Blue Macaw Beak - Acrylic

In this 2 hour tutorial I will take you through painting a blue macaw beak, focusing on how to handle the mix of smooth surfaces, rough fibres and subtle colour shifts so it feels solid and lifelike. We will work through it in a practical way so you can apply the same approach to other bird subjects.

We will focus on:

• Painting smooth, curved surfaces
• Creating rough, flaking textures
• Capturing the waxy surface of the beak
• Adding scratches and fine detail
• Using contrast to define structure
• Introducing colour to enhance the final result

A great lesson for learning how to control texture without overworking the surface.

This is part one of a two part series. The second lesson focuses on painting claws and feet.