A Miniature Wood Duck Hen (Pattern)

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEAN MINAUDIER

In 2005, I began a series of miniature waterfowl carvings. They were well received at competitions and popular with viewers. These were also some of my favorite sculptures to create, and the most successful artistically. When I was asked to teach a carving and painting class in 2016, I decided to do this miniature wood duck hen.

I felt that a miniature duck would be a great project for work on anatomy, laying out and carving feather groups, and exploring different techniques to create diverse surface textures. When I choose a species for a class project, I like to pick something with which I am familiar, and one that the students can identify with as well. One of my most popular waterfowl miniatures was a wood duck drake, but many of the students in this class had already carved one, so we had to agree on something else. I knew the students wanted to focus not only on carving techniques, but also on painting, and the wood duck hen would certainly provide challenges there.

I had a good idea of the pose I wanted to carve and some general concepts of what I wanted to achieve with the painting, including showcasing the iridescent purples, greens, and blues. But as I began exploring my references, I discovered that the duck’s colors can be interpreted in many different ways. In the end, I decided to expose part of the wing so that the blue secondaries and wing coverts would create a great focal point while also contrasting with the soft grays of the head.

Since this was a class project, I focused on the carving and painting and completed the habitat later. Ideally, I like to create sculptures with a vision in mind for the habitat from the beginning. I encourage carvers to begin each project with a plan so that once they have roughed out the bird, they can position it on a base or perch. This allows you to make changes to fit the habitat without reworking finished areas or damaging textured and painted surfaces when you make the feet and base.

1. I cut out the blank on a band saw. Notice the extra wood I left around the head, tail, and wings.

2. Here I have begun to establish the turned-head position by removing excess material from each side of the head block.

3. I pencil in a reference line perpendicular to the head’s centerline.

4. I cut a template of the head profile and trace it out on the head block. The reference line from the previous step helps me align the template evenly on both sides of the head.

5. Now I cut the head profile to shape.

6. and establish a rough top-view shape for the body.

7. Now I begin to rough out the body.

8 & 9. Here the body is rough shaped, including the cape, side pockets, and crossed wing.

10. Now I begin shaping the head. I locate the eyes and drill them in with a small pointed bit, taking care to maintain symmetry. I next outline the base of the bill and the mandible separation with my wood burner. I burn the lines relatively deeply, allowing me to remove a fair amount of wood from the surface without having to redraw the lines over and over as I carve. The burn lines also help in making clean stop cuts with the knife.

11. I refine the head shape.

12. Note the dished shape in front of the eye, the way I’ve rounded the cheek, and how the crest lays gently on the cape.

13. While this close-up photo seems to distort the head/body proportions, it nicely highlights the rounded shapes of the crown and side pockets.

14. Here is a good view of the progress on the head and breast shaping. Also notice where the scapulars tuck under both the cape and side pockets.

15. This is a great view of the tail shape, crossed wings, and generally rounded body.

16. The under-tail coverts group has a pointed shape. I continue working to remove any flat planes. There are still some remaining saw marks that I will have to address.

17. I have further refined the crossed wings. The rump and tail coverts should slope down onto the tail feathers in a smooth transition without any distinct edges.

18. Here you can see the shape of the left wing as it curves under the side pocket feathers.

19. and here’s the right side.

20. With the wing shapes established, I sketch on the feather groups I want to relieve. At this point, I am planning the placement of each group, each feather. On an area with such striking color patterns, every decision will affect the final product.

21. I begin relieving the tertials, secondaries, and scapulars.

22. The wing feather groups are completed. Notice the soft edge of the scapular group. The top few secondary coverts overlap the tertials and are slightly longer than the rest, so I must also account for that now.

23. The tail is thinned and the wings have been undercut and thinned as well.

24. With the body and wing shaping completed, it’s time to return to the head. I begin by refining the shape of the bill, locating the nostrils and relieving the nail. I also remove any excess material left between the bill and chest at this point.

25. I use the burner to relieve more detail on the bill. I sketch this in pencil and check for symmetry before committing to the permanence of the burner.

26. I drill the nostril a bit deeper with a pointed diamond bit. I use a rounded burning tip to create a slightly wrinkled, leathery texture on the surface of the bill. A very light sanding with 600-grit paper softens the effect.

27. Next, I sand the head and open up the eye holes to fit 4 mm eyes. At this point, I sand the rest of the body smooth, down to 400-grit.

28. Now I move back to the tail, using a combination of knife and burner to relieve individual feathers. It is not necessary to deeply undercut each feather. I take a subtler approach by carving in just a few separations.

29. I handle the tail’s underside much the same as the top surface. Since the viewer will primarily focus on the top of the bird, I rarely burn individual barbs on the underside of tail or wing feathers. Here I have gone ahead and burned in the quills and a few splits on each feather. This simple suggestion of detail is all you really need.

30. I avoid any deep undercuts on the wing feathers, especially with a miniature of this scale. After relieving the wing feathers with the burner, I gently sand each feather with 600-grit paper. This has a two-fold effect. First, it softens the feather edges. Second, it slightly roughens the shiny, burnished facets that the burner left behind. This creates a more consistent surface for the fine burning that will come a bit later.

31. Here’s another view of the wing feathers.

32. Next, I lay out the scapular feathers in loose, curved rows.

33. I use a fine sanding cone to add a slight contour to each subgroup of scapulars.

34. The undertail area gets some contours added.

35. Now I sketch in the side pocket feathers. I spend a good amount of time arranging subgroups as well as individual feathers. It is important to consider overall feather flow as well as color patterns here. Each feather will have a light, buff-colored center, so the layout I choose now will directly affect the look of the painted bird.

36. I use a small gouge to relieve some of the subgroups and a few individual feathers.

37. Since I do not want any sharp edges or undercuts on the side pocket of this bird, I soften the edges.

38. When I burn the tail and wing feathers, I try to keep the lines curved and fairly shallow, with just a few splits to help avoid a ragged look. Notice that the uppermost visible secondary feather has no fine burning lines. The strategy here will become evident with the painting in step 73.

39. On the upper-tail coverts and rump, I texture by stoning around the edge of each feather and then doing some finer burning at the base. I use this same texturing technique to complete the scapulars and cape.

40. I sketch in the feather flow on the underside of the body. Here I avoid long continuous rows or rigid scale-like patterns.

41. As I lay out the feather flow on the breast, I again consider the color patterns. The feathers get progressively smaller and more numerous toward the head.

42. Here is the area with stoning texture completed.

43 & 44. Time to lay out the feather flow on the head.

45. I use a small, ball-shaped stone to add some contouring to the crown and crest. This helps give a softer, fluffy look to those areas.

46. The stoning lines on the crest are longer and flowing, while those on the forehead and face are quick and short.

47. Next, I go back over the head texture with the burner, matching the flow and length of the stoning lines. I burn fairly deeply on the head, working to get a fluffy look on the finished product. At this point, I give the bird a couple coats of matte finish lacquer sealer.

48. I set the eyes. They should angle slightly forward and down.

49. I use Apoxie Clay, a two-part epoxy putty, to set the eyes and form the eyelids. I roll a tiny worm of the putty and press it in around each eye with a knife or dental pick. The wood duck has fairly fleshy eyelids, slightly thicker toward the front, so I work the epoxy into that shape. I can smooth any remaining roughness with a small, water-dampened paintbrush.

50. I like to allow about 24 hours drying time for the final sealer coat and eyelids before applying gesso. I thin the gesso with water (mixed to about one-third water) and work the primer into all of the texture and undercuts. I am careful to avoid having any gesso build up and dry inside the eyelids, as this is very difficult to properly clean later. After a couple coats, I give the bird a final inspection for any wood fibers, paintbrush hairs, or other debris embedded in the gesso. It’s easy to remove these with a sharp knife point before beginning the painting.

51. I will paint with acrylics. I start off with a base coat of Liquitex raw umber mixed with just a bit of Hooker’s green. I apply several thin washes, creating depth and blending effects as they build. The side pockets and breast get the most washes, while the wings and bill are left white.

52. The underside of the tail gets the same mix, blended out onto the under-tail coverts. I darken the edge of each tail feather.

53. The primaries get base coated with a couple washes of raw umber mixed with ultramarine blue, creating a charcoal gray.

54. Here the edges of individual rump, tail covert, and tail feathers have been darkened with the same raw umber/blue mix. I build a few layers to blend and build depth. Then I wash Hooker’s green over the area.

55. The outer few tail feathers get a couple washes of dioxazine purple mixed with quinacridone violet.

56. A dark mix of black and Hooker’s green sharpens the dark edges and adds split detail. For the outer tail feathers, I mix purple with the black. By this point, I have also darkened along the quills of each primary feather with a mix of black and raw umber.

57. The inner vane of each primary gets an application of phthalo blue.

58. I add the white edges, as well as a few small white highlights on the blue areas.

59. To tone down the highlights, I use a light wash of phthalo blue.

60. Here the secondaries and wing coverts have received a couple washes of phthalo blue. At this point, I avoid the tips of the secondaries and just leave them white.

61. A few more layers of blue create contour and depth, especially on the feather edges. A wash of phthalo green on the upper wing coverts adds some interest to the area.

62. I touch up the white before adding the black markings with a mix of black, dioxazine purple, and flow medium. Then I thin out the black mix and blend it onto the blue base coat. Another layer of phthalo blue helps blend the transition between the blue and black markings.

63. After edging the wing coverts with the black mix, I can see how my earlier focus on feather layout and shape are starting to pay off.

64. I add the dark feather edges and quills onto the cape, scapulars, and tertials. A mix of raw umber, ultramarine blue, and black applied in several thin layers avoids giving a harsh artificial look to the dark markings.

65. A wash of sap green (Holbein brand) goes onto the cape, scapulars, and tertials. The green coloration is mostly isolated to the inner vanes of the scapulars and tertials.

66. Next, I add a few thin washes of magenta or quinacridone violet to the outer vanes. I try to avoid the temptation to overdo the color at this point. I can always add more later.

67. The upper three secondary coverts visible on this bird have a violet iridescence, so I base coat them with a mix of dioxazine purple and white. I next highlight the edges and add a few ripples with white.

68. The edges get a deep violet wash of dioxazine purple mixed with magenta.

69. Phthalo blue darkens the base of each feather. I add a few splits and dark edges using a black/dioxazine purple mix. This is also a good time to touch up the edge of any surrounding scapulars.

70. I darken some shadow areas with a very thin mixture of black, Hooker’s green, and dioxazine purple. Thin washes of raw umber help tone down any areas of green or violet that look too bold.

71. The scapulars, tertials, and wings get detail touch-ups and splits added with a thin mix of black and dioxazine purple. I add flow medium to the paint and use a #1 or #0 sable brush to add the fine details.

72. A few streaks of violet added to the green areas on the scapulars and tertials help with the bronze iridescent effect.

73. I use the black/purple/flow medium mix to paint in the tattered-looking feather just below the tertials. It would have been very difficult to paint in these random-looking plumes over top of fine burning lines.

74. I block in the light markings to establish direction and flow. This is a warm mix of white with about 5% yellow oxide.

75. I add another layer. Now I am thinking about the shape of each of the markings.

76. I use the same mix to soften feather edges.

77. When painting the light markings on the breast, I follow the texture detail as much as possible.

78. I darken the edges of the breast feathers, quills, and splits with raw umber mixed with about 30% black.

79. White lightens feather edges on the belly and side pockets.

80. Here you can see the completed belly-to-side pocket transition.

81. The breast feathers also get light edging.

82. Raw umber adds shadow and split detail on the side pockets.

83. I add a thin wash of raw umber to tone down the light highlights on the sides and breast.

84. On the white markings only, I add a very thin wash of yellow oxide mixed with a bit of raw sienna. This creates a slight gold cast to the breast and sides.

85. The white areas on the head get touched up.

86 & 87. Several thin washes of a neutral-cool mix of raw umber and ultramarine blue darken the gray areas of the head. I try to create interest here by adding some shadow effects and streaks.

88. The forehead/crown area gets washed with a mix of sap and Hooker’s greens.

89. Next, I add a wash or two of dioxazine purple mixed with ultramarine blue to the area just in front of the eye and on forehead near the base of the bill. I add another wash of dioxazine purple mixed with quinacridone violet in front of the eye, and place some subtle white highlights to the crest area.

90. The eye ring gets a mix of yellow oxide and cadmium yellow medium. As with the gesso, I avoid flooding excess yellow paint into the eye.

91. I apply a warm mix of raw umber and ultramarine blue in several washes to the bill. I leave the lower edge and nostril areas a bit lighter, so they get fewer washes than the area near the tip of the bill. I touch up the base of the bill with white.

92. The nostril area and edge of the bill receive washes of a very thin mix of yellow oxide and raw sienna, and then a wash of burnt umber to add a more subtle effect. The yellow stripe at the base is the same mix as the eye ring. I use a light mix of dioxazine purple and white to shadow around the eye ring. This nicely compliments the yellow, adding interest to draw in the viewer and giving life to the bird’s face.

93. I mix gloss and matte varnish at about 50/50 and thin it with water. When I apply this in a couple thin coats, the bill should end up with a smooth, leathery finish. A final coat of gloss varnish goes on the nail only.

94. I decided to place this duck on a driftwood branch. When selecting a natural branch for a miniature bird habitat, it is important to consider the scale of the branch relative to the bird, so this piece of root seems a good choice. I trim away any loose material and debris, then flatten one side on the belt sander so it will sit in a stable position. Now I have to decide how to position the bird. Because the duck is in a relaxed pose, I decided to have it balanced on one foot, with the other tucked up and hidden beneath the side features.

95. I chose a steel pin for its strength and durability, because copper or even brass would be too soft and likely to bend as the carving was handled in the future. Notice the angle at which I bent the wire in order to keep the bird looking balanced in this pose. By this point I have lightly sketched in the toe position for reference. In this pose, the toes generally angle inward so the bird can keep its balance.

96. Using a cast wood duck foot to determine size and shape, I draw a pattern and cut out a paper template for reference.

97. I roll out a thin layer of Apoxie Clay and trim it to the shape of the template. Then I press in some quick cross-hatched scale detail.

98. After allowing the web to harden for a while, I form the toes and add scale detail at each joint.

99. Next, I build up the shape of the leg.

100. Five-minute epoxy permanently glues the piece together. I work some glue into the hole and also spread some glue into the joint where the foot meets the toes.

101. Once the glue hardens, I build up and detail the transition.

102. With a coat of gesso, the foot is ready to paint.

103. Two washes of yellow oxide create the base coat.

104. A thin mixture of black, raw umber, and sap green shadows the darker areas.

105. A couple more washes deepen the colors.

106. The wood duck hen’s feet vary from yellowish brown to dark olive green, so again, check many references to decide how dark you want to paint them.

107. I darken the nails and scale details with black.

108. I mix matte and gloss varnish at about a 50/50 ratio and apply one or two thin coats. A thin coat of gloss varnish finishes the nails. You can now clean off any paint spills from the branch.

109 & 110. The finished bird.