Feather Painting - Giacomo and Azoth

I FINALLY got around to painting some feathers! I've wanted to give it a try ever since we came up with the challenge for the feather antenna upgrade!
I used synthetic feathers that were quite large so I'd have a bigger canvas to work with, and acrylic paints obviously. The fake feathers were real cheap.
I actually did something unconventional by cutting into the top part of the feather for Azoth to make his horns stick out from the spaces. I thought that was a fun thing. 

I figured I'd provide some advice to people who also want to try this requirement as well!


 If you're looking for feathers to paint on, and you're rather new to acrylics, or painting in general, practice on paper first! 
 Use larger feathers so you have more surface. Mine were about an inch and a half thick and at least 10 inches long!
 Get quality feathers at your local craft store or amazon for less than a dollar a feather.   
 The acrylics will be the most expensive part of this craft, but luckily, you can use acrylics for multitudes of different projects and on all sorts of surfaces!
  Be PATIENT. Go slow. Don't glob tons of paint on or it will dry streaky and uneven. It's tempting to do if you're getting bored. 
 Use several layers, and wait for each one to DRY first! (I like to have two projects going at once so I'm not tempted to painting more before the other parts dry, or paint on different areas)
 Composition is important! Decide what pose would work best on the area of the feather you're painting on. Fill up the space with other elements if you think it looks blank and unfinished. 
 Draw what you want to paint on your feather first, on the computer or piece of paper (or sharpie and paper towel like I did) so you have a plan!
  spray the back of your feathers with a clear coat, or some kind of paint seal. This helps the feather strands from seperating while you're painting. Although painting it in general acts as a seal as well. 

I hope those little tips help if any of you wanna give it a try!