i understand that . i just don't know how he made all the feathers within a single plane have the same diffuse. i seems like the same colors on every feather. perhaps he just used generators and drove the diffuse with the bump. that's why it looks like all the feathers are the same. well thank you for the help.
see how all of the feathers are in a single plane? i know how to back multiple high polys on a plane. no problem. but the diffuse. i thought he might've painted every single one but i think he just used a generator . which is why the color doesn't vary as much. @BIGTIMEMASTER