I want to model a feather crest on a helmet. How is the best method to do this? I have seen in internet a 3d bird whose feathers were just planes, I suppose those planes will be textured ito feathers later, if so, how that would work?
I’m thinking more in something similar to a native american feather hat, only that attached to a helmet, and less voluminous.
what you need is an alpha masked (transparent/cut out) image of a feather. then yes, you use a plane with the texture UV mapped to it. there are many videos on youtube of using this method to create trees and grass for game engines, up to making nice looking hair for characters. its a very simple operation!
good luck!