On my palette, I mixed Sepia with a little more than equal amount of Brite White to create a light grayish color. Using the paintbrush, I highlighted the top edge of each shaft just below the top dark line I had painted. I used the same technique as the 2 dark shadow lines, pulling a line along the entire length of the shaft. However, I did not carry the highlight to the very tip of each shaft, as that would “flatten” the effect. Looking closely at the reference photos, I also added veining highlights to the bottom edges and midsections of the feathers. Using fine wispy brushstrokes, I created fluff at the base of the upper wing feathers and in areas poking out between them.


I added some more highlights to the body feathers of the eagle as needed. These also could have been done freehand with an airbrush, but for me, the paintbrush is faster. (Time is money, dontcha know!) Then I set all my highlights with the hairdryer. Because other lay- ers of airbrushing will go over all this highlighted detail work, I painted the highlights and shading a bit more contrasting than required when finished to ensure they show up properly later.


In an airbrush bottle, I mixed equal parts Sepia with Red Brown and Reducer. I dusted a very light coat across all the feathers to give a hint of warmth to the highlights and shading. (This is redder than I would normally use on an eagle, but the bird is on a black tank with no background behind it. Without the touch of red-brown in the feathers, the eagle will look too grey and blend into the base paint too much once the masking is removed.) Using my previously mixed dark brown airbrush bottle of Sepia, I deepened the shadows on the underside of the upper wing, across the body contours and around the legs. This also knocked the edge off the red-brown where it wasn’t needed as much. In another bottle, I mixed equal parts 4275 Yellow Ochre and 4272 Beige (both discontinued). I added 3 drops of Red Brown, a couple of Brite White for opac- ity, and just enough Reducer to run smoothly through the airbrush. (You could get a similar color by mix- ing 4217 Light Brown and Brite White with a couple drops of 4203 Flame Yellow, 4219 Medium Gray and 4204 Chrome Yellow.) This color looks “dirty” for a highlight color in the bottle, but will read as an off- white once painted. Using this mix, I highlighted the tips of the body feathers that required the brightest lighting. I also misted a highlight layer along the length of the upper wings. I then cleaned up any misplaced highlights with the bottle of Sepia. Again, I heat set after each color with the hairdryer.


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