How to draw a feather step by step

How to draw feathers in 2 variants will be told in this article! Bird feathers are one of the most amazing inventions of evolution. It’s not known exactly when, but a long time ago, the scales of lizards began to change into feathers. It was a breakthrough. Dinosaurs became extinct, but birds, their direct descendants, survived and are still alive today with varying success.

As we know from the school course of biology, the feather consists of a stem and beards. Beards, in turn, are of the first and second order. The rod has a groove on the part that is directed to the body. The lower part of the rod is called the chin; it has a hole through which the blood brings nutrients to the feathers. During moulting, the old feather is pushed out by the new feather. Young feathers are formed in follicles similar to hair follicles.

During formation, the chin is larger, and the blood supply is more active, so the shaft has a dark or reddish colour. The feather itself is packed in a waxy cover; birds remove this layer during cleaning and release the feather. In mature feathers, the feathers have a white tint.

The first-order grooves are located on either side of the shaft at an angle of about 45 degrees to it. They may be of different lengths. On the first-order, beards at an angle of 90 degrees to each other are even smaller and thinner than those of the second-order. These are still equipped with hooks. They give the feathers rigidity and fasten like a zipper.

Drawing is an interesting science in itself and drawing bird feathers especially! As a child, I remember often playing with feathers I found, making them fluff up and then regain their shape. Birds, on the other hand, tidy up their feathers with their beaks.

Due to different combinations of beaks and sizes, feathers differ in their functions. The largest feathers, the fly feathers, have three orders. The first order of fly feathers are located on the tassels. They are numbered from the inner edge of the wing. These feathers create thrust. The second-order feathers are numbered from the inside to the outer edge. These feathers can be from 10 to 14, they provide lift of birds from the ground. The feathers of the third order are located closest to the body of the bird. In non-flying birds, fly feathers are modified, turning into needles in casuars, for example.
Steering feathers, in contrast to fur feathers, are more symmetrical. They are located in the tail and, as it is already clear, help birds change the direction of flight.

As the name suggests, feathers cover almost the entire body of birds. They are quite stiff but have a downy part closer to the chin. Down feathers do not have second-order beards. They are soft and help birds retain body heat. And they do it so effectively that people envy them and begin to use birds for their household purposes.

Let’s get to drawing bird feathers immediately!