If you mean the vanes on the feathers, they should be very light, just like in a real feather. The quills at very lightly raised at the tip of the feather and get a little deeper towards the base. The edges of one feather over another are as subtle as the vanes, very light. the feather groups should be distinguished by a slight rounding to make the groups seperated. The feathers themselves are convex from base to tip and from side to side; take a close look at one. I like to make the separation of the primaries very noticable, so I sometimes use a saw there as well.

If this sounds confusing, it is! But when the final result looks like a real feather or group of feathers it makes it woth the effort!

Good Luck...

hello,
I have been carving for approx. 2 yrs and have worked primarily on ducks. I am currently working on a baltimore oriole and debating on texturing and burning vs just burning for the texture (especially the primaries) also this will be my first attempt with pewter feet. any help would be appreciated.

???I too am doing a bird,a eagle head,the head is done I just need feathers, does any one know of a book that shows good shots of carving the head feathers and what tool to use.I want deep detail so when I paint it the paint does not cover up the Â*detail.

Both Wood Carving Illustrated and Wildfowl Carving & Collecting have had good articles on feather detailing. Check this site and the WC&C site for information on back issues. Also try <wildfowlart.com/forum/> for more answers on this subject.