, and that made the element
appear slightly less bright. What was also important with the small light element to
make it stand out well was to leave a very thin dark line right next to it so that it will really pop and clearly mark the separation
with the other faber. And now that this faber is done, it did take a bit of
time that detail, but I felt it was
important to include, we can move on to
the second favor. In that area, I will start adding some little
texture elements like this so that this fever is just as carefully
worked as the others. And to make sure this far stands out compared to
the one next to it, I apply a slightly lighter
color along the edge. It is that contrast that really helps show the
difference between the two favors and makes
it clear that they are distinct that there is a difference in
volume between them. I also add a few
small dark touches, which I gently blend with the lighter edge I
had just applied. And there we go. I am working on the texture of this
favor in the same way. It is true that the process
can feel a bit repetitive, but it is necessary to get a consistent result
from start to finish. That's why when working in areas like this that take time
and involve repeated step, it is important to be in a pleasant environment,
a bright room, maybe with some music in the background or even
a film or a series. I often watch something
while I paint. Of course, you still need to maintain a certain
level of focus, but the key is to create a
kind of bubble for yourself where you feel good and ready to spend time repeating
these gestures. Yes, it is repetitive, but we have to remember
that we are painting. We are doing something we love. Enjoying the result is great, but you also need to
enjoy the journey. Enjoy the moment and
what you are creating. And personally, yes, these
steps are repetitive, but I love watching each
favor come to life through all these small
brush strokes and all these tiny elements that we are adding one after the other. This favor has
really taken shape, and what I am going to do now is just add a few final details. It won't take much more. Both flavors already
have a nice texture, and once everything
around them is painted, it's really going to
start looking great.
7. Painting the rest of the blue feathers: Let's now paint a new favor
together in this area, a large favor, the one just to the right of the
one we just painted. It is a big favor, and you can see that as we move
into this area, the color gets a bit darker. So I am going to
adjust the blues I use because these favors need to appear more
in the shadow. That's what I am doing here. You can already see
that in the upper part, we have a fairly dark blue
in the initial application. What is going to be
really important is to emphasize the very dark
shadow on the left, which will help create
volume and make the next favor the one
we haven't painted yet, really stand out later. So this first step, as always, is about getting a good
base of color down. I want to stretch
the paint as much as possible to make it easier to blend the different areas together before adding details. Right now, I'm trying to be very precise in how
I apply the colors, making sure that they are in the right place
because this way, if the initial
application is clean, I will spend less time
fixing things later when I start working more precisely
on the different areas. You can see that this
fear is divided in two, and along that division, there is actually a
much lighter area on this right side
of the division. So that's what I applied, and this much lighter
touch and it's going to blend with the darker
surrounding elements. The goal is for the
transition from the light to the dark area to
happen smoothly. So that's what I am doing. I make sure that the
color blends nicely, and I work on that by applying small touches
so that we get a realistic gradient with the colors merging
naturally into each other. As you can see, for blending, I use multiple brr strokes. And whenever I see that too
much paint is building up, I remove some and go back in. But I would say
that the blending here is looking pretty good. And if needed, I will
come back to it later, but for now, it
seems pretty fine. Then in the lower
part of this favor, we are back to slightly
darker tones again, although there are still a few lighter touches
that show through. So I continue
applying the colors. Often, we are tempted to think, Okay, let's rush through
the color application. I just want to get to the
detail part and work on the texture because this will make the favor look
super realistic. But we need to remember that details are almost secondary. If the color application
isn't solid, if we don't have
the right shades of blue in the right places, we can spend as much time as we want adding
little details. It won't make much
of a difference because what really allows
the details to stand out and makes the favor more realistic is the base layer
of color we put down first. If we don't have a
solid foundation with the right values
in the right spots, we won't be able
to create volume or end up with a favor
that looks realistic. So this type of color
application is truly important, and it is probably where we should spend the most
time at the beginning. What we can also notice
with this faber is that while we have applied some darker elements
on the left, we can see that on the
far left of the faber, there is a slightly
lighter touch, and that small light touch is important because it
helps the faber stand out from the one next
to it and create a sense of volume in
relation to that one. To probably finish applying these colors and
make sure we get a nice looking feather with good volume in relation
to the other ones, what I am adding now
are the final elements, the really dark touches
all along the edge. I apply this with my brush
trying to be quite precise. And once again, what is important here is
to make sure that the dark area blends well with the other
surrounding colors. You can see that
in the upper part, the whole band is really dark, but as we go downward, it gradually blends more
with the light blues. So we need to create
a sort of a gradient. And now that light band we
painted on the right side of the fabre really stands out nicely against
this dark color. And even though the fare is
only at its first stage, just the color application
and the blending, we can already see that there
is a sense of volume being created and the fever is starting to look
a bit realistic. So we are on the right
track with this one, and we just need to
keep going like this. What we can also see is that on the left
side of the favor, there is this dark line that
extends along the edge, and that helps enhance
the volume and depth in that part of the
faber thanks to that line. So now the fever has a
solid base layer and we are going to start adding
more precise details. In each area, I tried to define the main
color we could see. Now it is time to look for smaller color areas
within the favor. Earlier, we didn't apply those because they were smaller
and required more precision. Now we can start working on
these small areas of colors. So it begins with
that dark line, and now I notice that in the
left area of the feather, there are also some
slightly darker elements. So I can go ahead
and apply them, and this is how
we make progress. What we can do is move forward zone by zone
along the favor, advancing from one small
section to the next. Right now, for example, I am working on this left part, and I am adding all the small dark details
that stand out. Once I feel like I have applied everything that needed to
be added in this area, I will move on to
another and so on. So I will keep progressing
over the entire favor like this until I feel fully
satisfied with each section, and that I can say, that's it. Every area is well detailed. Now I can move on to
the next feather. In the lower right
part of this feather, you can also see what
looks like little creases. It is almost as if the fever
is opened or slightly torn. So here we have
that little fold, and we can go ahead
and define it. And how is it formed? Well, it is created by a
very dark shadow like this. And then just like usual, when we want to create a sense of freedom and ensuonality, I'm going to apply a
slightly light well, a lighter touch right
next to that dark shadow. And it is this
lighter touch that's going to give volume to
this part of the faber. So I apply that light or stroke, and I make sure it blends well with the surrounding
elements on the right. This way, we get something
that feels very natural. And I will continue like
this over the whole favor, always on the lookout
for areas to refine. Sometimes I also go back
to a previous area, like I am doing
here on the left, where I felt the light element needed to stand out
more, so I add it in. At this point, I am in
what I call predator mode, an expression you may have
heard in over tutorials, meaning that whenever I spot a detail that seems
important in a zone, I immediately go in and add. This way, I am sure
I won't forget it, and I can make
sure that the faro looks truly realistic
in this area. I am also working the
upper area because the elements there need to be darker than what I
had done so far. In fact, we can
clearly see the shadow cast by the other
favors in that area. So I am adding it using
this very dark blue. And I apply small touches, and since there is
already color underneath, I don't hesitate
to load my brush a bit more to make sure
it stands out well. Then I will work on the
texture of this fabor just like we did for the
others by adding small, irregular, darker strokes and probably a few lighter ones
here and there as well. And overall, I would say that this faber has
really taken shape. The hardest part is done. Now it is just about adding
those final little details. I do that with random brush
strokes, a bit to the left, a bit to the right,
and this is how I will get a febri that
looks very realistic. Next on the right side,
there will be more fevers, but those are very similar to
what we have already done. So I will paint
those off camera. Then we'll move on to painting
one final favor together, one that is a bit different, but you will see that the
approach will be very similar to what we
have done so far. H. So as I mentioned, the favors on the right
have been painted, and I have also painted
the ones on the left. Now we are going to move
on to the ones just above, this one in particular, which is a bit different
because of the folds it has. So either you can
pose a video now and paint the favors that
were done off camera, or you can paint
this one with me now and go back to
the others later. It's totally up to you. Both approaches work fine. What we can see
with this favor is that it has quite a
few folds within it, and that's what I
started by marking. I tried to indicate the shadows
created by these folds. By doing that, I give myself some reference points
which makes it easier to work on the fever and apply the colored areas based
on those landmarks. When there are these many folds, it is easy to wonder
where to start, where each area is,
where the light is, and how one fold
relates to another. So by starting with these folds, which are fairly easy to spot, I feel like it will
be easier to paint the rest of the fever
once those are in place. I So now I can work between these folds. What we can observe is that
just right next to the fold, there is something a little bit dark,
just like the folds. But overall, the area
next week gets lighter. What I mean is that right
up against the fall, it's a bit dark, and then it
gradually becomes lighter. There is a kind of a
gradient that forms. So that's what I am going
to apply now. So to stroke. In fact, it is that lightotuch right next to the next fold on
the overside that will make it stand out and help create a three
dimensional effect with these folds
as if there were a little dips or
indents in the favor, a difference of depth. And I am working on that now, and what is interesting about this feather is that it
is a little different, but the same approach is the approach is more or
less the same as usual. We start by establishing clear reference point when the area is complex,
these folds, then we apply the color, making sure the colors
blend together well, and that we get
smooth transitions. And then we refine the area by adding detail in texture
to make it look realistic. And on the side of this flavor, there is an even lighter area. So that is something I am
paying close attention to. I apply that light or touch
and make sure it blends in nicely and naturally with
the surrounding colors. And as you can see, the
color application and blending are done with
a fairly fine brush. So I can be very precise
with each stroke. So at this point, we have something that's really
looking quite good. But what we notice is
that in this area, the folds are a bit darker
and more pronounced. And it is that difference in value that will
help them stand out even more and create a stronger
three dimensional effect. So now with this fine brush, I am going to rework the darker areas we can see
on this part of the faber. And as I apply the color, I also try to make
sure it blends nicely with the
colors underneath. And now with small
brush strokes, I'm going to work on
improving the area. We look where we can see slightly darker
elements and check if there are any lighter parts that deserve to stand
out a bit more. But already, the first
part is really well done. We've got a very solid base. And if we wanted to, we could
almost leave it as it is. But personally, I like to
push things a little further, and I want to make this favor
look even more realistic. So that's what I am
trying to do by adding these lighter marks like here in the lower
part of the favor. Then I will add some slightly
darker marks as well. The goal is really to create
an illusion of life on the canvas to give
the impression that this parrot is alive, and that also comes through
these small added details. It is like we are adding final
touches again and again, and together, this ends up
creating a great result. These are all tiny elements that may not look like much up close, but when you step back
and see them together, that's when they bring
the subject to life. And we are now calmly finishing up this
last favor together, working on the left side of it. And after that, I will let you paint the remaining
favors on your own. We have already gone through all the necessary
steps in detail, and the next favors are done
in exactly the same way. You will see the full
reference model with all the favors already
painted on my subject, so feel free to
use it as a guide. Observe the whole piece, look at the colors,
textures and contrast. It can really helps you move
forward with confidence. Just a heads up in
the upper area, the flavors tend to shift slightly toward the
blue green tone, so make sure to adjust your
palette for these ones. Then we'll pick
things up again to work on the upper part
of the plumage together, since it is a bit
different from the rest. At this point, you have
everything you need. And based on everything
we have covered, I am absolutely confident
that you are more than capable of continuing this on your own and getting
a great result. So I will see you in a few
minutes once that is done. You've got the reference right in front of you,
so take your time. This isn't raised. The most important thing
is the final result. And by taking your time, you're going to get there, and you're going to do
it beautifully.
8. Painting the curved feathers: Now, let's move on
to this area of favors just above
the large areas that we have painted before. This part is a bit different. You can see that the favors here have a distinct texture
and appearance. So we are going to
take a look at how to approach this area
and see how to do it. So it is a smaller section, but it will still keep
us busy for a while. I know that these areas
seem a bit intimidating. There is a dense
layering of fevers, subtle variations of blue, shadow play between
the different layers, and incredibly fine details. That is exactly why it is such a golden
opportunity to improve. Working on this kind
of complex area is an excellent exercise
for several reasons. First, it forces you
to really observe, not just see the favors, but understand how
they are arranged, how light filters through them, how the colors interact. It really pushes you to think carefully about how
you're going to tackle. There is a genuine reflective
process, that is to say, taking the time to ask yourself, how am I going to paint
this particular part? Then it also encourages
you to make choices. You won't be able to paint every single detail
down to the millimeter. So you will need to learn how to simplify without losing realism. That is true artistic work, deciding what to emphasize
and what to suggest. And finally, this is the kind of moment where you develop
patience and precision. It is a bit like
intensive training. It might feel a bit
tough at first, but when you move on to
other simpler subject, you will realize just how much this kind of exercise has
helped you to improve. So don't get discouraged. Take the time to lay
down your colors, to work on shadows,
highlights, and details, and most importantly,
have fun rising to the challenge because this is truly where you
become better. So I started with this
small light favor that you can see just
above the dark area. I began by laying down
the base using blues, asking myself which
shade of blue would be the most suitable
for the entire section. You can notice that
towards the top, the tone is slightly darker, so I word that in as well. Then to suggest febrile texture and create the impression
of fine lines, I added darker strokes to mark the separations
within the favor. Some of these lines
appear at the bottom, some at the top, so I made
sure to bring them out. I chose to begin with this favor because it is not the most
complex one to paint, and that makes it good warm up before tackling the olives, which are a bit
trickier to manage. And finally, well, sorry, there was a brief blurry moment. It will be better afterwards. And you will see
that I am adding a few more lines to suggest
the texture of the favor. And this one is now
pretty nicely defined, and we'll be able to
move on and work on the ols along with the darker
element surrounding it. Both above and below. And that contrast with these darker elements will really help this
favor stand out. And so these are the final lines I am adding to these fevers. And you can see
that it is becoming pretty realistic with
these very fine details. So I painted the small black
areas right next to it. I skipped showing that
part because, well, it wasn't very complicated to just paint those
areas in black. And now we can move on to this small faber
right next to it. And here we go. We begin by creating a base using this blue. I first identified
the dominant blues. You can see that
on the upper part, the blue is slightly darker than on the rest of the faber. So that is where
I build my base. Once that base is laid down, we'll be able to really work
on this fevor and start adding the details that will make it look
truly realistic. So we are really progressing step by step in
terms of difficulty. First, we had the background, then those large
feaors that already required some precision and
care to render properly. Now we are dealing
with fevors that are more intricate
and very distinctive. And here, there is no over way. We need to add all
those tiny fine details to create that fever texture. There are some feaors where we can get away with fewer details, but here, it is a
bit more complex. At the bottom of the favor, you can notice these kind of fine lines like tiny striations. Some of these lines are
going to be darker, but what is interesting is
that these darker lines also sit on top of a base that is slightly
darker as well. It's almost like there
is a small soft shadow underneath the element
I am adding right now. So that's what I
have put in first. And now I can really start
defining the favor by adding some very fine touches like this to create some
variation in value. You will notice that the lines, these little lines I am adding aren't all the same darkness, the same length or
the same thickness. So pay close attention
to that little changes. And to really help
those fine lines pop, I can also add a few highlights because
if you zoom in closely, you will see that right next
to some of these lines, there are some slightly
lighter touches that help create volume. And so what you can also see is that over
this black area, there is just a fin line
like here for this flavor. And here's a little tip to paint it to really make
the paint stand out. I applied it using
the tip of my brush, and I carefully made sure
that the paint didn't blend too much with the
color underneath so that the blue
remained intense. To have all these fine
lines on these favors, I am using the Rigo brush. It is a great brush for
this kind of detailed work. However, just so you know, I filmed this tutorial
several years ago. I only recently got
around to editing it. It took me a while
to decide to take on the editing because it
is a very long tutorial. And back when I
filmed this video, I didn't yet know
about the sword brush, which I now used
very frequently. And you have probably seen it in many other tutorials and videos. If I had known about the
sword brush back then, that's definitely the brush
I would have used instead of the wiggle brush for
this little elements. It's even more effective for working on very fine
and precise lines. So if you have a swad brush, it's even better
than this iga brush I am using for the details here. But as you can see, it still
does a pretty good job. And so now let's keep
going and we can move on to painting
the favor just above. On this upper favor, you will notice that the
top part is really dark, really deep in shadow. That is what helps this favor stand out compared
to the one above it. Or rather it's
what helps the one above stand out thanks
to this contrast. Anyway, this area is quite dark and I started by
defining that shadow. It began with almost black and gradually transitioned
into a lighter blue. But that transition
didn't happen in a snap. It was important to include an intermediate grayish
blue value between the two. And now we can begin to add
more detail to that favor. To begin, I added those lines
using a medium bluish gray. And now we can also notice that there are some
very dark elements. I can come in and
add small touches of a nearly black blue
in the lower part, and that is what helps show that there are kind of little gaps in the favor as if it is made up of all these fine
thread like lines. So that's what I am doing here, finalizing the area with
those last details. And what we can also add to
make this section even more realistic or some lighter touches in between
those elements. This whole variation
in value is really going to help us create a favor that looks
very realistic. I am now going to work on the fever just below
this long favor. It's not necessarily very
prominent and very complex, but it still deserves to be painted with the
same level of care. As you can see, I am mixing
a bit more color here, and I don't hesitate to
make it slightly blue green because you can notice that it has a subtle
greenish tint, very subtle, but it is there. So we will start
with this favor. And, of course, the first thing I do is apply the base color. It's not a very complex flavor, but we'll take our time
to do it properly. And I can go ahead and
paint the whole favor, and then we will look at
how to add the details and make it look just as
realistic as the others. So in the center of this favor, there is that long
line I am adding now. I made it a little too thick, so I'm going to fix
that by repainting the lighter color next to
it and blending it back in, but it's not a big deal. What you will notice
about this line is that it doesn't have the
same value throughout. Some parts are lighter,
others are darker. So I decided to start by adding
the lighter areas first, and then I will
come back with some slightly darker
touches over the top. But we are not going to have to have some darker
strokes everywhere. That's why I thought it was important to have
a light base and neve since there are also some bright elements
in this section. I prefer working in
layers like this, starting with light
touches, then midtones, and finally darker elements
because like I said, the values aren't uniform
across the feather and I personally find it easier
to have details this way, going from light to dark. Rather than the
other way around. So that's what I have done. I am adding this mark here, this little fold, and then we'll have a few more subtle
details to add. They won't be very complex, but they are still important. And it's true that you
might be tempted to think, Okay, this favor is pretty easy. I will just rush through it, but that is a mistake to avoid. It should be painted with the same care and
attention as the others, because if one
fever isn't as well done or lacks the
same level of detail, it might stand out and people might feel like
something is off, and that will make
the whole piece look a bit less harmonious. And This favor is now finished, and we can move on to
the rest of the area. So the first thing I do is mark the black sections that
you can see within this cluster of favors because those dark areas will
serve as reference points. It is a bit chaotic. Favors are going
in all direction, and it is easy to lose
track of where you are. And to avoid getting lost, I take the time to add
these darker elements which help map out to the placement of the different
favors more clearly. And now that is done,
we can get started. So take your time
when adding them. I sped up the video a little
here because painting these small black sections is the most complicated
part, Kelli. And now that we have
our reference points in place, we can get started. We will begin with the small
feaver down at the bottom. It's not very
complicated to paint, but it gives us another
helpful reference. I thought we could
start with this one because it is quite
easy to paint, and I like starting
with the easy stuff. Having a simple
element to work on doesn't make the neighboring
feaver any less technical, but it does give me a
useful reference point, both for positioning
the fever next to it, and for choosing its colors, I can easily compare
it with this one. So in that sense,
this simple favor becomes really helpful, and starting with
simple elements like this makes the rest of
the work much easier, especially in areas where
it is easy to get lost. Now that is not too much
the case here because the fabers are fairly well
separated from one another. So they are quite
easy to identify and especially thanks to
those darker areas we have just added earlier. But in other subjects like
when painting a human figure, say the f, for example, there can be lots of
small shadow areas that are tricky to
place correctly. So beginning with the
easiest part often makes painting the surrounding
areas a lot more manageable. Right above that
first area I painted, you will notice there is
a much lighter section. That's what I'm going to paint now and we'll
take the time to refine and develop this part to give
it a nice texture. And within this small favor, you will also notice some dark accents that
really stand out. So I'm going to add those now, and they help to create a strong sense of
volume in that area. And this fever is really
starting to take shape, so I can now add some more details to make
the whole thing even better. So there you go, one fever done, and let's move on to the next. Sometimes when you are faced
with a section like this, where it is hard to know
where to begin because the area seems so complex
and full of elements, just deciding to start with the simplest parts
is a great approach. It builds confidence. And once you have painted
the first element, like I mentioned earlier, it gives you new reference
points to work from. You just need to tell
yourself one thing at a time. If I have already
done one small part, well, that's one thing done. Sometimes we ask ourselves, where on earth should I start? And just deciding to do one
thing to paint one favor, for instance, in here
gives us a goal, an aim. You can focus entirely
on that favor, push it as far as
it needs to go. And once it is done,
you can ask yourself, Okay, now, which one
seems manageable next? And that is exactly
what I did here. I painted this first
favor and then thought, Okay, why not paint
one right next to it? And so that's what I am doing. Now, looking at this next flavor that we are painting right now, we can see that
it is generally a bit darker than
the previous one. So I started by applying a base with this
slightly dark blue. And now I am going in and I am going to work
on it more precisely. I am looking for the areas
where the shadows are a little more intense when some
sections are even darker, and I am adding
them in like this. Again with this favor, it is the little
details added at the end that will really
finalize the texture. But what is most important before that is to
properly define the areas of light and shadow because you can add all
the details you want, but if your lights and
darks aren't well placed, the faber won't look
three dimensional. Now the fevor looks good. I have already added quite
a few small shadowed areas, and now I am adding
a few highlights. I'm pretty happy with
how it turned out. It looks solid, three dimensional,
and fairly realistic. If we wanted to, we could leave it as it is. But you know me. That's not what I want to do. Now we are going to have
the final touch that will really push it into a
very realistic dimension. So I am carefully observing
all the details we can find on this fever and trying
to add those fine lines. There will be lines
with different values. So quite dark,
other much lighter. So I am adding those now, working with the tip of my brush to make sure
that they really pop. I am placing them
based on what I see, but I am not trying to match every single line down
to the millimeter. If one line isn't placed
in the exact spot, as in the reference, it's not the end of the world. It won't stop the feather
from looking realistic. What is important is
identifying overall patterns. For example, saying to yourself, Okay, in this area, it seems like the lines
are fairly concentrated or these lines are quite
dark or short or long, and then trying to replicate
that general effect. You might also notice that
even in darker areas, there are a few small lighter
touches here and there. So I will add those two, and overall, it doesn't
take thousands of lines. Just a few well placed
strokes are enough to really make the fb
look more realistic. Let's move on now to this tiny area just below
that darker element. It's not very
complicated to paint. Just take your time
and stay focused. With a few small
touches of color. This micro area will be done. It is a nice little break
from the more complex parts. Sometimes it feels good to paint easier areas
like this one, especially after dealing with a lot of challenging elements. Let's move on now
with this new fever, and we are back to slightly
more complex elements. But I find this one particularly interesting in terms of shading, especially when it
comes to the details. You can see that in
terms of shading, we need to create a
transition between the darker parts at the start on the left and the
area on the right, which is noticeably
lighter overall. So we need to pay
close attention to applying the right
transitions in that zone. What will be particularly
interesting is when we start working on the details
because within this favor, not all the tiny elements
follow the same direction, they don't follow
the same curve. So we need to be careful with that when
painting this area. I am now adding
small shadow areas that we can see within
the lighter zone. These are just little
touches like this. Then we will be able to work
on the area in more detail. And as I mentioned,
we won't have the same curvature for all the detail lines
we are going to add. You can see that the
lines tend to follow the direction of the upper line. So for the details higher up, the curve goes slightly
upward like this. Whereas for the lowest lines, the curve is a bit different
and follows the lower line. In the middle, the curve
becomes almost straight. And so, like I said, when
we go to the lowest part, we'll have to adapt to make sure that the curve follows
a downward direction. We can also see
that in some areas, these details, these
lines are even darker. So that's what I am doing, adding some darker
elements on top of what I have already done so that it stands out
a little bit more. Three to really make these details stand out and add even more depth by using
those small lines, I'm also going to work a bit more on the
lighter elements. And so between these areas, these dark lines, I will
have some tiny lines, little touches that
are even lighter than what we applied
at the very beginning, some sort of highlights. And in the lower part, it is the slightly lighter
elements that also make these feathers stand
out compared to the one just next
to it on the right, which we will be painting
in a few seconds. And to make sure this
fever really stands out before fully finalizing it and adding the
very last touches, I'm also painting the edge of the next favor using a
slightly darker bluish tone. This way I can have the finishing details
without worrying that what I am painting will be covered later by the color of
the adjacent favor. And now it is time to
paint this new faber. This one is the last of this type that we will
be painting together. It is the most complex, and I wanted to
finish with it now that we have really
gotten into the flow. The other fabers of
this kind will be done off camera since the
process will be the same. And by now, I am sure
that you will be absolutely capable of
painting them on your own. So let's begin with
applying the colors. I had already put
something fairly dark, as you can see on the edge
of the previous feather. And now I am transitioning
towards something a bit lighter and even much
lighter on the right hand edge. So I am applying this color, and I am making sure it blends well with
the previous one. So the transition between
the two is smooth, and I am doing the blending
as I apply my color. Very soon we will
focus on the details and the small shadow areas
that we will enhance. But before adding those details, I will reinforce the
shadows a bit more. And what I can also
do is refine the look of the other fabre
that overlap this one. Actually, the faber I painted earlier on the left wasn't fully finished either
since some strokes from this one go over them. So I have gone back and
added those touches. Now, looking at the upper
part of this feather, this new one, you will see
some small visible lines. They are not very long, more on the short kind of
short and a bit darker. They stand out quite nicely, so I thought I could
add them in, too. And while reviewing this area, I also felt that
the shadow could be slightly improved at
the bottom right here. So I add a small touch
of this darker blue. Along the edge, I added some
very short dark strokes. And in the middle, you
can see that there are some lines of medium length. So are moderately dark and
others are much darker. So what I start with is applying those moderately dark ones. And then on top of that, I can add a few darker
ones like this. This way, we get a nice alternation between mid tones and very dark values, just like we can see in
the photo of a reference, and that helps us create a favor texture that
looks quite realistic. So I am going to keep working on this area continuing to add more details
elements like this. We have already been working on the feather texture for
over an hour and a half. And here's the secret I want to share with you
about painting fevers. The truth is, there
is no secret. There's no one
specific method you should follow every time
you paint a feather. When I paint a favor,
I don't tell myself, This is a favor, so
I have to paint it this way because that's how
favor should be painted. That's not how I
approach it at all. Whether I am painting a
fever or any other object, I try to come to it with no preconsive notions
or almost known. I simply observe the elements
in this part of the animal, and I ask myself, What is it
made of? What am I seeing? And based on that, I
decide how to paint it. I don't think because
it is a favor, it has to be painted this
way and no other way. In fact, you can clearly
see that the favors we are working on at the top are very different from the
ones at the bottom. It's not the same
approach at all. And later on, you will
see that the ones at the very top will require a different way
of painting as well. And that's how it works for most of the paintings
you will be doing. You need to say to yourself, I am going to paint this object. What is it made of? What do I
need to do to represent it? And that's exactly
what I told myself before filming this video
and painting these favor. I looked closely at the favors we are working on at the moment, and I thought, What
are they made of? And I saw that they
are built on a base of blue with various
shaded areas in blue. And on top of these blue tones, we can see a series of curved lines often of different
values, and that's it. That's all I need to paint. I don't care that it is a favor. When I paint it, I
just paint what I see, and what I see with my eyes
is what I put on the canvas. So now I am going to add those final little
touches to this favor. You can see that there
are small elements that go over the dark area. So I added those as well.
And that's pretty it. I am finishing up with some highlights to
very light touches. So that's the approach
for these fevors. It does take a bit of time. That is true, and
there are still a few left to do on the
upper section before we move on to the fevers at
the very top of the animal, which are a bit different. And so for these other fevors, you can absolutely do it. You are capable of doing that. Just take your time,
and I will see you again once
that part is done. And in the next video, you will be able to
see exactly what this area looks like
once it is painted.
9. Mixing of the other colors: After analyzing the blue tones, we now focus on the other
colors of the parrot, which are just as
rich and diverse. The orange plumage turns out as particularly
bright and vibrant. It features a saturated
glowing orange with some darker accents. What is especially interesting is that at the
bottom of this area, we can spot small
greenish touches, and when blended
with the orange, they create slightly
brown tones, enhancing the natural texture
of this part of the faber. The parrot's iris has a
completely different color, a deep ochre, somewhere between dark yellow
and light brown. This warm tone contrasts with the rest of the face
and draws attention. Another key area is the
gray zone on the face, which is highly textured. It's not a flat gray, but a series of varying shades ranging from light gray to warm, almost beige tones
in some areas. And in some areas, you can even find
some subtle hints of pink that brings
life to the details. And finally, the
green plumage on the top of the head requires multiple greens
value from light to dark to create volume
and dimension. These le changes are
crucial for showing depth, light, and the
intricacy of the faber. So these are some of the
colors that we will mix. And, of course, if we realize
that we need more during the mixing process or
even after wind painting, we will adjust and
create others. Now let's move on to mixing the colors
for the second part. And you can notice
that on my palette, I have also added
some cadmium orange. It's quite an interesting
and useful color to create oranges
that are intense. That's it, if you
don't have this color, it's not a big deal either. Thanks to the lemon yellow, you can also create
oranges that are quite bright in terms of
luminosity and saturation. I used to use cadmium orange quite a bit
when I was starting out, but not so much anymore. So I created the first
yellow orange for the upper areas which are
lighter and more yellowish. And now I am using
this cadmium orange to make something a
bit more yellow. So I started from
this cadmium orange, which is actually
a medium orange, not leaning too much
towards yellow or red, really a balanced orange. And I'm adding a
small touch of yellow to make it slightly
more yellow orange. And so we will keep going. We are going to create
a whole range of oranges because you can see that in this section
of the plumage, there is a lot of
variations in the flavors. So it is important
for us to have that same variety
in the colors we use because that is what will really help us create
volume in this area. So right here, I found
that the gap between the first two colors I mixed
was maybe a bit too large. And now I've got something
more in between, halfway between the
first and second mix. Starting from the
cadmium orange, I am creating a slightly
more yellow orange color by adding just a small
touch of yellow to the mix. Then what I am going to do next is create a color
that leans more towards red orange because some parts of the plumage
have more reddish tones. So by mixing red
with cadmium orange, I am making this new color. Actually, cadmium orange
is mainly a shortcut. It gives you a fairly
balanced orange right away. You could easily create
a similar hue using just this lemon yellow and
permanent red as long as you carefully control the ratio to get that kind
of medium orange. And so now what I'm going to
do is use this as a base to mix something a bit browner for the darker areas
of this plumage. So, into this orange, I'm adding a bit of
red and burnt umber. The red helps to keep
the color from turning to greenish when I add the
burnt umber to my color. Let's now move on to
mixing the greens. As you can see, there are
some quite intense green in certain areas and
some darker ones, too. So once again, we are going to create a full range
of green tons to build this part
of the plumage in a way that feels realistic
and full of volume. As we saw during the analysis, there were quite a lot
of different greens, even more than the ones I
picked out from the photo. But that is exactly what
makes the difference. It is this wide variety of
tones that allows us to build depth and volume
in all these feathers. So right here, I've just
created a medium green, medium in terms of
intensity and value. Now I am going to make
a much darker green for certain areas which are the
darkest parts of the plumage. So I have added a good amount of burn timber and
ultramarine blue. The burn timber helps
to rebalance the green because if I only use
ultramarine blue, I will end up with a green
that is a bit too blue. Next, we create
more variations by adjusting the proportion
of blue and burn timber and also tweaking the
amount of white to get different shades,
some lighter ones. For example, right here, I noticed that in this mix, I added too much white, which made the green
a bit too pale. So I rebalanced it by
adding more blue and especially a good
amount of yellow to bring the green back to life. The other blues that we have on the palette like
the several blue and the tallo blue are also extremely useful
for mixing greens. They allow us to create
much more intense greens, the kind that we
wouldn't be able to mix using only our basic
five color palette. And as you can see,
this green I have just made is extremely vibrant, and it's going to work
really well for highlighting the small bright touches that appear in the green
areas of the plumage. And finally, I'm going
to mix one last green. This one will also
be a little intense, but not as much as
the previous one. That's why I just added a
small touch of several blue, along with the other classic colors I've been using so far. And the result is a green
that is really pleasant and works beautifully for
this area of the plumage. For the mix of the blue colors, I am speeding up the
video because we are basically mixing the same
colors we did before, and it's just that I didn't
have enough on my palette, so I am reloading and
recreating these kind of blues. Very similar to the
first one we created. And I am also mixing
some black for this area that we have just
under the orange feathers. We can see it's very dark, and so I'm creating some black with Bertenber
and ultramarin blue, and we'll also create some
variants while painting because you can see
that some elements are a little bit lighter
than this black. And so with all these colors, I think that we are good to go.
10. Painting the blue feathers at the top: Look like at the moment, for the very up part, I'm very sorry, but I don't have the footage
for this part. I did record it,
but unfortunately, the lighting was really poor and it was very hard to
see what was going on, so I chose not to include it. But don't worry, we
are going to continue and make up for it with
the rest of the fevors. Feel free to post
the video here to take your time and paint
this upper section as well. Luckily, it is not the most
complex area to paint, especially after everything we have already worked together. And I am confident that you will manage this area just fine, even without the video, because we have already handled the most technical
elements for the favors, and this part is mostly about playing with shadows and
highlights to build volume. There is just this
little one section on the left that
is a bit trickier. You notice that it has a lot of fine details with tiny
strokes and even some dotting some kind of little
dots on the elements. So take your time
with that part. And once you have done that, we can calmly move on to
the rest of this plumage. We are now starting
on the upper section, and here you will
notice that there are some strong contrast with some feathers that
are extremely light. I am calling them some strands because they almost
look like human hair, like a parrot as windswept hair. So I first added the dark strokes to use
as reference points, and then I placed
much lighter touches next to them to create contrast. You will also notice
that there is a slight blurry effect in this
area with the background. And to achieve that,
I gently blended the upper part of the fabers
into the black background, and that helps create
the soft diffuse look. I am continuing the work here, and the goal is really to
be precise in this area. When I start painting this area, I am using this
fairly fine brush and make sure that my
color blend well together, so we get nice transitions
between the different shades. That's how I am
approaching this. Here, too, you really
need to be very meticulous when blending
into the black background. For that, I will really try to let it almost
touch the black so the blend appears completely natural and enhance that
slight blur effect. And to make sure that there is no harsh transition between the background and
the lighter area, I will also work along the
edge of the background with this slightly darker blue applying it all
along the border. This way, I can blend
it into the background, and the transition
happens quite smoothly. But to make sure that the
transition is even better, what I will also
do is use some of this blue that is even darker and very close to
the black background. And so that I can mix it with the black background
in a better way. And it also helps to settle this blending
properly without muddying the blue too much because
otherwise the blue might get dulled by the black and
lose its original tone. And now I can apply this
very light color which will really pop against all
the surrounding darker tones. So you will notice
that there are two small feaors I
didn't feel at the top, because they are quite
similar to what we just did and not
particularly complex. And I wanted us to move on to the area on the
left and show you how to deal with this big
area of blue feathers. And this is the last type of blue feather that
we will encounter. And you can clearly see that
these ones are once again, very different from
the ones we painted at the beginning,
those large ones, and then from the curve
feathers we add on the side, and from those small elements
we just painted at the top, which were actually
quite simple. Here we can see
that these fevers take the form of
fairly straight lines, thicker in some places, and they often overlap
and cross each other. So that's what we
will try to recreate, and we want to make
sure that we achieve a favor texture that matches
what we see in this area. So the first thing to do is
to apply your colors well. And in this case, what
really helps is to start by placing the light
elements as reference points. We are in an area where the
blue is a fairly medium tone, quite similar to the
blues we painted earlier. And we have these much lighter strokes that
really stand out. So that is what I am doing. I apply them and position them first because they
stand out nicely, as I mentioned, which makes them easier to identify and place. So there we go. I am
applying my color in these various areas,
and in doing so, I am creating good
reference points that will help guide me when painting
in between them later. Now I can continue and place
more reference elements. This time, using
slightly darker blues, you can see that
there are other areas that stand out within the mass. There is this element
on the right hand side. We also have some
areas lower down and toward the right
that I can add in. For example, here,
there is a kind of thick lines that you
can clearly make out. There is also a bit of
detail in the central area, and I'm trying to identify all the elements that really stand out and that I
can position easily. By placing one element that
seems simple to position, I can probably place
another right next to it. The act of positioning one reference element becomes a guide for placing the next. It's always the same logic. When we face complex
zone, we ask ourselves, what could I start with
that is relatively easy? We paint that one first
and the next, and so on. Here, for instance,
I think I can work between these areas now with a slightly
lighter blue. And what is also important when working in this zone is really
to observe the movement, to look closely at
the direction of the favors and to adjust
or brochure to cooling. Based on the natural
flow of what is there, really trying to paint in the correct direction because that is what will give us
the sense of movement. And each time we are trying
to identify the direction, just like when painting air, we try to observe large logs, large elements, and we
paint them as they flow. Now that I have painted
those elements, which serve as reference points, I can start painting with a blue that is probably
a bit lighter, medium blue, which is the one we see the most
throughout this area. It's going to be present
in almost all of the remaining white area
I still need to paint. Of course, it won't be exactly
the same shade everywhere. I would likely need to
adjust it a bit as I go. And so now I can start painting between the reference
shapes I placed earlier, and it instantly
becomes much easier for me to identify the
right colors I need to apply to build the
base because the goal here once again is to
establish a solid base, to get the right colors
in the right places with strong reference point so that I can then refine everything
in more detail. That is when I will
really work on the texture and create
an impression of lots of small favors interwoven
throughout the area. But I need to before I
can achieve that effect, I need to have a good
color application. And even at this stage, just with the color application, I can already start bringing
movement to the fevors by observing the direction and adjusting my brush
strokes accordingly. Now, I am going to
keep focusing on placing all the different
elements properly. And once they are all in place, I will be able to blend
the areas together. The goal in blending between these different blues
is really to make sure that each shade stays in its place because
let's not forget, applying all these colors
carefully took a bit of time. It must have taken a good 5
minutes, which isn't nothing, so I wouldn't want to undo all the effort and end
up having to start over. So when I begin blending
between the different areas, I will really take my time, making sure that each
color is applied properly and remains
where it is supposed to. So that later, when I move
on to the final step, adding details and
small shadows, the process will be much
smoother, much easier. Of course, I know that
there will still be some areas that I will need
to go back and refine, but my goal is to keep
those touch ups to a minimum by getting things
right as early as possible. Oh Now I am going to start working on this
area with more precision. I wouldn't say that we are quite at the stage of adding
the final details just yet, but we are going to try to make this section look
more realistic. And that comes from refining the areas of light and shadow, the darker parts, and
the lighter highlights. We have applied a solid
base, but within that base, we can notice small shadow zones and lighter touches that are, much more subtle and fine than than what we
have done so far. Earlier, we focused
on blocking in the big shapes and
identifying the main masses. But now within
those larger areas, we can see much
smaller features. I didn't want to
paint them earlier because they require
more precision, and I preferred to leave
them for this next phase. So now I am going to
start identifying the darker areas and the
light ones that I see here. In general, most of the work
I need to do now involves adding slightly darker
elements because in this area, there aren't much
light elements, and we added most of
the light elements at the beginning because they
served as reference points. So once again, the key
here is observation. And I am going to scan the whole area of this favor
section and ask myself, is there a spot here where I should add a bit
more darkness? Is this part slightly
deeper in value? What shape does it take?
Sometimes the shape isn't very clear,
just irregular spots. And overtimes, many times, actually, in this area, it's something more distinct like long and narrow rectangle. Then I observe the direction of these elements I need to add. That will make the texture
look even more convincing and create even more
movement in this area. And as you can see, I am focusing mainly on
one group of color, one color group at a time. And I try to apply
that same tone in every place where I see it
in this part of the plumage. It feels good to
say that we have finally reached the last
stage of these blue fevers. So hanging there, we have been working on them for
quite a while now. It's fairly technical, a
bit repetitive at times, even though to be fair, we have worked on all sorts
of different fever types. But really, congratulations
for making it this far. That is already a
huge achievement. And it is these challenging
technical areas that help us improve the most because we have
to observe closely. Get the colors right, handle
blending, create texture. That's how we
progress step by step by taking the time to
do things properly, even when it is long or
demanding, like this part here. We have been working on blue and only blue for almost 2 hours. So truly Bravo, congratulations because
you have stuck with it, and the result is going to
be well worth the effort. So let's keep going. We are wrapping
up this area now, and gradually we are starting to move toward more
detailed element. That's why, as you can see, I have switched
to my Riga brush. So with this very fine brush, I am now going to add the final
details to this painting. They take the form of
thin little lines, more or less going in the
same general direction. They are all heading
up toward the right. So that's what I will try to do, even though it is clear that they don't follow
the exact same path. Some curve bits overstak
slightly different angles. So here, it's really
about going case by case. Of course, I am
not trying to copy each line millimeter
by millimeter. But instead, I am observing and trying to spot the
overall patterns, like, Okay, here I see that
the lines are this long. They follow this kind of curve, and there are there is this
particular shade of blue. So I will try to add
a few like that. Then over here, I notice some
lines are a bit shorter, a bit straighter, less curved. And so I will go ahead
and paint those in two. And on top of some of the
lines I have just painted, I can also see two or
three darker ones. So I will try to
add those as well. And this is how I think
when I am dealing with an area like this one
that has many details. And so that's how
I'm going to finish off this area and
build up the texture, and I will be repeating this process throughout
the rest of the zone. And so the predator mode
is kicking in again. I am scanning everything. And the moment I
spot a line I like or small area that feels a
bit too empty in my painting, I go in and add those
details right away. This way, it's get done. It is done, and I
won't forget it. And so we'll keep
going like this for the next few minutes to
bring this area to a close. So now I am going to keep adding small touches
throughout this area. Once again, it's really a matter of patience and observation. So take your time to place
all these little details, enjoy the process, as they say, and save each but stroke
because that is what will bring you closer to
the final result of this large blue section. And I am continuing with these slightly darker
elements for now. And afterward, I will be adding some lighter highlights
which will really help make everything pop and help bring the whole area to
a fully finished look. Now when I want those lighter strokes to
really stand out, what I do is just use
the tip of my brush. This way, the color
stays clean and doesn't mix with
what is underneath. It also means I have to reload my brush more
frequently than usual, but it is worth it to keep those highlights
crisp and bright. You. So we are now reaching
the end of this area, a few more brushstroke,
as you can see, and then we'll be able to
move on to the next section, the orange area where another really interesting
challenge awaits us.
11. Painting the orange feathers: Let's now move on to
this orange area, which is a really
interesting area to work on, and it's going to let
us completely shift the mood after everything
we did with the blues. We are now entering a
zone with much warmer, brighter and vibrant color, and it is that warmth
that is going to bring energy and
life to our subject. But be careful. Even
though it is tempting to just apply one single shade
of orange everywhere, you will need to be
precise and observant because this area is full
of subtle variations. There are yellowish
highlights at the top, reddish orange tones
in the middle, and some darker areas that lean toward brown in certain spots. So the goal here is really
to work on your blending, to be mindful of
the transitions, and to dare to adjust and shift your color
as you go along. Also take a close look at
the direction of the favors. They are fairly short,
overall, quite dense, and they seem to flow
upward with a slight curve. So as always, we adapt our
brush strokes to follow that natural movement to give the febors a sense of
volume and structure. And finally, one last
important point, this orange area sits right next to a much darker
zone at the bottom. It is that strong contrast that will really make the
orange light up. But it's also a slightly
tricky area to paint. So be careful not to
over mix the colors. Otherwise, the orange
could become dull. We will also see
a strong contrast with the greenish
zone on the left. And once again, we need to work carefully on
those transitions between the orange and green. You will notice that a few
scattered color touches help bridge the gap
between the two. So take your time,
observe carefully, and most of all, enjoy working with this vivid
and radiant color. It is a beautiful new
stage in the painting, and you will see the result can be absolutely spectacular. To start this area
with confidence, I'm going to begin by applying
the base colors carefully. I try to identify
the lighter areas, the darker ones, and also
the more reddish dons. You will notice that
the upper part of this area is overall
quite light. So I am applying a
light yellow orange. Which this one suits me
pretty well for this section. However, as we move
towards the side, the color gradually shifts
to a more classic orange. And on the far right,
it becomes even deeper, more balanced orange, not as yellowish as in the upperson. So starting by building a solid base and making
sure I am applying the colors in the
right place really makes the rest of
the painting easier. That's exactly what
I am doing here. And each time I take a moment not just to apply
my colors carefully, but to pause beforehand
and ask myself, Okay, looking at this area, how would I divide it? Where do I see more
of a pure orange? Where do I notice some
kind of a yellow orange or even a very bright,
almost lemon yellow? Every time I try to
mentally break down the area into different color
zones before I paint it. It is actually quite
similar to the exercise we did in the portrait course
or in the human body course. And if you haven't
done those yet, I highly recommend them because
they are really helpful, no matter what subject
you are working on. In those exercises, we
divided the body into zones, and all the little
details were ignored, and we focused only
on color areas using a photoshop filter
to make this happen. It is a great way to
train yourself to identify the key zones
of color more precisely. And that's actually
exactly what I do mentally before
I start painting. I break everything down into
simplified color regions, and that helps me approach
the rest of the work with a clear plan and paint more accurately the
different zones of color. And all these orange and
yellow orange color zones are really connected
to one another. They are all part
of the same whole. So as I apply the color, I am also starting to blend
slightly to make sure that we get smooth transitions between the different
orange zones. And with that in mind,
we will keep progressing carefully building a solid
base across the entire area. I'm going to speed up the
video a bit for the rest of the color application
because it's really the same process we have
already done many times now. What's going to be truly
interesting is what comes next, creating the favorite
texture in this area. So for now, I am just
applying my colors, and on the upper part, I'm leaving a small white space which corresponds to that
kind of greenish zone. I prefer to save
that part for later. H Just because I am speeding up the video doesn't mean you should
rush your brushstrokes. Take your time and apply your work carefully
and with precision. We are still in the process of building a solid foundation. The goal here is not to go fast, but to do things properly
and step by step. Now that this area is fully painted and we
have a solid base, we are going to start
refining it a bit, looking to emphasize some of the small shadow
areas we can see. These shadows often
have distinct shapes, and it is those shapes that help define the structure
of each fiber. So whenever I work
in these zones, what I do is take my time to
observe my subject closely. You might notice that I am using my phone to view
the reference photo. It is something I find
really helpful because it keeps the image right next
to me, close to my eyes. Don't have to look off
at a distant image, and more importantly, I can zoom in and study the final
details with precision. So just a little
tip on the sides, but it is definitely
something that works well for me when I
need to paint with accuracy. So here I am identifying all the small details
within this area, sorry. I have mixed a slightly darker, more brownish color on my palette for the lower
parts of these fabers. And really, the
small shadows areas tend to follow the
shape of the fabers. They help define
both the details and the shading we couldn't quite paint earlier during
the color application phase. At this point in the parrot, the elements I am adding now are mainly enhancing
the shading, but they are quite
small overall, so you can think of them as
fine details within the zone. So I am adding them one by one. That said, I am still
trying to observe and group together elements
with similar values, so I can keep using
the same color and work more efficiently. And when you look closely, you will see we find a lot
of these darker touches, especially on the right side, which is the deepest
and most shaded part of this section of the plumage. Sometimes you hear me
use the word efficiency, and I know that this is a word
that can make some people, especially some artists
cringe a little. They might think,
No, painting is supposed to be about
pleasure and relaxation, not about being efficient
or rushing through it. But when I use the
word efficiency, what I mean is
optimizing my time. Our time isn't infinite, and I personally like to see my subject take shape
to see it move forward. So if I can avoid wasting time, unnecessarily, I will do it. It's not about rushing or trying to finish
things quickly. It's about making
the most of my time. So I can do things just as
well, but in less time. That way, I managed to
move ahead because, as I said, our time is limited. When I started painting,
I had a full time job, so time was already tight, and having kids on top of that meant I had
even less free time. So if I wanted to make
progress on a painting, I had to find a way to
be a bit more efficient. So that's what I
mean when you hear me talk about
efficiency in painting. It has nothing to do with rushing the process
or cutting corners. Although I would admit, I do sometimes feel
a bit impatient, and I often want to see
the final result quickly. And I am always excited to
start the next painting. But here, efficiency just means
making room for progress, even with a busy life. And I think it is
important because even though painting is a
hobby or creative outlet, we all have full
lives with jobs, kids, family, and things to do. And if we want to
keep moving forward, keep learning and
making progress, and still enjoy other
things in life, then that kind of
efficiency really matters. While I was talking
about efficiency, I kept making good progress. You can see that
on the left side, the favors, the lines I added follow a
different direction. Their flow tends to move
more toward the left. So that's what I
have emphasized. One thing to watch out for
later is that in some areas, you will see line crossing over in slightly
different directions, which we didn't really have in the upper blue
area, for example. So that's something to
pay close attention to, and that is interesting
to work on. And we'll be adding those
elements in due time. Right now, the key is
to observe and ask, what is the dominant
direction of the lines in this or
that specific area. And that's exactly
what I am focusing on identifying the most visible dominant movement
and following it. Now I am switching to a
slightly more brownish color to work along the edge of this very dark, high contrast zone. These darker brown strokes that I am adding
along the border will actually help create a transition between the
orange and the black area. You will also notice that I haven't yet painted
the small section just to the right of the dark
zone, which runs downward. That's because the
colors there are a bit different with a mix of
greenish and brownish tone. So I have decided to leave
that part for later. So I am continuing to
work on this area, still looking for
small details to add little touches that can help
improve the overall look. And just like before, just like we did the blue area, I am now in the predator mode, scanning for every tiny
detail I can possibly have every little element that could help
enhance the area. I am adding it, sorry, as I go. And as you can see, at
this stage of the work, I am now starting to focus even more on refining
the details. That's why I have switched
from a brush that was already fairly fine
to a very thin, precise brush,
which allows me to be even more accurate
in what I am doing. As I continue working
on this orange area, adding in these little details, I would like to take a moment to talk about something
beyond technique, something that painting
teaches us on a deeper level. We often think of
painting as a hobby, a relaxing moment,
and it absolutely is. But as you move forward
with a piece like this, you realize that it is also a discipline, a
kind of commitment, something that goes well
beyond simple enjoyment, because right now, what I am doing isn't anything
spectacular. It is repetitive gestures, tiny strokes,
subtle adjustments, but it is the accumulation of these small actions that makes
the difference in the end, and that's where
qualities come into play that aren't always taught
in painting courses. Patience, consistency,
and the ability to stay focused even when not
much seems to be happening. Painting teaches
you to slow down, to tune out the
noise around you, to enter in a kind
of suspended moment, a moment that is just for you. And that's something
pretty rare. In a world that moves very fast, where we want instant results, painting reminds us that
some things take time, attention, and sometimes
even a bit of inner silence. But what you are doing right now is exactly what
it takes to grow. You are strengthening your
foundation as an artist. With every steady brushstroke, every moment of observation, every little correction, you are not just improving
your technique, you are developing a
painter's mindset. A way of approaching
your work that will stay with you for all
the paintings to come. Yes, sometimes it is slow. Sometimes you wish it would move faster that the final
result would just appear. But the truth is, it is in these quiet and steady moments
that everything is built. This is where you
train your eye, your hand, and your ability to see something
through to the end. So keep going
calmly and patient. Every little detail
you add do matters. Even if it's not
obvious right away, every minute you spend
on your painting is a small victory over
impatience, over distraction. And the more you
cultivate that mindset, the more the more
progress you will see, not overnight, but in a
lasting and meaningful way. Right now, I am really trying
to refine the areas I painted earlier to push
them a little further. For example, in this section, you can see that there
are a few favors, a few elements that seem
to overlap slightly, creating a particular texture. And what helps build that
effect is the addition of these dark little
strokes layered on top, moving in multiple directions. They are slightly
darker and they tend to be shorter,
more compact. And it is those
few extra touches that will really help create that February effect
where you get the sense that lots of small elements are crossing over one another, forming a rich and
complex texture. So at this stage,
what I am doing is looking closely at the
area and asking myself, Okay, I have already
added some detail here, but what is still missing? I'm trying to see what other
small touches I could add, the kind of elements
that could take the zone from very good to
truly excellent. So I look for anything that
I may have overlooked, any detail that could enhance the overall look
of this section. I also ask myself a few questions to help
improve the area like, is there enough detail here? Do the lighter elements
stand out enough? Or on the contrary, are there not enough
darker accents? Would it help to add a bit more contrast to create
more depth and volume? And so I go through this
kind of thought process, and that is what helps me
finalize each area completely. Right now, I am continuing
to add new elements. In these zones that
I just painted, I'm also going to add a few
lighter strokes later on, which will cross over
the previous layers and help enhance that
specific far texture, that unique effect we are
trying to achieve here. You might also notice
that I have left a very small white gap between the blue and orange sections
on the right hand side. That is because those two colors are extremely
different and for now, I didn't want to focus too
much on the transition. I will come back to
that a bit later. U M Now that this whole
area is painted, I can very gently start
working on this white section. And here I am really
trying to make sure that these two colors don't blend into each other because
as you can see, there are two clearly
distinct elements. They are not meant to merge. So I am being extra
careful here to avoid any connection between
the blue and the orange. Now all that is
left is to work on the upper area and the transition
with the greenish zone. And you will notice
that this upper part is extremely light with a bright and intense yellow, almost pale. There's clearly a hint of
white in the base tone. So that's the color I apply. Now, I am picking
up a little bit of this slightly brownish green and mixing it with
my orange. Why? Because in this section, the two colors start to
blend into each other, and the result is
something in between, a brownish, kind of
green orange tone, kind of hybrid color. So I figured I could apply a base code using
that mix of the two. And then I will go back
in and refine the area, adding more orange
touches on top, and then some deeper
green as well. That layering is what is going to create a
smooth transition. Creating that mixed color
halfway between the two really helps to bridge the gap between these
contrasting tones. Now I'm going to
mix anova shade, a more yellow green tone, lighter and brighter to
work into the upper part. And I am applying small touches here and there at the top. It is never easy when you have very different colors
right next to each other, especially when those colors
start to blend into one another and you have to
find a natural transition. That is why I chose to
create a tone that is literally the mix of both zones, and I think it really helps to soften the shift from
one area to the next. And it's the same idea
here with the blue. You will see it
looks a bit greenish because it is next to
that yellow green zone. So I'm using a blue green
mix to work the section and help create a
smoother transition between these two
different colors. You now to complete this transition and
really make it work well, I'm going to add a
few final touches. These are very fine
details, little accent, some dark orange, sometimes a bit brownish that I will place on top of the
transition zone. Then I will add a few
greenish touches, some dark greens going
slightly into the orange area. And what really
makes the transition feel natural and convincing is the fact that these
small elements are shared by both
zones. They overlap. They are right on the
border between the two. That is what creates a
rich and realistic blend rather than a hard
line between colors. So I am observing
the tiny details. I see there are some bluish
ones, some greenish ones, and I am adding them in now, placing these final touches to bring the orange
zone to a close. It wasn't the easiest
area to paint, but it turned out to be a
really interesting challenge, especially for
practicing transitions and working with complex
detailing like this. It pushed us further in building the plumage texture we have been developing all along
with this parrot. And now that these last
small touches are in place, we will move on to
the next section, the green area, which will bring us close to
finishing the full plumage. And then we'll move on to the
face of the parrot itself, which will be quite different but just as exciting to work on.
12. Painting the green feathers: So here we go with
this new area, the green plumage, which you can see in that large white space. The VO is going to be sped up for this part of the tutorial, but let me remind
you that this is no reason for you to
rush on your end. Take your time and
go at your own pace. This green section
is very similar to the blue area we
worked on earlier, and that's exactly why
the speed is double here. We are now at a speed
multiplied by two. We are applying the
same principle, the same technique,
the same layering, except that this time we
are working with green, and the direction of the
flavors is a bit different, so you will need to
adjust accordingly. But honestly, that is a great
thing because repeating the same exercise with a new color really helps
you cement the technique. It is how you build mastery, how you start developing
the right reflexes. So even if it feels like you are repeating
the same thing, keep going with the same care, the same patients, and
the same level of focus. That's how progress
happens by doing it again, refining it, and building
a true painter's touch. So hanging there, let's
keep going and give this area the same attention
we gave to the others. And so now we are still
working on this section. But if you really feel
like you have had enough of favors for now and want
to switch things up a bit, then why not paint the eye? Or take a break and work
on the beak, for example. It's not a problem for
the flow of the tutorial. That said, it is preferable to stay with this
green area for now because it follows on directly
from the blue area above. And it is important to build
a nice transition between these two color zones while
the blue colors is still wet. But again, it's
really up to you. If you need a break from favors, go ahead and explore another part or watch
a different video, do what works best for you. For the color application, I started by marking the dark green elements
visible in the area. There aren't that many, but they help me
place other elements. And what I realized is
that quite obviously there is this light green area you can see on the entire left side. So painting that area
entirely now will also give me more reference points to paint the rest of
this favored area. That's what I am doing, but
I am making sure to keep the same habits I applied at the beginning
of the painting. That is properly
stretching my color and to then achieve a good blending between the different
colors I apply. It's very important
to build a good base. I will never repeat it enough. You will even hear me in your
dreams at night repeating. Apply a good base of
color. It is important. So yes, really, building a solid base with
the right colors, colors that are well stretched
is key to then working on the details because here we are really in zones that
are rich in details. And this parrot is an excellent exercise for
practicing detail work. And to apply them well, you need to start
with a solid base, a base that is well stretched with colors that blend
nicely into each other. Normally, if the
base is well done, you should already start to
see some volume emerging in the area thanks to the
interplay of light and shadow. If you have made it this
far in the tutorial, truly congratulations because we have already gone well
past the halfway point, and you can genuinely be proud of what you
have accomplished. The hardest part is
really behind us, the most complex favor areas, the most subtle blends, the most technical details. You have already
tackled all of that. We are going to continue with some parts that are
still a bit technical, especially for the grayish
area on the right, that will be a little bit
tricky in the area of the eye. But overall, we have already faced the most
difficult sections. It's true that this
large green area might feel a bit repetitive, but that's actually
where real progress happens because here you are re using gestures
you already know. You are applying techniques
that you have understood, and it's really
through repetition that you start to
truly master them. There's a big difference
between understanding a technique and
integrating it deeply. And that difference plays out right here during these moments of consolidation when you paint with more confidence,
with more fluidity. So even if it's a
less impressive stage to watch, give the same care, the same patience
because what you are building here is
your painter's eye, your consistency and
your discipline, and your ability to carry a subject all the
way to the end. And that more than anything, will make a real difference
in your future paintings. And in fact, this
large green area we are painting now looks very similar to another one we already worked on
earlier in the tutorial, the large bluish
area just above it. The structure is
almost the same. Overlapping favors a
clearly defined direction and a mix of smooth
blends and small details. And that's no coincidence. This is exactly what
makes this part so interesting because here you are no longer discovering
a new technique, you are re using you have already seen
these shapes before. You have already painted
this kind of transition, and you have already
observed how these broad feather
zones are structured. And this is where your eye
starts working differently. It begins to recognize
patterns, anticipate volumes. It knows even before
your brush touches the paper what the next
part should look like. That is visual memory. This ability to
spot things faster, understand faster,
and translate what you see into precise gestures. You will probably notice that this area will feel
smoother to paint. You will feel more
comfortable and you won't need to double check
every single detail. And that's a great sign. It means that your
eye is sharpening, that you are internalizing
the right reflexes. So trust yourself,
keep the same focus, but also allow yourself to enjoy that quiet sense
of satisfaction, the feeling that you
are really progressing thanks to this one that
you are now repeating. So I remind you the steps
for painting this area. First, the right application
of the colors in the different zones to
create a good base layer. Then we blend
everything together. And once we have
this nice blending with all these
elements connected, we can start to refine a
little bit the shadows to create even more volume and
a more realistic surface. And it's only once
we have done all of that that we can have
the final details that will help to create
even more depth and even more realism to have a very nice fairer
texture and make as if there was some life
creating on our canvas. Now that there is
a solid foundation throughout this entire area, I can start working
on the small details, adding a few lines
here and there, all those final
touches that will make the piece look realistic
and really stand out. And with these final details, it is important to keep
several things in mind. First, the trajectory of
the lines you are adding, in which direction
they are going, their length, their
thickness, and their value. That is quite a few
aspects to pay attention. But the more you do
it, the more you observe the same elements
in each painting, the more naturally it
will come to you to notice these things when you are working on a particular area. And as you are painting, take a moment to simply
enjoy what you are doing. It is easy to want to rush to focus only on
the final result. But there is something
truly valuable in just being here,
painting right now. You are creating, you are
observing, interpreting, searching for the
right gestures, and all of that is already art. Every brushstroke,
even an imperfect one is part of the living process. So take a deep breath, forget for a moment about
how others my seats, your artwork, forget
about perfection. This moment belongs to you, and the more you
learn to love it, the more your painting
will come to life. Because true progress doesn't come from pressure or stress, but from consistency,
patience and above all, the joy you find in every moment spent in front of your canvas. And while we are talking
about joy and pleasure, be kind to yourself. What you are painting right
now might not be perfect. It might not be exactly what you imagine for your painting. You might even feel
a bit disappointed, but you know what? That's
completely normal. Every artist goes through that, even the greatest ones. What you are doing now, even if it feels like it is falling short is a
step, a necessary step. These are the moments
that will help you grow, that sharpen your eye, strengthen your
observation skills, and refine your movements. These little imperfections
that you are making today are what will lead you to the painter
that you are becoming. Mistakes are part
of the process. In fact, they are actually valuable because every failure
teaches you something. It is in those imperfect
moments that we explore, we understand, we
adjust and evolve. It is often in that quiet
and personal work that true artistic sensvityensivity,
sorry, is born. So don't be too
hard on yourself. Keep painting, keep exploring. Enjoy the process and try to find every
little improvements, every little progress that you are doing with your painting. Even if they are small, it's still some progress. And every painting and every attempt and little
detail you are working on right now and with your other painting is
building your artistic path. So I'm going to keep adding these final details to the green area for
a few more minutes, always trying to
see what I could add to improve the
section each time, constantly asking myself what
details might be missing, which areas could be
enhanced and so on, in order to end up with a result that I am
really happy with. The area is really well worked, and I am fully satisfied
with what I see. But what is still missing are
some lighter touches that will allow all those darker
elements to really stand out. You can see that there
are elements with a certain intensity
in terms of green. So those are the ones I'm going to try to add across the
whole section to really complete the work
and create an area that feels even more
three dimensional because it is that contrast between dark and light elements within the area that truly
helps define the volume. You can also notice
a few green touches that extend slightly over
the black background, like tiny lines, almost
like small hair, spilling over the
edge of the green. So those need to
be added as well. You can do it now if the
background is fully dry, which means you need to
switch to medium number two, since this counts as
an additional layer. And in fact, if the
background is dry, whether it's the green
background or the blue one, it means we also need to use medium number two because the color will touch
the black base, and that's like applying
a new layer on top. So you can paint over it now if the background is dry and
you feel like continuing, but that also means properly
thinning your paint with the medium so that it flows nicely to add
those final details. Or you can wait a few days
until the green area is fully dry as well and then come back to it with the
medium number two, again, plus a few touches of fluid medium like liquid to add those little
hairs on top. So it's really up to you. Both approaches work
perfectly well.
13. Painting the black area: So now we are going to
paint the black area, as well as the small
green orange area that you can see on the right
side of our orange favor. Now, it is true that
I could have painted these punks right after
finishing the orange zone. But I chose I chose instead
to work on the green area first since we were already focusing on that
transition at the top. In the end, the order
of application of these different areas
doesn't really matter. And so as long as
everything gets done. So we'll go ahead and
paint these colors now. And as you can see, I
have mixed new ones. Here I've got to kind of bluish gray that is close to black, and above all, a mix
of orange and green. To create that slightly
brownish green shade, you can see on the
right hand side. I figure I can start by applying that color
along the edge, since it stands out nicely. It is a good base to begin with. Next to it, we'll have
something a little more orangy. It's not a very intense orange, though, because it's
been mixed with green. That is also why I have kept the same brush to
paint this section. I want an orange that
is somewhat muted, almost dirty with traces of the surrounding greens mixed in. And then on top of that,
we'll be able to add some lighter green touches to make certain areas
pop a bit more. This way, we will really
complete the orange zone. We had already done
a good job earlier, but it needed a bit more
work to transition into that greenish orange
area and then into the black zone below because those two areas are
quite connected. So that's what I will be focusing on during
the next few minutes. Sorry, I said I was adding some lighter touches,
but as you can see, it's obviously some darker ones that I am adding right now over this area to create
a bit more texture and work better this transition
with the other area. I am continuing to work on
improving the transition. I am adding all
these small touches. I have added some darker greens, and now I am adding some
vibrant orange on top. And at this point, we have
a favorite section that has really taken shape and all of
that in just a few minutes. So it is quite satisfying. And now we can move on to
the black area just below. Now it is time to paint this
black area that you can see. There's nothing particularly
complex about it. You just need to
pay close attention to the various tones
within the blacks. You can see that some parts are just slightly
lighter than others, and some are a bit darker. So it is important to
observe that carefully. Also, since these blacks are quite different from
the orange area, I am trying to apply them very
delicately along the edge. And when I add small
black strokes that slightly overlap the
color underneath, I make sure to place
the paint carefully so that it doesn't blend too
much with the orange below. These two colors are quite
different from one another, and if they mix too much, it can create a slightly
greenish tint in places. So I really try to avoid that and keep the blacks
looking clean and rich, even though there
are a few spots where a slight blending is needed to ensure a good
transition between the elements. So that's what I am aiming for. But overall, this area won't
take very long to paint. We have already dealt with much more complex
zones earlier. So this one should go
smoothly, should go smoothly. And it's also pretty nice to work on simpler areas
from time to time. They give us a bit of a break because to be honest
with this parrot, we haven't had many chances
to catch your breath. There have been some
really intricate sections from the beginning. So it is refreshing to focus on a few small areas like this where you just need to
apply a bit of blending. A two or three little details, and that is enough to make
the area look realistic. So, yes, these moments should
be savored in painting because they don't come
often with this subject. And the area waiting next to this one is also going to
be a bit more challenging. But that's a good
thing because this remains an excellent
training subject. It is in the difficult zones
that we improve the most. If we only ever painted
flat backgrounds, we wouldn't make any
progress at all. So all in all, it is a really interesting
subject to work on. I am applying my colors, making sure they blend
well with each other, which is really going to
help finalize the area and create a much
better connection and transition between
these elements. These are the little detail
lines I am now adding. Some are quite dark, so I will use these black. Others are a bit lighter, so I will use brown instead. But in fact, it's mostly brown that I will
use for the lines on this orange area because brown is essentially a
very dark orange. So when I apply it
over the orange, it stays in the
same color family. I won't end up with
an unpleasant, let's say, ugly color for mixing that would
clash with the orange, because if I mix too much
black with the orange, it will turn into something
a bit more greenish and not very appealing and matching
the colors in this area. So I apply this brown on top, and these are the final
little lines that will help create more
texture and really finish off this
area of the parrot nicely and enhance
the transition. So we can work like this, maybe even add a few more
touches within the black area to enhance it because
we can see that there are also some lighter
elements in this black area, so I'm going to add them. But overall, we are almost done. Just a few more little
details and elements to add, and this section
will be complete. Then we'll be ready to move
on to painting the eye.
14. Mixing of the colors of the eye: So let's start these new mixes
for the colors of the big, for the gray areas and the eye. So in the previous part, I didn't analyze the
colors of the big, but it's basically kind of some different shades of
gray that are pretty dark, and it's the different values
of this gray that will help us to create
volume in the area. For the grays I am mixing, I am spinning up the
video a bit because the process is pretty
much the same each time, burn timber, ultramarine
blue and white. And each time it is
the amount of white that determines how light
or dark the gray will be. So I adjust the level
of white accordingly, and I also vary the ratio between the burnt timber
and the ultramarine blue. This lets me create
grays that lean even more towards the blue
or more towards brown, depending on the area
I am working on. Even though for this parrot, we will mostly use some kind of blue gray, not so brownish. We can notice that some
of the gray areas have a slightly pinkish
tone as we saw earlier during the color analysis
of previous mixes. To achieve that, I took one of my base gray and
added a touch of red, along with a tiny bit of yellow to soften
the purple effect. That's because the
gray was leaning blue, and when I added red, it turned a bit purplish, and the yellow being
the opposite color of purple helped to
neutralize the intensity. And then I create a darker
variation of that pinkish gray by adding burn tuber and increasing the proportion
of red in the mix. Now, let's mix the
color for the eye, which is a sort
of yellow orange. So I start by creating an orange with a large
amount of yellow, and then I adjust it
based on what I observe. Of course, I also
had a good amount of white since the
color is fairly light. And also, to make
the tone a bit more neutral and brownish,
I use burned timber. This helps soften the intensity and shift the color
slightly toward brown. I mix and I adjust as I go. At this point, I realize my mix isn't yellow
enough, really not at all. So I add a generous
amount of yellow. And depending on what
I have in front of me, I decided next steps. In this case, I think I
can lighten the color, and also the burn
tumber helps to make it a bit more browner
and less saturated. And now I've got a color that looks quite good for the eye. I just had a tiny touch of red to push it slightly
more towards orange just to keep it leaning just to keep it from leaning
too much toward yellow. And from this base color, I can create another variation to add more nuance to the eye. And again, using burn timber, I use it to make it
a little bit darker, and the red helps to make it less shift too far
towards the green, which can happen because
of the burn timber. And so now we are ready
to start this new area.
15. Painting of the eye: Now let's move on
to the eye area. That is such an important
part because the eye is the very first place we
look even unconsciously. It's almost like the gateway
into our animal portrait. That's why it deserves
extra attention. The shape has to be accurate, the color is carefully observed, and most of all, the
contrast need to be sharp. What brings the eye to life isn't just the
color of the iris. It is the interplay between the darker values
inside the pupil, the eyelid shadows,
the surrounding rings, and the lighter values like the reflection and the
light hating the surface. That tiny white kind of gray
highlights, for example, is a minuscule detail, but if it is well placed, it is enough to make
the eye feel alive. You instantly sense a presence. So here I am starting by working on the
colors of the eye. We have a light
yellow orange zone, which is the iris, and the pupil takes up
a large part of it. If you look closely,
you will notice the pupil isn't one flat color. The lower section
is a bit darker, while the upper part shows
some slightly lighter grays, and above all, there is a strong visible reflection
that needs to be painted in. That is exactly what we
are going to capture. Now with the eye, so much
depends on the initial drawing. In my case, I spent
quite a bit of time using this grid
method to draw it, and that grid really
helped me to be precise and get a
realistic pencil base. The eye is well placed. The iris has the right shape, the eyelid curves are accurate. Everything was done carefully. And whenever you are using
a grid or projector, these tools are incredibly
useful before painting because they allow you to start with a drawing that is
extremely accurate. I have started to carefully apply the colors of the pupil. What you can also notice is that between the
iris and the pupil, there is a sliding
lighter color. That's why I use a lighter gray here to work that transition. Another thing to observe is that the edge around the pupil
isn't perfectly smooth. It is a bit irregular,
almost jagged. So I try to capture
that as well by marking those subtle
variations around the pupil. All this work inside the eye really
requires a fine brush. The one I am using here
is very thin because you need a high level of precision to work on
this area properly. I can also work along the
entire edge of the eye. You will notice that right before reaching the
really dark area, there is a sort of
subtle transition, a small band that is
just slightly darker. So I am adding that in as well, still using a fine verse
to keep things precise. I starting to look good and
really well defined now. And what I am going to do next, still with my fine brush
is work a bit more inside the iris area where you can see some
small dark touches. So I am adding those in now with literally regular
marks which help define the eye and make
it more realistic. But overall, this one be an
extremely detailed area. In fact, this eye is actually
less complex to paint than the human eye because the pupil takes up a large part of it, meaning there is a lot
of black and gray, which is fairly
straightforward to handle. And the iris itself
has very few details, so that makes things quite
a bit easier for us. Now that these areas
are nicely defined, I'm going to finish the
inside of the eye by working on the reflection we
can see within the pupil. There is a small
reflection on the right, which is a bit darker
than the one on the left. So I'm going in with a
slightly darker gray for that. Then I would work on the
lighter reflection on the left. It has a kind of
irregular diagonal shape before it drops down and joins the darker
one on the right. And what we can also see with this darker
one on the right is that it contains a tiny
lighter spots inside it. So I'm going to add that too. Saying goes, the devil
is in the details. And for this eye, that
detail really matters. Now, when it comes
to detailed work, it is important to
understand that some details matter
more than others. For example, when we are
working on the favors, we can afford to be a
little less precise. Of course, we still focus
on texture and detail. But if a small favor
online is placed a few millimeters too far to the left or the right,
it's not a big deal. But here, with the eye, if this highlight is even a few millimeters too
low, it just won't look right. If the pupil is drawn
slightly too large, same thing, something will feel. So there are certain areas where precision is
absolutely essential, and others where there is a bit more room for flexibility. In an animal portrait, the eyes are truly the
most important area. They are what allow us to instantly recognize our subject. Other parts of the
animal can afford to be a little less
perfect, though, though, of course, we still want
to be careful and precise, but for the eyes,
it is critical. And the same applies to human portraits.
The eyes are key. The nose and mouth
matter very much, too, but the eyes are where we need the highest
level of precision. As you can see, I am mixing some reddish brown tones
with a hint of violet, purple to paint the
contour around the eye. And that's what I
am going to do now. This area isn't particularly
difficult to paint, but you still need to be
precise with your brushwork to make sure the outline
doesn't end up too thick. So I am using a
fine brush here and I am trying to spread
the color evenly. What you need to
pay attention to in this area is the subtle
shifts in value. You probably notice that I'm starting right now with
something very light. Well, pretty light,
the light apart. And then I am adjusting
the color on my brush to paint a darker section
as we move downward. The difference isn't huge,
but it's definitely there. Some parts are
darker than others. Around the inner
corner of the eye, and especially as
you move upward, the tones get deeper. So I adapt my color to match that adding darker
touches where needed. In fact, near the
top part of the eye, we even get close to black. That contrast is what's really going to help bring
the eye to life. Of course, for now,
the surrounding area hasn't been painted yet, and that's what will truly help the parrot take
shape and feel eye. But step by step, we'll get to that
part very soon. U In this purple brown
band I just painted, I'm going to add some
slightly lighter and slightly darker touches
in certain areas. In short, I'm going to add a few details and
finish out the zone. And if I notice any
small things that need adjusting inside
the eye itself, I will go ahead and
fix those as well. As you can see, I have already prepared some colors
off to the side, and I'm going to
use them now to add those final touches and really complete the work in this area. So, yes, I make some light
to color for these details. Just one last little touch with these some darker
elements in here, and then we'll move on to the
area surrounding the eye.
16. Painting of the grey area: Now let's move on to that large gray area
surrounding the eye. We will start by working
right around the eye itself and then gradually move outward to the
section on the right. There is a lot of work
ahead in this area. It's definitely a
complex section, just as complex as the
previous one we have done with the fors,
but don't worry. We are going to break
it down into lots of small and manageable steps. By taking our time, observing closely and analysing
what we see, you will find that we can
tackle it without any problem. It is true, this zone does look a bit
intimidating at first. When you glance at it, it
seems really intricate. There are so many small
touches of different colors, lots of fine textures, and a ton of tiny
color variations. That can be overwhelming. There are also multiple
textures to consider. Right around the eye, we get this very
specific surface with dark spots and
some raised areas. Then just below that,
there is another texture, some kind of short hair. Further off to the
right, we start to see fever like forms
quite similar to what we painted in the orange
zone earlier with overlapping elements
and interwoven details. So that's what we are
going to dive into now. Step by step, we will
work our way through it. And as the saying goes one step at a time and
everything will go smoothly. Let's enjoy each part
of the process because every part brings us closer
to the final result. So, as I said, we go
one step at a time, taking one element
after another. And here, what I am starting with is working around the eye. We have already made great
progress on the eye itself. It has a beautiful shape, and now I really
want to complete the surrounding area to make
it look even more realistic. I have applied some gray tones, and you can see that there
are slightly darker elements outlining the shapes
and contours. I emphasize those as well to create a sense of slow
relief in the area. And right next to
that darker element on the right side of the eye, there is a much lighter section that helps enhance the volume. That is where I left
a bit of white, and now the spot, and that's the spot I'm going
to work on next. A little subtlety in
this part on the left, you may have noticed I added
a slight orange tint because there is a particular tone here that stands
out to bit more, especially on the
left side of the eye. And as I mentioned
a few seconds ago, just next to this dark line, we have this very light band that gives a real
sense of depth. This gives the impression
that there are some little wrinkles
around the eye, and that's what we are
going to try to paint. These wrinkles are
basically just to play between slightly lighter
and slightly darker colors, creating a sense
of raised texture. So we'll take time
painting those. Actually, I am not
standing here thinking, This is a complex area. How can I reproduce
that skin texture? How can I make it look
like parrot skin? Instead, I just move forward step by step,
telling myself, in this specific spot, I see some light gray, I see some dark gray, and I notice a few fine lines
that define the texture. So I'm going to paint
them exactly that way. And honestly, I am
not even thinking about the fact that I am
painting a parrot anymore. I almost forget the subject. I am just focused on
what I see on observing all the small elements in this area and then
translating them into paint. In this area, we now have
a solid base to work from. So I'm taking both my very
fine brush and my whiter one, and I am painting this
slightly dark line because when you look
closely at the edge, it is a bit more intense
than what I had done before. It needs to stand
out a little more, which is why I am adding
those dark touches. Next, I observe the area
carefully and ask myself, what are the darker
elements I need to add? Which details should
stand out more, and which ones can I
work on more precisely? Then I go in and add them, placing my colors one by one. This is how we end up with a zone that feels
really textured, well defined, and full
of subtle detail. At this point, we switch
into the predator mode. The predator mode is back, and we go in and we go in adding these tiny
touches here and there, and I am really trying to look for all the small details that we can see in this area. Now, because the area around
the eye is a bit complex, I told myself I would just focus on this small
section for now. I am not trying to cover a
larger area all at once. We will work on the
broader section later, but to begin this gray
zone around the eye, I felt this was already
enough, already plenty. Focusing on a small
section at first is also a great way to build confidence
when tackling a new area. It helps you test the
waters, as you can say, as you might say, and
think more clearly about how to approach it with the most
precision possible. And right here, I am adding some small highlights
now that will help make the area stand out a little bit more and create even more
volume in this area. And these small line
touches I am adding also help break up the
outline of the eye a little, making it more
irregular and therefore closer to reality and
to the actual result. So there we go. Just
a few more touches to add in this area. And then I would say
that we are good to go and can move on to other
parts of this section. Now I'm going to show
you how to paint this area next to this one
we have just completed. It is quite a large area, and I am going to try to
work on it as a whole. I will be focusing on the
section to the right and the area just below the eye where we see all
those dark spots. So the first thing to do to make life easier is to had
some reference points. We are not reinventing
the wheel here. This part of the
tutorial is simply about reapplying the same principle
we have worked on so far. The only difference is
that this is a new zone, so there is a slightly
different approach when applying the base layers. What I mean is we are
doing the same thing, but with kind of
different effects. What I start with is working on the darkest elements
we see in the area, the main shadow zones, using a slightly darker gray. I lay them down. I lay
them out like this. This way, it will
be easier to paint the lighter elements that appear in this part
of the parrots face. So I am trying to
be fairly precise. I try to make sure
these darker areas are placed in the right spot. But here we are no longer
working on the eye itself, so we can relax a little. It's not the end of the world if every detail isn't
placed perfectly. We just try to do our best
to position them well without putting
too much pressure on ourselves for these
smaller touches. Uh, So I would say I have applied
enough for now. We have solid reference points, and the main shadow
areas are in place. Now with this fairly fine brush, I am going to start painting between these
different elements. I will try to be precise
in how I apply the colors and blend them slightly with the neighboring ones as I go. This way, we will end up with smooth transitions and
a solid base to work on later when adding the
final details that will really bring out to
well crafted textures. As I apply the colors, I am really making an effort to keep each zone in its place. I have already spent
several minutes laying down those reference elements and marking out the shadows. So I want the dark areas to stay dark and the lighter ones
to remain truly light. So I apply my color,
and at the same time, I do a subtle blend, just enough to connect the different shades
of gray smoothly. And I am going to do this
across the entire area, always working between
these elements. We will mit back once that is done since the process is pretty much the same throughout. So take your time on this step and build a solid base that you can refine with small spots and additional
details afterwards. So this is how my area
looks like right now. And before adding even
more detail to the zone, what I am doing is painting
these black spots. The reason why I am painting
them right now is because this is a very important
element of this area. It really changes
the way we see it. And therefore, before
adding any final details, I prefer to add
these elements right now because it is some kind of a game changer in this area. It's really important.
So the first thing I do is that I paint these black spots without
trying to touch the gray area. I don't want them to
blend at the moment. Now that they are painted
entirely, I mean, I'm going to blend them because if you zoom
into the photo, you can see that
these two elements, the gray and black areas,
blend into each other. They really there is a very smooth blending
between these elements, and I want this blend to appear. If I didn't want to
have any blending, I would have waited
for the gray area to dry and then paint
these black spots, and this would and these
colors wouldn't have blended. But I want them to blend. So that's what I am
doing right now with some small brush strongs
all along the edge. And therefore, I
have a nice blending between these different
color, a great transition. It's not a very big one. It's quite subtle, but
you have to add it. And so what I did right here, I'm going to do it with
all these black spas. So it's basically
the exact same thing to do in this entire area. So you just have to be patient and to take
your time to do it. And once this is done, we
will do rest of this area, adding all these final details that will make it
even more realistic. Here is what the
area looks like now that I have all painted
all the dark spots. So it's not bad. It really
changes the whole section. But you can clearly
see that something is missing and we can't
just leave it like this. What is missing are
the small details, the subtle textures between
all these elements, darker, more defined
touches that will really bring the hozone to life and make
it feel complete. So between each dark spot within all the light gray areas, I'm going to observe carefully and look for the little details. I observe their shape, their value, their thickness. Then I will head them in one
by one using my iga brush. Mainly the tip, since this
work requires precision, and that's how we will
move from a pretty decent, realistic look to something
that truly feels lifelike. Once again, the key is to take your time,
observe carefully, and focus on identifying the cell features that
make up the section. While adding these details, I will also take the
opportunity to improve the blending between the
black and gray areas. Overall, the blending
is already quite nice, but there are still a few areas that could be refined further. Finally, what really makes
these darker details pop are, of course, the very light
elements, the highlights. These highlights through
contrast and light play, create volume and
bring a sense of depth and realism to the area. So that's what I'm going to at now right next to
these dark elements. There comes a moment in every painting when you
enter a different dimension. The main shapes are in
place, the colors are there, the shadows and highlights, too, and yet something
is still missing. That's when the details
come into play. Details on those small
touches sometimes barely visible that turn a good painting into
a striking one. They add texture,
death, and life. For example, a
sparkle in the eye, an irregularity in a fever, a subtle shadow in the fold of a fabric when you are
painting still life. These quiet elements,
when combined, build the illusion of reality. But details aren't there just to impress the viewer
of your artwork. They are here to tell a story, the texture of the skin, the softness of light, the roughness of the bark of a tree when
painting a landscape. When you work on a detail, you are having a conversation
with your subject. You are observing it closely,
paying tribute to it. And that focused, meticulous gaze is what makes you
not only a painter, but an observer of the world
because you see you are seeing things that
normal people don't see, artist people don't pay
attention to these details. So that's why they
are important. But don't think you need
to put them everywhere. Too many details can
kill the visual impact, but the right ones in the
right places can create magic, just like with this area
that is really taking shape. And it's often in these quiet moments when
you are refining a single area that you feel
the greatest joy of painting, that moment when the
artwork comes alive because a single well placed detail
made all the difference. Like this reflection in the eye we painted earlier with
this lighter gray. So t your time, observe and never forget
that the beauty of a painting often lies in what the eye senses more than
what it sees actually. People sometimes say that
a real artist should only paint from life with the subject right
in front of you. But in reality, to improve, to sharpen your eye, to work on precision, the photo is an incredibly
valuable tool, essential even. Why? Because a photo
freezes reality. It captures a
moment in time that we can observe over
and over again. It doesn't move.
It doesn't change. And it is that stillness that allows us to truly
dive into the details, to take the time to see the
subtleties of a glance, the complexity of a fever, or the soft transition
of a shadow. Without a photo, that will
be nearly impossible. Animals don't stay still. Light changes from
minute to minute. Even the face of someone
eventually gets tired. The photo becomes our ally. It let us study, compare, go back, zoom
in, and understand. And beyond that, a photo
allows us to paint things we could never observe
in our everyday lives. A wide animal emotion, a moment that lasted
only a second, a distant landscape
we couldn't reach. It opens doors to subjects that would otherwise
remain inaccessible. But, of course, not
all photos are equal. If you truly want to paint well, you need a high quality image, a clear photo with good
lighting and sharp definition because those little
captured pixels are what give you the
richness of texture, the microcontrast, the
sub reflection you will then be able to bring
to life with your brush. So no, painting from a
photo is not cheating. On the contrary, it is giving
yourself a powerful tool, one that helps you
observe better, understand better, and
therefore paint better. And without this
beautiful photo, it would have been nearly
impossible for me to paint all those detailed
elements and to create the textures on a parrot's
face that feels so rich. So here we are, I am continuing to add a
few more touches. But overall, this area is now well developed
and nicely painted, and we'll very soon be able to move on to
all the elements.
17. Continuing the grey area: We are now going to
start working on this lower area where we see that black patch
close to the beak area. And what is really nice about
this whole grade out zone, this part of the parrots face, is that within a single area, we actually work with
many different textures. Sure, it is all part
of the same whole, but there are a lot of
variations within it. And that's what makes it
so rich and in my opinion, really interesting to work
on and make progress. So I started by applying that black patch
you can see here. And what we notice
is that there is a slightly pinkish
color in the area. It feels a bit strange
to see that color there, but honestly, I
don't overthink it. I see that the color
is there, so I add it. In fact, sometimes when I paint, I kind of go into robot mold. I don't question it much. So I see an element, and I just put it in. So that's what I have done here. And we begin with a
good solid application of color just as we usually do, creating a strong
base in this area. Now, this zone is a little less complex than the one
we worked on earlier, but it is still quite texture, so there will be a fair
number of small elements to add in order to bring
it to life as well. And above all, to
ensure continuity between this area and
the one above it. What we really don't want is for adjacent zones to look
different in terms of quality, to have something really
well worked out just above, and then right here, something that looks rushed or unfinished. So I am applying this color
throughout the entire area. You can see that I
have skipped over the actual application process because it's the same as before, just laying down that light
gray air in the area. And now we'll be able to start refining this area
in more detail. To start working on this area and make it look more realistic, I'm going to add the small shadowed areas that we can see
scattered throughout. You will notice
that there are lots of little touches
spread out all over. They are generally
moderately dark, so that's why I
will apply first. Then I will add some
slightly darker, finer details on top to
finish out the area properly. As we have said before, I can't remember if it was
in this tutorial or another, a shadow area is never
just one flat dark shape. It's actually made up of several smaller elements of varying values layered together, and that is what creates
depth and realism. Here, we have a slightly lighter gray, and
on top of that, we have some elements
that are a bit darker, and that's how we bring
realism to the area. It's a bit like
working in layers. First, we apply
the lighter gray, then go over it
with a mitton gray, and finally, I had those
small dark touches, and that's how I
build up the zone. Of course, I am speaking
in general terms here. In practice, I adapt
to each specific zone, each specific shape
and element I see. The shadow areas are now
a bit more defined as we can already start to see a sense of depth emerging,
which is great. Now we are going to start defining the details with
a bit more precision. I can see in this
area that there are some slightly
dark gray touches. I will go ahead and add those. In some places, I'll also notice a few slightly lighter touches, and I will add those as well. At this stage, I'm really
taking my time adding in the lighter and darker touches that will help define the area. You might feel that you might feel like I
am repeating what I said earlier about the blue
areas or the orange ones. But in fact, the process is more or less the same
for all of them. What changes are the colors, the shape of the details, the direction of the textures. We observe what
shadows are present, and we adapt our approach. But overall, the way we go
about it remains the same. It just requires a moment
of reflection beforehand, where I ask myself, how am I going to add details? What shape are they? How
thick do they appear? What value of gray should I use for the shadow areas
I will be adding? Where exactly should
I place them? Each time I ask myself
these questions and adapt based on the
area I am working on. But I always keep the same
guiding principles in mind. Apply the base
colors, blend them, refine them with more
precise application, and then add details. That's the sequence we follow
every time in every zone. Whether we are painting this parrot or later
landscape or even a portrait, we always rely on
the same framework, this guiding thread that
structures or painting process. Then, of course, we adapt, we adjust it depending
on the subject, how we apply the color, how we place the shadow, how we have the small
details to create a texture that is unique
to the subject we are working on because we
are we are not working the fears in the
same way that we do work the hair
of an individual. And we are not painting
the eye of the sparrot in the same manner that
we do paint the eye of a tiger or the
eye of a person. And the way we worked on the textures of the fear
is not the same as the way we can work the texture of an apple in a steel
light, for example. So that's why the sequence
the framework is the same, but we adapt to the
subject we are painting. And now the final details for this area are the much
darker touches we can see, little dots, small
lines that we can add, and that will really bring everything together
and complete the work. These are the finishing
touches that give the zone its depth and texture and
make it feel truly finished. Now to truly finish of the area, what also needs to
be worked on is the subtle transition between the green zone and
this gray zone. You will notice that there are small greenish touches blending delicately into the gray area. So that's what I'm going to
add along the entire edge. I am placing these slightly
lighter green tinted elements that really help finalize the area and smooth
out the transition. I will be doing this
along the entire border, and we'll need to
do the same for the transition with the
orange area as well. Up top, we can see the
colors blending there, too. There is a small
intermediate hue, and we also have a
patch that starts in the gray zone and
spills into the orange. That will need to be added too. And once that is done, it will wrap up our work
on this whole section, and we will be ready to move
on to the area on the right.
18. The grey area is almost finished !: Let's get started
on this new area, which has a slightly
complex texture. We are going to see how to
work on this with this inter waving of elements layered over one another that
will help create volume. And the challenge here is not to get lost in all these elements, not to be unsure where to start. To avoid that, to avoid getting lost and to
actually start somewhere, what I should have done is to first mark out the
slightly dark lines, the shadowed lines that
are present in this area. These will serve as
reference points, allowing me to paint in between them and gradually create depth. So that's what I am doing
now with this fine brush. I am applying small strokes of a slightly dark gray
wherever I can see them. For this part, I am
spinning up the video a bit because it's mostly
about painting those lines, and what takes
time is constantly reloading the brush
to get a clean line. I am using this fine
brush to be more precise, but that also means I cannot load too much paint at
once. But that's fine. We take our time and
focus on doing it carefully to create all
these reference points. Also pay close attention to
the direction of the lines. You will notice that
in the upper part, the lines tend to
be more horizontal while in the lower part,
they are more vertical. So that is also something
to watch out for. Adding these lines is a great way to start
off on the right foot. So now we know how to create a solid base using
those darker elements. We've got a few
reference points. Now we are really
going to start to work between these
elements and try to reproduce that very
particular and probably quite unique
texture of the parrot. So here I am starting
by painting with a slightly lighter gray
between those elements. I was using a fairly fine brush, but it wasn't fine enough
to be really precise. So now we are going to go back with this one and refine
that work in more detail. My approach for this big area is to work on small parts of this larger zone we
started painting and really push each small
section to the fulest, adding all the detail elements, all the little areas of shadow, everything that will help create depth within
that section. And once that is done, I move
to the next small section. But I only move on once I have painted absolutely everything
in the current section. So I have chosen to go about
it this way to work on small areas one at a time and complete each one fully
before moving on, instead of applying light gray over the entire area first, then adding small shadows
over the whole thing. And finally, all the
small details throughout. I am deliberately
taking this approach because I feel that if I try to paint the
entire area at once, applying a base holor
all over, for example, it will be just
another opportunity to get lost and lose track
of what elements I where. With those dark lines, we have given ourselves
good reference points, but I am afraid that if we work the whole area all at once, those points might
not be enough, and we would end up getting lost in this part of the parrot. So for this area, once again, it's really about meticulous and very detailed
observation of what we see. You may notice that
I constantly have my phone in hand to zoom
in on the elements. Usually, I either
hold the phone with the specific area I
want to paint displayed or I have a small tripod next to the easel that allows me
to keep both ends free. It's definitely more convenient to have both hands available. Here, I kept it in my hand, and I am adding all these
little shadow areas, all those s grays, I am really observing
the variations of gray. Observed carefully looking for the small shadowed zones that
might appear here or there, and then I had them. I'm working delicately with this brush to be very precise, and that's how we are going to make progress in this area. You can see that on this rpaline there was a slightly
more pronounced shadow. So I added that in and then gradually it transitioned to something a little bit lighter. There are also small
highlights next to these dark lines
we painted earlier, which also help create volume, and that's how we move forward, always taking the time before every brushstrokes
to really look closely and decide
which lines to add, which elements needs
to be created. When I add the
elements in this area, I really try to be
precise because in fact, this isn't a place where you can just make up lines
or invent the forms. It is the kind of area
that is very particular and you don't often come
across this type of texture. For me, personally, while
painting this parrot, it was the first time I
encotered a zone like this. So it's not something
familiar or routine. That means you can't really make up the forms or
invent the relief, or at least not until you
have painted several of them and truly understood the
logic behind this texture, how the elements
interlock and overlap. Only then, can you maybe
start to invent a few shapes? But if you want something
coherent for the whole area, it is quite difficult to make up the different
lines and volumes in this zone because everything
overlaps and intersects. It creates lots of
little highlights, lots of tiny little light spots, and it is a bit of a puzzle
to invent on your own. That's why I take
my time here to observe carefully and
avoid inventing anything. I aim to be very precise. It's not like when we painted green and blue areas
just above this one. There we could be a bit more flexible in how we
apply the details, the small dark strokes or
lighter touches because that kind of work on feathers is something we do more often. It's actually quite similar to working on fur when
painting other animals. That's why those upper
areas were easier. We could interpret
them more freely or even build them from
scratch to some extent. We could afford to
be less precise. But with this current area, it's a different story. That's why I'm spending
even more time observing the different elements so I can add them with
real precision. So now for this first section, we are in a pretty good place, and I can go ahead and
continue a bit to the right. I'm going to carve
out a sort of path, and each time a section is completed and has
taken shape properly, I will move on to the
next one beside it. That's how the entire area
will come together through the steady progression and meticulous observation of
all the little elements. You will notice that I
am mostly working with either the rigor
brush for adding these small details
and fine lines or with a very fine brush to apply the colors precisely in
the different areas. Now I can move on
to the upper area. And for this section, to
make the work easier, I am once again adding a
few small reference points. I notice that there
are some fine lines that really help
define the curves. So I'm going to apply those, and that will make it easier to build a volume and add
the details later on. At first, I place the main reference marks
to help outline the zones. And now that I am working
section by section, what I do is add the smaller reference points
within each area. This way, I can then
more precisely work on the shading and the
different volumes we can see. H In a zone like this, many students might feel
like giving up, but don't. And if you are still
listening to me right now, it means that you're here. You are still working on this area and you
are staying with it. This is a complex zone full of flights crossing in
every direction. It feels quite chaotic. At this point, it's not just
about painting anymore. It's about immersing yourself in this part of the artwork. You have to slow down and
forget about speed or ease, because what makes this
zone so special is that it demands everything you
have learned up until now. It requires you to observe with real attention to place
each stroke with intention, to look for the hidden rhythm in all that interwoven detail. And that is a gift because it is a rare opportunity
to grow as a painter, we rarely get the chance to
paint elements this complex. Every line, every detail you add is truly a step
toward mastery. Don't aim for speed,
aim to see well, to feel deeply because one day, you will look at this
section you have completed and you won't
believe your eyes. What once seemed impossible will suddenly feel natural
because you stay focused, patient, and committed
to your painting. Yes, it is true that
this part is demanic, but it's also the one that
will make you grow the most. And very likely it will
be the one you are the most proud when this
painting is finished. When you are deeply
focused on the painting, especially in a complex
area like this one, everything we have painted
around the eye so far, well, with such a area, you tend to stay immersed
in it, intensely focused. You nose almost glued to the canvas for long minutes,
sometimes even hours. But it is exactly in
these moments that it becomes truly essential
to take a break. Taking a break doesn't
mean giving up. It's not a waste of time. On the contrary, it
is an active part of the painting process
because after a while, your eyes get tired. They stop seeing mistakes, they no longer pick up
subtle differences, and they might even start confusing when working
they might start confusing what is
working with what isn't that is when we risk overworking areas
that don't need it or overlooking others that
deserve more attention. Giving yourself a real break, even a short one allows
your eyes to reset, your brain to step back and your hand to regain precision. So go ahead, stand up, stretch, look at something else, drink a glass of water, step into another room,
take a little walk. And when you return
to the canvas, you will see things
differently with more clarity, more freshness and
a better judgment. This habit can truly transform your relationship
with painting. Less exhaustion, more
enjoyment and greater control. Taking a break isn't a detour. It's a straight path
toward a better result. And personally, I take
breaks regularly. You don't see them because
there's no point in filming a break,
but I do take them. I need to breathe, to stretch, to get some fresh air to go out and connect with
the nature around me. And it really helps
because when I come back, I restart with new energy, a fresh mindset, and renewed motivation to
continue the work. So now I am continuing to
work on the right side. And what we also notice here is that this part is a
little more in shadow. Because of that, we need
to adjust the colors on our brush to make sure we are using slightly darker grays, ones that better match
this specific area. That is something
important to keep in mind when working
on this one. And so I continue adding my
small touches one by one, telling myself that what is done doesn't need to
be done again and that every new brush stroke I apply brings me one step closer
to the final result. I always keep in
mind that I want the most beautiful
parrot possible, something that feels alive
and realistic on the canvas. And so every stroke I make brings me a little
closer to that goal. When you spend a lot
of time on a painting, especially a long and demanding
piece like this parrot, you can sometimes feel
a bit of a slowdown, a deep in motivation. And so there is the classic
painters procrastination. That is where having
two paintings going at the same time can be a
very effective strategy. Working on the second piece gives you breathing
room and rhythm. When one gets stuck, the other moves forward. And while you are making
progress on the second, your eye gets to
break from the first. You return to it with more
distance, more freshness. It's a great way
to break inertia. You stay in motion and you
keep the momentum alive, but be careful because
two is the maximum. More than that, and you
start to scatter your focus. You begin lots of
things, but finish none. You lose that deep connection, that fret of focus that
makes a painting meaningful. Two, I think is the
perfect balance. One main painting you are
fully invested in and a secondary painting for
changing a little bit for, you know, yes, to
not procrastinate. And also, for sometimes
with your main painting, when you have some
areas that you feel, you might it will be better to let the painting dry and
come back to it later. And in this moment, the second painting
is also very useful. But that is for
your personal work outside of these tutorials. When you are following a
tutorial like this one, it is a different story. In that case, it is really best to focus on just one
painting at a time, not to go faster, but to go deeper, to fully develop the technique
the subject is teaching, to truly absorb the gestures, the colors, the layering. If you try to follow
two tutorials at once, you risk skimming through
both and mastering neither. So if you are doing
this tutorial, commit to it, dive
in completely, and give it your full attention. And once it is finished, then, yes, you can move
on to the next one. But one at a time, that's
how real progress is made. So this section, as I have already mentioned several times, is truly an excellent exercise for working on
delicate textures. And there's a saying
that goes when you practice difficult
things during training, everything else becomes easier
afterward in competition. And that's exactly what
is happening here. Working on challenging
textures like this one will make or repainting subjects
feel easier later on. If you want to keep practicing with over complex textures, there are several
I can recommend within this course that
you have access to. For example, there is the elephant tutorial where you get to work
on wrinkled skin. You will see areas with highly detailed textures that require both precision
and foughtfulness. There's also the lion or
dog tutorial, for example. These are great for working on long fur and
sometimes short fur, too, like on the central
part of the lion's head. That's another very
valuable exercise, even if the subject don't
particularly excite you or weren't part of what you initially wanted to paint. Just the act of doing them will help you make
real progress. And later on, when you move on to subjects that do
really inspire you or when you receive commissions
from clients who want you to paint their pets
or gifts for your family, those paintings will feel
much easier and more natural. And outside of animal painting, there are other
tutorials that are fantastic for practicing
different kinds of textures, and these skills carry
over to animal worth too. Training across a variety of subjects help you
improve faster. If you are able to
paint everything, then you will also be able
to paint an animal in its natural environment
or a pet inside a home complete with
background and details. So don't limit yourself to
just the animal tutorials. They are great, but branching out is what will
really make you grow. That's why I strongly
recommend trying the steel life tutorials where you get to
work with metal, wood, glass, and many
other materials. Although landscape
tutorials which introduce different
textures and color, you might not encounter
in animal painting. This will improve
your understanding of color and how to mix
it because really, working on a wide variety of subjects is one of the
best ways to improve. That has been my own
experience, too. When I started focusing
on animal painting and stepped away from human
portraits for a while, I noticed that when I
came back to portraits, I had made huge progress,
especially with hair. After painting dogs
and wild animals, which are almost entirely fur, painting human hair or a man's beard suddenly
became much easier. And in animal painting, I also had to tackle lots of new color mixtures I
didn't use before. It forced me to think more
carefully and to stop mixing paints on autopilot and really engage with
what I was doing. They gave me a much
deeper understanding of color, which, in turn, helped me make better
mixes when I went back to portrait work because
with portrait work, I almost mixed the same
color over and over. So at first, at the beginning, I was trying to
understand color mixing, so I have to ask myself
these famous questions. But in the end, since it was almost all the time,
the same colors, it's almost like if I
knew the mix by heart because I repeated it many times with subtle
differences, though. But it was very easy to
create these skin tones. But when I had to
mix the colors of a lion or the parrot
or other animals, well, I had to rethink
about how to mix color, and it helped me make some progress and get
better at color mixing. Just a few more small touches
to complete the area. You can see that it's
really taken shape now. I've added quite a few lighter
elements, some highlights, and now I am adding a
few darker ones as well, which really helps
everything stand out nicely. Overall, the texture
in this area has come together really well. Mm. So for this area, the work is almost finished. This same approach
will need to be continued all the way
to the left side. So take your time and don't hesitate to take breaks
as we discussed earlier, or even to move on to the
next part, the upper section, which will be covered
in the next video, and come back to the left side afterward if you're
getting a bit tired of this
texture and want to do something a little
different for a while. In any case, you now have everything you
need to complete it, and I am confident that
you will be able to finish this area
successfully. Oh,
19. Finishiing the grey area: So here is that area
that has been worked on, and with all those elements
painted on the left side, feel free to use it as inspiration to paint
your own version. There's also that small
detail on the lower part with those slightly brownish
purple elements I added and forgot
to mention earlier, along with the little
black spots in the gray area that we
hadn't painted earlier, but that's similar
to what we painted right next to the eye
at the very beginning. So now we are starting
starting this new area. Another interesting
one since once again, we are working on a slightly different
texture from the one above. Here, you will notice that
it takes the shape of spots that creates a bit
of a raised texture. So that is exactly what we
are going to try to recreate. And this is the last area of
this gray section, which, let's be honest, has
been quite a challenge, and it's also motivating
to think we have made it. We are on the final
stretch of this gray zone, and we are getting closer
to the finish line. So I am applying these
slightly darker spots that we can see in the area. They are great as
reference points, and once they are in place, I can start painting
between them. Just doing that
will already give a solid and structural
base to work from. You will also notice that on
the right side of the area, the elements are a bit darker, so make sure to adjust your color accordingly
when you get there. And now I can start painting between those elements using
this slightly fine brush. For now, I am not trying to touch the spots too
much, and later on, we need to make sure we create a smooth blend between
the different elements, making sure they connect well, and that we have good
transition between them, since they are all
part of the same hole. And once that is done, we will be able to
refine the area more precisely and had more details to make it even more realistic. And so that's the progress
I have made so far. Feel free to post the video
and do this part on your own. It's really just about applying
the color at this stage. And now you can see
that I am starting to blend these spots into
the rest of the area. When we blend them, the spots do become a little lighter,
but that's okay. We'll go back and
rework them afterward. The base will still be visible, and we can build on top of it. At the moment, my palette isn't visible due to a small
technical issue, but since we are just
doing blending here, it's not a problem and it
doesn't stop us from working. It will reappear
in just seconds. Now that we have a solid base, we are going to
refine it a bit more. I'm noticing that
there are small, slightly darker spots
scattered throughout the area, so I am going to
carefully observe and try to place them as
precisely as possible. These are actually the same
spots we laid down earlier, the ones that had the
light gray underneath. But now I can see
that there are also darker elements layered
on top of them. That's why it was important to start with the
lighter gray first, and now we can come back and apply the darker gray on top. So I am placing
this little touch, making sure that I sit
well and really stand out. I'm switching back
into predator mode, hunting for all
those tiny details and small touches I can add. They often have
irregular shapes, so I just take a moment to observe their
general appearance, and then I place
them down on myself in an equally irregular way. Sometimes I spot,
sometimes I small lines. But honestly, I am not
stressing about it. It is okay if the element isn't exactly like
the reference. It won't stop the result
from looking realistic. And so that's what
I am focusing on. Working across the entire area, always keeping in mind that the right side needs
to be a bit darker, just as we can see on
the reference image. And that's how we'll
keep making progress in this area by tracking down all
these tiny little details. Before I start painting
a new section, I never jump in straightaway. I always take a few minutes
to observe it and to plan. It is a crucial step, even if we often feel tempted to dive in with
the brush right away. I ask myself a few simple but
essential questions like, what are the specific
challenges in this area? Are there any
different textures? Where are the strongest shadows, the key reference points,
the color transitions? Where should I begin so I don't get lost in the
details too soon? Should I start with the
lighter or the darker tones? And this little moment of analysis allows me to
paint with intention, rather than just guessing. It helps me avoid rushing in, having to correct things
later or getting stuck halfway through without
knowing how to continue. It is a bit like a hiker checking their map
before setting out. It's not wasted time. It is what prevents
from getting lost. And the more you
practice this habit, the more natural it becomes. In just a few moments,
you will spot the tricky part, plogical flow, understand how the
subject is built, and painting becomes smoother, more enjoyable, and
more effective. So before you start each
new area, Tang Dai time, it's just two or 3 minutes, and they can make
a huge difference. We always paint better when
we know where we are going. So now I'm going to
add the final details, just a few slightly
darker elements. They are not very big, but this small difference
in value really makes a noticeable difference
in the overall area. So I am taking my time
to add them carefully. We have come a long
way on this gray zone, and it will be a shame
to rush through it in just a few seconds
before the end. So take your time to
add these last touches. There are also small light
highlights that can be added between these elements to
really finalize everything. And overall, that's pretty
much it for this zone. I am adding the very
last brush strokes, and then we'll move
on to the beak. Before we move on to the beak, there is just a small black and slightly orange brown area right next to it
that I will paint off camera because honestly, it's not a difficult
zone to paint, especially after
everything we've just done with this big gray area. So I will do that off camera. But if you were rather paint
it together, if you want, you can start with
the beak that we can paint together and then
paint this area afterward. And so there we go,
just a few last touches and then we'll move
on to the Big, which is going to be really
interesting to work on too. And actually, the whole parrot
was interesting to paint. There's not a single area
that gives us a break. Every pot has its
own unique texture, its own quite unusual
color here and there, and it's really a
fantastic subject. Personally, I really
enjoyed painting it, and I hope that you
are enjoying it, too. And now, so I'll see you
in a few seconds for the big section. U
20. Painting of the beak: Here we are now with this
final area, the beak, which is a hard surface, but also a very textured one that we are going
to work on now. When you look at
the parrot's beak, you might think it is smooth like plastic or polished metal. But if you take the time to
really observe it carefully, as we do here while painting, you will see that it's
actually full of tiny details. The beak is a hard material, yes, but it is alive. Its structure is
quite similar to our finger nails,
but much denser. And like any given surface
that is exposed to wear, it shows marks over time. As a result, you
will notice cracks, striations, small creases, and all sorts of
natural irregularities. These details may seem subtle, but they are what give
realism to your painting. Without them, the
beak will look flat, artificial, too clean, and
it will lose credibility. That's why we need to spend some time carefully
working on these textures. With striations that
aren't identical, these kind of lines can be
short, long, curved, diagonal. So marks are more visible
in the light areas, others are in the shadow, and we need to make sure we
bring them out properly. So now our goal is to
give this big substance, a sense of wear and life. And that's what will
make the surface look like something you can actually feel with your fingers almost as if you could touch it. So take your time and above all, forget the idea of a
smooth and perfect beak. Here, we want to give
it character, a hard, weathered beak, slightly worn and full of nuance and subtlety. You will you will. I am starting by
applying the colors, beginning with the dark areas that you can see
on the left side, as well as the marked
sections on the right. Then I have added
this highlight using a slightly lighter
gray in that area. And next to it, there are
some dark grays again, though not as dark as the
initial ones I applied. However, looking at it now with a bit more perspective when
editing this tutorial, I realize that I have made the entire big a big
too dark overall, and that shows in
the final result. So if you'd like, you can paint it like I
did a bit darker. In terms of the overall outcome, as you can see with
the picture of the final result,
it still works. The big locks core and
then has depth because I apply contrasting
values throughout. It's just that the dark areas are darker than they should be, and the light areas are also
darker than they should be, but it is still consistent. So you can absolutely do it the same way with
this kind of darkness, or you can go for a
slightly lighter version like what you see in
the reference photo. That is entirely up to you. And so now I'm in the phase of applying the
base colors to the big. I'm trying to identify the different sections
and place the colors carefully in each one to begin creating a sense of
volume in the big. And for that, I
use the flat brush here to apply my paint. It still gives me
a decent amount of precision, but
more importantly, it lets me cover these
larger areas fairly quickly since the big does
take up a bit more space. And now that the
colors are in place, I can start blending them together by using back and
forth motions like this, which help the colors transition smoothly
into another one. In this case, my paint was
fairly well spread out, so the blending is
going quite smoothly. But if I notice that it's
not blending very well, I don't hesitate to wipe off the excess paint
from my brush, so I can continue with a clean brush and
get better blending. Now I'm going to start marking the different shadow areas that we can see within the beak, small pockets of shadow that
appear in various places. For example, at the top section, there is a fairly strong shadow that help gives
depth to the beak. I am adding it now, and it immediately creates more volume compared
to the area above. I'm looking to mark all
the little shadow sections I can see using this
very dark color. Then as I usually do, I will add the remaining shadows with a slightly lighter tone. To stay efficient and
methodical in my process. The small shadow areas I am marking are generally
quite irregular. They don't have a precise
or well defined shape. So I just observe quickly
what they look like, how big they are and
how dark they appear. And then I had them
without overthinking it. The small shadow
areas I am adding really help to define the big better and start
building volume. There is also this light band between the two
darker section that helps give the big a more conical three
dimensional appearance rather than looking flat. So it is an important
element, too. But overall, at this stage, these shadows don't stand out very much yet because
I am applying some gray some darker gray over
some slightly lighter gray. There's no extreme
value contrast between the elements I
am adding right now. So for the moment, it's
still pretty subtle. But it really helps to
create a better structure. Once I have completed
this step and added all the little
shadow areas, they will start to
stand out a bit more. But above all,
once that is done, I will be able to come back in and add the small highlights, those brighter touches that
you can see in the area, and those will really
help bring out the depth and volume
in the big section. We are now in the finishing
stage of the parrot, so you are capable of making it to the end and not
just finishing, but finishing well
because it is right here in this very last minute that the difference is made. The difference between a
painting that is almost finished and a piece that
feels complete alive. The difference between
giving up just a little too soon and creating a work
you can truly be proud of, even if you are
the painting isn't judged by how you
begun the painting. It is judged by how it ends. In this Baku are painting, it is your final touch. It's your signature.
So stay sharp. Give it everything you've got right up to the
last brushstrokes. That's where the magic happens. It's already been nearly 5 hours since we started this tutorial, so this is not the
time to give up. So now we have already added quite a few elements in terms
of structure and color. Now I am going to work on the
Big using some to touches, especially on that large band. You can see here,
these small highlights will really help certain
areas to stand out. We are not yet into the
final phase of texture work, but at this point,
we already have a big that's pretty
well developed. Honestly, you could say
that if we wanted to, we could leave it as it is. It's already solid and coherent. But now we are going
to start refining it, adding a bit more
character and texture, giving it that slightly
worn weford look. We want this big to feel
like it has lived a life. Like this parrot
has been around for decades, roaming its jungle, maybe getting into a few
fights with other birds and carrying the marks
of those encounters. So these little touches that we are about to add
here and there, we are telling stories. The story of this
parrot's life etched into every scratch
and mark on its beak. So at this point,
the structure of the beak is something
I'm really happy with. And now I am going to start refining it with more
precision and detail. I will be looking for
all the little marks I can add here and there to further enhance the texture and make it feel more
realistic, more alive. Right now, I am mostly
adding light marks. And they are going to
stand out nicely compared to everything we have
already done in this area. So using small touches, small brush sharks
here and there, I would start to sharpen
the work and make it more precise and bring out
a more realistic look. Once I have added a good
amount of this brush, the mark sorry, I will move
on to the final details. And for that, I will use
the Riga brush to paint the extremely fine
textural lines, which will appear almost like scratches or solo striations. That will come right at the end. For now, I am working
with a fine brush, but not as fine as
the Riga brush. It is a round brush.
Because the rigger brush with its longer point, isn't ideal for
these kind of marks. The brush is longer. The hair of the brush are
longer for the rigger. And when it comes to placing small touches like the ones
you see throughout the beak, the rigor long tip can be a bit awkward and not
the most ideal brush. So that's why I'm using a standard round
brush, slightly thick, but still fairly fine overall to place these touches
across the surface. And when you add them,
don't overthink it. Just observe roughly where
those little marks are, what shape they take, and then
go ahead and add them in. That's how I am refining
the zone myself, not by copying perfectly,
but interpreting. What really matters is being attentive to the value
of these small touches. For instance, in this area
that I am currently painting, you can see that around
the edge of the big, the touches tend
to be a bit darker and less bright than
the ones we have in that central highlight band and that I added just
a few seconds ago. By watching this tutorial, know that you can truly
be proud of yourself. If you are still here watching this video all the
way to the end, that alone is already a
great sign of motivation. But if you also painted the parrot step by
step, layer by layer, then really be
extremely proud of yourself because this
is not an easy subject. This isn't something you
can casually rush through. It is a project that
requires precision, discipline, perseverance
and solid technical skill. You had to observe carefully, pace yourself,
sometimes redo parts, stay calm into trickier zones, and remain focused
for several hours, and not everyone is
capable of that. So, yes, you do deserve to be proud because
you stuck with it, you learn, and above
all, you create it. There is nothing more rewarding than holding in your hands a painting that you
have made yourself with care, patience,
and passion. So congratulations to you. I hope that you are as proud of what you have achieved
as I am to have guided you through this tutorial because this was
no easy subject. And even if your
final result isn't quite what you had
imagined, that's okay. The fact that you made it all the way through
and completed this tutorial is already a
huge personal achievement. And most importantly, don't
be too hard on yourself. Watching these tutorials
means you are here to learn. And through practice,
again and again, you will be able to
create works that are both controlled
and truly lifelike. So now I have a beak that
is really very detailed. I'm really happy with it, and now I am taking
the rig brush to add the final details. I am observing where we can
see very fine elements, which mostly appear in
the form of fin lines. So I will be adding those now with this brush using black, for example, especially on the upper part near
the top of the beak. You can see that there is a line there that becomes quite narrow, and this brush is perfectly suited for painting
it with precision. And that's how we will add those last little touches
to complete our subject. You Here with this fine brush, I can also add these
small lines that really help define the big
and bring it to life. I will keep adding these
final little elements, always observing and
asking myself if there is anything else I could include to further improve the piece. But overall, we are very, very close to the final result. In just a few
seconds or minutes, you will see the final result. The finished artwork
I have created, you will see a photo
of the painting, but you won't really get a
sense of its actual size, since the image
won't be shown on a surface that gives
any visual scale. And this parrot painting
is no longer with me, so I can't photograph
it on an easel, for example, to show
it in it in real size. So that brings us to the end of this tutorial and
this final message. I truly hope you enjoy this
lesson, and most importantly, that you painted along and created your own
version of this parrot. Don't hesitate to share
your final results with me. It's always a real pleasure
to see students work. And I will see you very
soon for a new video, a new tutorial, and
a new painting. So thank you again
so much for watching this course and see you very
soon with another painting.
Tristan, Teacher and Artist
