Coyote Confidential: A Taos New Mexico Blog

In the song, Coyote sings, “I’ll fly on a mischief’s wings.” In my story,
the mischief is a black-billed magpie. Here is the black-and-white
rendering of the magpie taking Coyote away. If you have never seen one of
these birds, they are remarkable. They come from the corvid family (crows
and ravens are also corvids) and are quite resourceful. They seem to hang
in gangs and harass, steal, and get into trouble. From afar, magpies look
black and white. When you see them close up or happen to find one of their
feathers, you will see their "black" feathers are an abundance of cold and
hot tints on a bluish-black background. I want this character to change
the mood from the warm glowing setting of Coyote's cave to that of the
cold and stark outdoor landscape. Cold and stark, but the magpie still has
the hues of fire and ice in its feathers. Adobe Photoshop will be used on
the black-and-white scan for coloring and effects. With the magic wand
tool, I selected feathered areas to gradient in the rainbow effect, then
painted the shadows between the feathers, created a few colored highlights
on the edges--and stopped. I needed to see it on a black background to
visualize the look I am seeking. After placing the image on a widescreen
background, I have an idea of how to proceed to with light and shadow on
the bird.