Faerie Muse

Hello!  Welcome to the design tutorial.  It is exactly what it sounds like.  There are a lot of folks out there who'd like to make faerie wings but don't think they have the artistic talent.  That's where this page comes in!  The following is an illustration of some of my methods.  If you've never tried designing or making wings before, I hope that these methods help you.  They're entirely suggestions, based on my own experience, and not written-in-stone rules.  The goal is to end up with a beautiful pair of faerie wings.  Read on to see!

***The following is written based on the fact that I make cellophane faerie wings.  While I do try to address fabric and nylon wings here, it's not the primary focus.***

For a lot of people, the biggest problem can be not knowing what they want their finished product to look like.  In this situation, look around, look at your favorite faerie art, look at butterflies and other winged creatures.  Let their wings inspire you.  Don't be afraid of starting simple, with some Tinkerbell-esque wings.  If you are talented with wire or crafting in general, don't be afraid to start with something inspired by Amy Brown or Nene Thomas.  Consider the rest of your costume, too.  Are you a dark fae?  Are you a woodsy sprite?  Are you urban?  Are you angelic?  Each of these should inspire different ideas in your mind.  With these ideas, go ahead and sketch some things.  They don't even have to be wings, at first, they can be lines that represent what you're feeling.  An urban or punk/goth fae might inspire hard, jagged lines, or tattered edges.  A woodsy fae might inspire floral or leaf-like lines.  And an angelic fae may bring to mind soft, curved lines.  Once you have an idea of what mood or setting your faerie-self is in, or you've found ideas from artwork or nature, it's time to move on to the next step.

***Please keep in mind: if you'd like to recreate or emulate an art piece, be sure to give credit to that artist for the design, or for the inspiration for your design.  You may want to consider contacting the artist for permission, and absolutely do this if you plan on making money from replica wings.  Most other wing-makers are very protective of their original designs, and don't appreciate copying of their work.  This is your chance to make something no one else has ever seen, or thought of, embrace that opportunity!***

Okay, here's where you ask yourself what you're making these wings out of.  If it's cellophane, or a fabric you intend to sew, your options for design are as open-ended as the size of cellophane or fabric you're using.  If you're using nylon, or some other stretchy covering, keep in mind that sharp edges can tear through the delicate fabric.  Once you've made that decision (or you may design first, and then decide what your membrane will be based on the drawing) get out the paper!  (Or napkin, or pizza box, or paper bag, or whatever's handy)  Draw wings!  I always draw one wing at a time, not worrying at this stage about what the back-brace or connections are going to look like.  ***Here's a quick note about cellophane vs. fabric:  with cellophane wings, you can make either a closed, or sculpted frame, where the outline of the wing, as well as any internal veins, are both done in wire, and the cellophane covers the whole thing; this is the same type of frame your average fabric or nylon wings tend to be.  The other option with cellophane is to have an open frame, where your wires create the "veins" and support structure, but then the cellophane is cut into the desired shape and edge.  There are examples of both a sculpted and an open frame in my gallery.  The other popular option, one which these tutorials are not geared to, is a wing in which there's only one wire, supporting the top of a fabric wing that hangs down like a flag.  These options are important to consider when designing.  Back to the tutorial!***  If you're not sure what kind of membrane or support structure you're going to use yet, go ahead and draw the veins and the edge equally.  If you want to make open cellophane wings, focus mainly on the veins; likewise, if you want a sculpted frame, focus on the outline.  Try out different things; if you're brand new at working with wire, use simple shapes and lines in your drawings, but remember that simple shapes and lines can make amazingly beautiful wings!  Remember:  You can't mess up!  Draw as many wings as you can, then walk away from your sketches for a little bit.  Grab some coffee, or tea.  Make a sandwich.  Okay, now come back and pick one that you (or whoever you're making them for!) like.  Congratulations!  You've designed a set of wings!  (Yeah, I know, you only have one drawn out, that's okay!)

Who'd have thought you practically need a degree in order to keep a pair of wings on your back?  Well, it's not that hard, but it does bear some consideration.  I always try to have both sides of my wings, and my back brace, completely integrated.  What does that mean?  It means that a wire on the left side of my wings crosses over as part of the back-brace, and extends into the right side of my wings.  Take a look at the frame for my Sarah wings, if you're confused!  It's very easy to see in those because the wires make an X shape which acts as the back-brace, and the arms of the X extend out to make the veins which support the wings.  The fact that the wires on each side then cross each other makes the frame very stable.

Here are the key points to remember when designing your wing sides:
*Wires will pivot if given the opportunity
*Symmetry is optional!
*Incorporating the structural pieces of your wings into your back brace will make your life easier in the future.
*Incorporating the structural pieces of your wings into your back brace isn't mandatory!  It's just what I've found to work really well.

Key points to keep in mind when designing your back-brace/the way in which your wings connect:
*A single bar across your back, tied with straps, will pivot on your back, and your wings won't stay up.
*Try to have either a wide back-brace that will hold the wings in place, or have four points at which your straps connect (see the four points of the X, above)
*Your back-brace can be ugly!  You can cover it with pretty fabric, flowers, and ribbons to hide fabric ends, messed up wires, etc.
*Your back-brace can be pretty!  My designs all incorporate back-braces that can be shown with pride.  You don't have to put flowers or fabric back there, if you want to keep your wings more versatile.

The X shape is not the only way to integrate your sides, you can also use a U, or have all but one or two of your wires go straight across.  Let those one or two create interesting spirals, loops, or any other shape you can imagine, that will rest against your back and hold your wings in place without pivoting.  (Check out my fire and water wings in the gallery to see an example of this!)

Okay, now you ought to have an idea of what you want your veins to look like, what you want your outline to look like, and how your wings are going to hook together, and stay on you!  Take your little half-sketch (along with any others you may have drawn in the last step) and re-draw your one wing to the size of a sheet of paper (if it's not this size already).  Does it still look good?  Does it have lots and lots of details on it?  Weed out the details that you may want to paint or add on after construction.  Make sure that your drawing is just your frame design (including any veins that will be made from wire) and the profile, or outline of the membrane.  Make sure, too, that you aren't calling for an insane amount of wires for the size wings you want to make.  The more wires you have, the more bending you'll have to do, and the bigger your finished wings will end up being.  I try to stick to 3-5 wires per side for small wings, 5-8 for medium/large ones.  If you're doing a sculpted frame, there's a possibility that you can do each side out of a single piece of wire, if it's not too big or pointy.  Keep in mind that large sculpted frames do need at least one or two interior veins to hold everything steady.  Small sculpted wings could be done out of a single piece of wire for the whole frame, if you plan properly.  Alright.  Now take your page-sized sketch and some newspaper/butcher paper/any size paper you can find (or tape together) that is the size of one finished wing.  (If you are doing that small sculpted pair, out of the single wire, you'll want paper big enough for the entire pair).  Sketch your design full-size.  It's still okay if you mess up!  Use colored markers if you want to tweak your design at this stage (each color being a different tweak, so you don't get confused!).  Remember what your connection at the back are going to look like, and don't forget to leave a tail on your drawing where you need wire for the back-brace, connections, extending to the other side, etc.

You'll use this pattern for both sides of your wings, you'll just flip it (or your wires) over for the "other" side.  If you're trying something like the Sarah wings, you may want to draw out both sides of your wings to keep from getting confused.  You may want to do this anyway, and are more than welcome to.  However, if you've got a fairly good head on what you're doing, you probably don't have to.

Okay, now you're ready for the construction tutorial!