Eagle
See the process from start to finish.
Phase 01
This bird was a special request from one of my Godchildren. He wanted a Bald Eagle with wings open. I had started working on a full-size Bald Eagle several years ago, but the challenges of it caused me to put it on hold for a few years. I figured this smaller bird would help me work out the engineering challenges for the open wings on the larger bird.
As with all of my birds, it started with a clay model. I used aluminum mesh to create the individual wing segments. I created a wooden armature that I sculpted the clay around. The wood allowed me to attach the wing segments with screws, which holds MUCH better than just clay would.
Once I was satisfied with the pose, I lay the model onto a sheet of heavy paper, tracing the top and side profiles, as well as the wing segment shapes. I use the term “wing segments” because bird wings have one section made up of the humerus, radius, and ulna bones (our shoulder to wrist equivalent), while the other has the metacarpals and phlanges (our hand and finger equivalents). It’s easier for me to create separate segments rather than try to carve an entire wing out of one piece of wood.
After cutting out the patterns, I traced them onto a block of Tupelo wood and proceeded to use my bandsaw to cut them out.
Phase 02
The next stage of the process was to rough carve the body block into the basic shape. I rounded the block using a yellow carbide kutzall bit (very aggressive, but leaves a fairly smooth surface) in my Foredom tool, outlined a pattern I created that defined the basic outline of the head on the top of the block, isolated/shaped the Scapular feathers that would be resting on top of the Secondary wing segments, and roughly shaped the tail. Once the top of the head was shaped, I drew the profile view and refined the head just enough to create the eye channels, the rough-shaped beak, and the “cheek” areas.
Then it was time to shape the wing segments. Because I had created the clay model and subsequent patterns from proportional assessments of photos, not recorded measurements, I was doing a lot of experimenting with what “looked right.” I wanted the wings to imply they were at the top of a raising motion, which meant the Primaries would be slightly below the Secondaries. Once the wing segments were rough carved, I used a 12 gauge copper wire segment to connect the two parts together so I could get a better visual of their angle and connection.
Unfortunately, once I matched them to the bird, I decided they were just a tad too small, so I cut out new wing segments that were a little bit larger. Much better. They were the correct proportional fit.
I then took a break from using the power tools to insert the glass eyes into the bird’s head. After determining the location based upon photos, I drilled two 5.5mm holes into the head to accommodate the 5mm glass straw yellow eyes I had purchased for this bird. I first set the eyes into the sockets using clay, which allowed me to move them around or pull them out and reset as many times as necessary, which was quite a few! Once the “look” was right, I used AB Epoxy Putty to set them and create the eye rings. Hint: Don’t set eyes if you’re tired or impatient! I speak from experience!
Phase 03
Rough-carving the wing segments comes next. I draw the feather patterns on both the top (dorsal) and bottom (ventral) sides of the wing segments. The idea is to match the feather zones to each other. Sometimes I think the research required to determine the correct feather shape and placement takes as much thought and preplanning as it does for the rest of the body! The top and bottom feather layouts are slightly different, so it’s not just a matter of copying one to the other.
Initial roughout for each feather is usually done using one of my Gesswein high speed tools and steel cutters. The handpieces operate at between 35-55K RPM. Because of the high-speed whine, I feel like I’m in the dentist’s chair every time I turn one on. I don’t worry too much about the feather separation or pitch of each feather at this point. That comes later.
It’s now time tp dry fit the wings onto the body. I use hot glue to hold the pieces in place, so I can get a better view of the pose and make any necessary adjustments.
Phase 04
It was time to start working on the habitat/mount. I wanted the Eagle to look like it was taking off from a dead tree branch, so I used a piece of driftwood I had picked up along the Potomac River in Virginia. It had the sort of character I wanted, but it also had a lot of moss and algae on it. I soaked it in a 1:9 (bleach to water) mixture for 2 days. The pulp was soft when I pulled it out, but the wood was nicely bleached. After 2 days of drying, I dug the pulp out, and replaced the matter with epoxy putty to give the wood some rigidity.
While waiting for the branch to bleach, then dry, it dawned on me I had made a major boo boo. I had forgotten to include the Eagle’s legs (tarsus area) in the pattern, so I had to shape and glue two pieces of Tupelo to the body in the areas I wanted the legs to be. Oh well. While I waited for the glue to do its job, I worked on the tail, defining the feathers. Once the glue was set, I shaped the leg area to fit the bird and the mount. Definitely helps to have legs to hold the feet on the branch!!!
Phase 05
The wait for wood and glue to dry gave me the days I needed to refine and burn the detail into the wing feathers. I thinned them as much as I felt comfortable doing. I didn’t want them so thin they would easily break or chip. I created the correct angle and shape for each, added some ripples and feather splits, sanded them smooth on the top and bottom, then used 000 steel wool to create an even smoother surface in preparation for the burning.
Burning is one of those activities that carvers either love or hate. There is very little ambivalence. I, personally, love it, because it’s relaxing for me. I put on music that fits the fact I will be doing tens of thousands of repetitive strokes for several days…even on a bird this small. I started by burning the shafts into each of the feathers, followed by the barbs. One definitely should not be in a hurry when burning.
After I finished burning the flight feathers, I glued the primary and secondary segments together using 5-minute epoxy. I had to wait until the majority of the burning was done so the overlapping feathers were complete.
By the way, when you look at the wing pictures, it may look like I’m showing the same wings twice. I’m not. You’re seeing the top and bottom (dorsal and ventral) side of each feather segment. You will notice ee that if you look closely at the feather patterning.
Phase 06
Time to get back to the body. I cut a few contour lines into the body with a steel stump cutter that lightly defined the feather groupings and feather flows. Once the edges were slightly rounded and the valleys softened, I started drawing large half moon shapes, following the contour lines. They will be the surface landscape for individual feathers. I used an 1/8th in ruby ball to define the half moons, then used the same ball to contour the area around each one, creating high and low areas on the surface. I did this over the entire body. The area around the head had much smaller half moons, but still defined the feather flows away from the head.
Once I completed that step, it was time to determine how I would be attaching the bird to the branch. Because the top branch segment wasn’t long enough to accommodate both legs/feet, I carved a “branch nub” that I attached to the original branch with 5-minute epoxy. I drilled a hole into the eagle’s left leg and into the branch, then bent a 3/16th rod that I inserted into a couple inches into the branch. After ensuring I had the proper bend on the rod to hold the Eagle in the correct position, I glued it into the branch using 5-minute epoxy. The right leg’s rod wasn’t fully attached until weeks later when I attached the bird to the branch.
I needed to complete defining the beak, so I burned the separation between the Mandible (upper part of beak) and the Maxilla (lower part of beak) and the defined lower jaw. I used a ruby cylinder to give me a flat cut, ensuring I didn’t make one side higher than the other. It’s a bit difficult to see both sides of a beak at the same time. When I was done shaping, I applied some very thin superglue to the tip of the beak to help prevent it from breaking off.
Phase 07
Every bird I carve gives me more opportunities to make mistakes and to learn from each one. This bird was no exception. Because of the way I shaped the feather segments (a bit too stiff/straight), I didn’t have the smooth feather overlap I wanted, so I had to create feather inserts for four different areas. Some turned out better than others, but again…lessons learned. It’s all good.
I continued the contouring onto the upper marginal areas of the wings. Those areas have softer feathers, not the heavy flight feathers further down on the wings, so their burning will be a bit different. Once the contouring was complete, it was time to sand all of the contoured areas in preparation for creating the individual feathers.
Sanding is accomplished using 220 grit Swiss adhesive backed sandpaper wrapped around a split mandrel. I use the mandrel in one of the Gesswein handpieces set at 8-12K RPM (slow!!). The intent is to smooth the surface, removing just the sharp lines and edges from the contouring and creating a soft environment that, using Floyd Scholz’s analogy, looks like a coat of snow over the land. Sanding is definitely a process that requires a mask and operating dust collector.
A way to add a bit more detail to contoured areas, especially areas that will have light or white paint, is to burnish the lumps. Burnishing is accomplished by using a small smooth steel ball (roughed with 400 grit sandpaper) to create random curved strokes from the edge of the feather areas into the base. It’s subtle, but can create a nice accent.
Once the sanding and burnishing was complete, it was time to draw the feathers onto all of those areas. Feather shapes and sizes are not consistent. Depending upon the bird and the area of the bird, feathers may be round, or pointed, or, as with the Bald Eagle, a combination of round and pointed. Hint: Have a good eraser available when starting feather drawing.
On to more burning! There are two common techniques for burning body feathers; 1) starting the burning at the base of a feather and stroking up toward the feather above it (bird head is toward your body) and 2) starting the burn below the base of the feathers that lay above the feather you’re defining and stroking toward the base of the feather you’re defining (bird head is away from your body). Both techniques create different feather textures. I used the second technique for all of my feathers. If you look closely at some of the attached photos you can see what I mean.
I was now to the point where I was able to look more critically at the bird. I decided the tail looked too short because the upper and lower tail coverts were too long and too thick, both on the top and the bottom, and that the same area was also too wide. I used a steel cutter to reduce the covert areas, then contoured, sanded, and detailed them. I also had to adjust the tail feathers and burn barbs into the new exposed wood.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the last required fix action. I discovered, for the first time ever, that the beak was approximately 1 mm off center. I was initially going to cut the beak off and glue a new wooden block to the head, which I would then shape to match the head, but then I decided to experiment. I mixed A&B Epoxy Putty and shaped it around the existing wooden beak. Once it was hard, I was able to draw the centerline, then shape the new beak. One major another advantage of shaping it that way was that the wood foundation was still in place for strength, the beak separation was already defined, and I was able to add 2mm to the length, which made it look more proportional.
Phase 08
It was time to work on the other details such as toes, talons, mounting the branch to the base, filling all of the seams, contouring/detailing the seams so the epoxy texture matches the wood, and sealing the bird and the branch/mount.
Several days earlier I had shaped the individual talons and let them harden. I was then able to shape the toes out of AB Epoxy putty and insert the talons into them. Once they hardened, I carved each toe to show scales, knuckles, and wrinkle details, sealed them and set them aside.
I didn’t have sufficient wood on the original branch to ensure it balanced on the base, so I added a branch extension. I then used two screws to attach the branch to the base.
I brushed on the initial wash of burnt umber acrylic paint. I knew there would be many coats required, so I wanted to start the color building.
I then used AB Epoxy Putty to seal the seams on the top and bottom of the wings. I had originally wanted to use Plastic Wood, but I have not had good success yet in shaping feathers from that product, so I stuck with AB Epoxy.
After a final dry fit with hot wax, it was time to seal the bird and start the painting process. I use a product called Fabulon that is actually a floor sealer. Unfortunately, the product is no longer manufactured, so I am being very judicious with it.
Phase 09
Sculpting, carving, and burning the bird was a challenge, but the REAL challenge is always the painting for me. There are no “paint by number” instructions for painting a bird, because feather colors and shades are unique to every bird, so I was a bit overwhelmed at the thought of trying to create the proper color shades and tones. But…I had to start sometime!
I started the process by first painting the branch. I used a combination of complementary colors and shades to try to represent a dead tree. I used a combinations of brushes and sea sponges to set the colors, then used the airbrush to create shade and shadows.
After the branch was done, it was time for the bird. Deep breath! I had put the first wash coat of burnt umber on the bird before sealing the seams with AB Epoxy, so I continued to add successive washes of burnt umber tinted with ultramarine blue, or white gesso, or dioxazine purple to the dark areas of the bird, all for the purpose of creating a good base. For the white head and rump/tail areas, I first gave it a base of white gesso, then airbrushed a very light coat of light gray to create a shadow layer for the individual feathers that I would be creating with a brush. That added depth to the feather painting.
When painting, it is important to reduce the reference photos to just one or two that provide the desired colors and feather layouts, otherwise painting will be a frustrating tail chase. For example, the Bald Eagles in Florida tend to be smaller, lighter and more rust colored than the much larger and darker Bald Eagles in Alaska. Since pictures rarely have geolocation info on them, trying to figure out a paint scheme can be quite a challenge when they can be so dissimilar.
When I paint, I record my paint combinations on a chart so I know the sequence in which I applied them and, also, if I ever have to patch an area, I’ll know what colors I originally used. I use a combination of sable brushes and an airbrush to apply shading, shadows, and details. When creating the individual feathers, I cut small stencils out of card paper that define individual feather shapes. I then use the airbrush to paint the shape onto the bird.
My painting is as much trial and error as experienced decision making. I used cadmium yellow deep and a touch of diox purple to create the deep yellow color of the beak and feet. The head had special detailing requirements. I used the deep yellow paint to create the eye rings, the eye crest/brows, and the “lips” at the base of the beak. I then used a combination of ultramarine blue and burnt umber to create a nice black shade that I used to paint the black eye ring surrounding the glass eye, inside the eyelid . I included before and after pictures. The difference is quite dramatic.
Once I shaped the ankle area around the toes using steel cutter bits, I repainted the entire area with the deep yellow color of the beak and used the black I had mixed to paint the talons.
At that point the bird was as finished as it was going to be. As Floyd Scholz says “I don’t finish my birds, I abandon them.” As I looked at the bird, I saw so many things that I COULD do, and so many other things that I thought I SHOULD do, but It was time to stop. I will apply that knowledge to the next bird.
It took me about 200 hours of hands-on effort, from the point where I started sculpting the clay model until I finished the detail painting. That did not include any of the extensive photo research I did in anticipation of determining and creating the pose. Bottom line, it was a great experience! On to the next bird!!!
The Final Piece
