[Helen]

I know they're not a flat black. Any suggestions on painting a raven? Or references that can be seen? Any books?
Thank you

[wade clark]

Helen,
I've heard they're the only bird in North America that can count to 3, very smart! I'd say they're a very glossy blue black.
Once when I lived in West Virginia, it was 20 below zero outside, my woodstove blazing away and comfortable/hot/dry indoors, a huge raven tapped on my door. I opened the door, he walked in and stood by my woodstove! He stood there 3 days until he could face the outdoors again. That day, he walked to the door and waited for me to open it; when I did he walked out and I never saw him again. Whew! It might have been Carlos Casteneda, I really don't know, but it was an experience worth remembering. True story. Lots of blue in their glossy black feathers.
Wade

[mark yundt]

Wade is right, nothing black in nature is ever really black.And don't use black straight out of the tube either.There are a variety of ways to make black,using almost every other color except black.Here you want to use bases of blue ,purples, and maybe a hint of greens to make a black for a raven, they do have a certain "oily looking" irridecence to them. You know,, a hint of all the colors I mentioned. Sort of like a mallards head only a bit less so.Try not to go overboard with this effect, but doing this will keep the piece from having that monochromatic look that using one solid color will give.Cardinals are not all red, goldfinches are not all yellow. Solid looking colors are not what they appear.

[Ashbys]

The Raven and the Black Crow are excatly the same with two simple differences.

First and most notable , is size. The raven is much larger in size.

The second difference, is the beak, longer slightly curved and a slight color difference.

If you look at the thread about painting a crow by Squbrigg it has a lot of good information for the raven.

[AlArchie]

Here's that thread.
Crow cane

Also, even though this won't help with IDing crows and ravens that are not airborn, crows have a fan shaped tailand a raven's tail is wedge shaped. And I'm not entirely sure of this, but from watching these birds around here, the ravens fly with a bit more dihederal in the wings when soaring than the crows.

Al

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

So in other words, they are "exactly" the same, just difference.....ok lol We had crows in colorado, they were extremely spooky, here in Arizona, we have Ravens, huge suckers! 2 or 3 times or more th size of the crows and they are not spooky, you can't walk right up to them, but pretty close....and agree..they really are a blue/black with emphasis on black....use "lamp" black, it blends with other colors better than some. or you can do what I do to mix black, mix alizarin crimson and prussian blue and just a wee mite heavier on the blue if you want a blue black, hard to see so rub a spot on white paper to see what your actual color is until you get what shade you want. then if you want to highlight and have the blue show, use the very slighest amount of a lighter color to the highlight area, I would say white, but it is electric if you put much on, a slight amount and then wiped off the brush would work. Dave

[Helen]

Thank you, where is the thread, "painting a crow" by Squbrigg? I looked under "finishing and painting" and didn't see it.
Thanks,
Helen

[AlArchie]

Hellen, check up two posts...I posted the link.

Al

[Helen]

Hi,
I pulled up your link, but where do I go from there? I need info on painting a carved raven. I'm also not all that up on computers...thanks for your patience.
Helen

[AlArchie]

Hellen, like I said, I have't figured out the way to get those subtle irredescent hues, but have been playing with some paints, tints and powders and have come up with a suggestion you might try. This would be an experiment on my part so if you go ahead and try it, you may wind up going back to square one.

Try putting on a base coat of the darkest blue you can find. Then dry brush on several different shades of black...yes there are LOTS of different shades, from soft black to licorice color. Mix in some blues with those blacks. Try all this on some scrap until you get the effect you want. You may also try dry brushing on some irridescent powders in blue or red shades to get the irridescent look. As there is no carrier with the powders, you will probably have to spray on a clear lacquer or poly to stabilize the look. When I do my fish, I spend probably as much time mixing and dry brushing test colors as I do in actual painting.

Al