I'm trying to do a study of this piece but I can't figure out the wings. I've tried like a million time and it never looks right

my current attempt

im bad at painting but there are a few people in this thread who can help: >>7649193

>>7652086
Why not at least get the shape right?

>>7652086
big shapes first
details later

>>7652086
it looks identical u are doing great

getting closer but it still doesn't look right.

This is the thing I don't like about studies, is that aside from the difficulty of even copying a piece, how am I supposed to learn from it? Like, ok, so they lit up the wing. But why? The light source is behind the wing, so shouldn't the wing be dark except for the edge? Presumably there's enough light bounce to light it up anyway, but where is it bouncing off of? everything else in the image is nearly pitch black and wouldn't bounce light. I don't understand.

>>7653221
Stop using the round brush. It's a meme.

>>7653221
>The light source is behind the wing, so shouldn't the wing be dark except for the edge?
Not exactly, the light source is ABOVE the wing, not exactly BEHIND it.
If you look closely you can see that the lower part of the wing is darkened, supporting this interpretation.

>>7653221
If you want to study a style, you are doing the right kind of study.
If you are wanting to study realistic light and shadow, you should not study other artists, but life or photos instead.

>>7653228
Would using a square brush be better?

>>7653258
I know this is probably a joke, but unironically yes. Something with a bit of texture and a straight edge would be ideal. Round brush innately makes your forms end up very blobby rather than planar.

>>7653265
I meant it, its always good to ask and learn new things.

>>7653221
Draw what you see. Use grid if you have too. Don’t be lazy.

>>7653309
That's useless here, this piece uses big technique driven strokes. Grids are a rendering and proportions thing.

>>7653314
What should I do instead, then?

>>7653332
Identify your shapes. They're very big and clear here.

>>7653340
I feel like I got the basic shapes down here >>7653221
and even when it's zoomed out it doesn't look too awful, but there's still some x-factor missing that I can't put my finger on.

>>7652086
There's more ways you can approach this. You can use a lasso tool to block in the shapes of each indivisual "layer" of feathers and then draw inside it with a brush, to get the desired gradient/shaded effect.
Or you can paint them more organically by drawing on multiple layers. You're working digitally, so you should take advantage of the toolas at your disposal. Drawing like this on a single layer requires mastery of the subject.

Hm. I could probably do a quick CSP timelapse to show you what I mean.

>>7653342
No you don't. You're scribbling them in. That's the opposite of what you're supposed to be doing.

OP image is done in big clean strokes. Big shapes, big brush.

>>7653345
I appreciate that a lot, if its not too much trouble
>>7653352
I tried that but it's not working

attempt with lasso tool and several layers

>>7653340
>Identify your shapes. They're very big and clear here.
This. Learning to do 2-value or 3-value studies helps with this skill a lot.

>>7652083 (OP).

Do Far Right-wings.

far from perfect but I think starting with a value study helped significantly

>>7653228
I like the round brush :(