I am doing my first mallard drake mount and was wondering if someone could give me some suggestions on painting the bill. such as color schedule and topcoating with a satin or matte ect..?
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Buy the Breakthrough bird finishing manual if your looking for paint schedules. This is great for bills and feet, you should be able to customize your painting per bird cause each one has a little different pattern to it. Look at a mallard hen for instance.
I paint mine yellow ochre and black. Use reference pictures to show you where they go. I use Lifetone paints and have never seen the need for a top coat of anything. (my opinion!)
(P.S.) Every now and then, I'll get a drake in that has a "pea" green bill. It leaves yellow ochre and the customer is always happy.
Good Luck!
Things aren't always the way they appear. Look at a live or very fresh Mallard bill. Do you see the band of blue behind the nail. Can you see the faint spots of darker green under the green or yellow? Do you see the different shades of green and yellow when looking at the bill from the side? Is it a butterscotch yellow or a Medium bass green? Will yellow ocre by itself give you the depth of color. Will a dark base coat work or is a light one better? Or would part light and part dark base coat be better? All Mallards are not the same. I have killed them with bright yellow bills. A judge told me that was all wrong. The more you look beneath the top color, the more convincing it will be.
Tony