So I've had a few people ask me about how exactly I draw wings, so, it's time for the return of A Mouse's Guide to Arting! (Just as a note, this is how I draw wings, but even so, they're still kinda anatomically incorrect!)

Anyway, to start, I want you to notice something.

Look at this quick sketch of an arm and a wing. See how they're kinda similar?

Not really? Maybe this will help.

See now? It's the same basic arm and wrist structure, with similar finger/primary feather placement. So if you can draw a proportional arm, wings won't be that hard for you!

So, continuing on, in this guide, I'll be using red for stuff I'd either imagine, or just to more clearly define things. Such as, for example,

The basic structure. (There was gonna be a more extensive guide on how to draw the structure, but not only did I hit the picture limit, but also I think you guys are smart enough to draw some lines and a circle.)

Anyway, the first feathers you'll want to draw are the first layer of "finger" feathers.

These are all the feathers that originate at the wrist. Any that would stick out of that circle, you want to have pointing back to the wrist.

Then you want to add the down and first layer on the forearm-

This is pretty easy, just some u's a little bit down from the top of the arm, and some large V's beneath them.

Then the down for the upper arm,

Remember- the upper arm is wider than the forearm. So you want to have the layer of down be wider, too. Also, don't forget the shoulder is a thing that exists.

Then you can add the first layer feathers for the upper arm.

These are slightly longer than the ones on the forearm. Also, notice how they're at a slightly different angle? It helps to differentiate with them. (I also added a little more fluff on the upper arm and shoulder. Not necessary, but eh.)

Then you add the next layer of feathers.

These are significantly larger, you'll notice. Also, the feathers to the farthest right also start at the wrist, and end inside the red circle, and the upper arm feathers don't have so dramatic of a change in angle.

And there! You have the basic wing shape! Using this method, you can also do a number of other wing positions, only one of which I can actually put here because of picture limits, but eh, have it anyway.

(The feathers are kinda sloppy, but whatever.)

Anyway, you've got your wing shape, but what about shading? Do you REALLY have to do every feather?

Short answer: no.
Long answer: you just have to do most of them.
Longer answer: you just have to do most of them, but it's not that hard!

See, feathers are shaped kinda like this:

There's the quill, and all of these, well, feathery bits coming off it.

Now, if you have your light source, then one of these sides of feathery bits will likely be lit up, and the other will likely be in shadows. (It's a bit more complicated if you're doing something like frontlighting or backlighting, but I'm not entirely sure how to do that, so we're not gonna talk about that.)

Anyway, say hello again to Mr. Sunshine!

See? One side is lighter, and you just draw more lines on the other side to make it darker.

So anyway, using the same light source for the wing, just so I don't have to draw another,

You can shade in the darker sides in the same way.

Make sure you draw the lines going the right direction- diagonally out and away from the arm.

And then, uh... I'm not... entirely sure how to shade the downy part, so...

Just kinda. Do some scribble stuff.

But we're not done shading quite yet! Each individual feather is okay, but these aren't individual feathers. Some are behind or beneath others, which means they're blocking the light on some. See all these areas where feathers overlap?

So you need to shade those, too.

Then darken some areas for easier distinguishing.

Then I guess you could be done here, but if you look back at the single feather diagram, see how there are lines on both sides? That's because each of the feathery bits is interacting with each other, and they're creating shadows on each other. So, go ahead and add some really light lines on the lighter side of each feather.

Aaaaand there! You're done! Hopefully, you used pencil instead of red pen for your imagined parts, so that you can erase it, but still!

That's it! You drew a wing! Congratulations!