With practice, you can fill those gaps in your knowledge. Each drawing is a demonstration of what you know about a bird and will also reveal what you don't know. Measure your success by the insights and understanding that come from the process. Most of your illustration attempts will not result in pretty pictures, but don't let that discourage you. While photographs are helpful for learning technical details, the only way to really get to know birds is to watch them in life. Then test how much you've learned with a quick sketch of the same image.īe sure to also study and draw live birds whenever you can. Try a study drawing, where you methodically replicate the intricacies of a photograph. Drawing what you see in a photo will help you explore shapes and patterns without having to deal with a live bird's movement (or disappearance) you can take as much time as you need. Studying close-up photos of birds will allow you to decipher details that are very difficult to classify in life. Paying attention to how a bird holds its wings, or the pattern of dark markings on the flanks, or details of bill shape and color, or any number of other characteristics, will help you to draw those things. I spend a lot of time watching birds and just thinking about drawing them. This makes them challenging, but not impossible, to draw from life. Place Feathers Intentionallyīirds move a lot and quickly. The only place a bird normally looks "fluffy" is on the underside of the body between the legs and the tail, and sometimes on the back of the head. After starting your drawing with big shapes, you need to connect those with smoothly curved lines with no sharp angles or breaks. All feathers grow toward the tail and press against each other to form a sleek, aerodynamic shell. Keeping that in mind, and striving to develop an understanding of feathers, is fundamental to drawing birds. Feathers' primary function is streamlining-allowing birds to move easily through the air even at high speed. Smooth the FeathersĪlmost everything we see when we look at a bird is feathers. Soon you'll be able to see the bird in your sketch even when all you've drawn is a few generic shapes. Practice seeing simple shapes on a live bird, and experiment with putting them on paper. Draw these lines lightly and use them as a guide. Then use stronger lines as you build up the shape. Imagine the point on which the body would balance, and put a vertical line for the feet right there. Begin your drawing with large shapes to establish proportions and posture-an oval for the body, a circle for the head, a line to show the angle of the bill and eye. Birds are complex, and drawing is about simplifying.
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