Drawing from Nature - How to draw birds

Joel Hickerson, grindog.com. Today, we're going to learn how to draw birds. First thing you want to think about is what kind of bird you want to draw. Now, there's millions of birds. So, but if you're going to draw an ostrich, it's a tall bird. So you're going to start with your paper vertical. All right. If you're going to draw a roadrunner, you're going to want to move your page differently, especially since he's probably going to be running. All right. Now, there are basic things that make a bird a bird. For instance, you start with a body. You have a head. Birds all have beaks. They have feathers, most of them. Wings, whether they use them or not. Feet, usually with three toes is a pretty safe bet. Tail feathers. Some of them have a top notch. And that's your basic bird elements. Now, that's a standing bird. What if your bird is a flying bird? Well, then again, you're probably going to deal with a horizontal piece of paper. You're going to have your body. You want to position your body so you have enough room at the top for the wings and at the forward for the head. You start with the body, and you bring its wings up; neck out, head, beak. The feet will probably go backwards, and the tail, as well. So that's how you'd position for a flying bird. Okay. So I guess the things to remember about drawing your bird; you want to make sure you have all the basic elements represented. But also you want to make that bird into, or you want to ask yourself what makes an ostrich an ostrich. An ostrich has a long neck. It has wings. It doesn't really use them. So you won't have to see an ostrich really flapping very often. It has a huge tail, especially the males. You want to concentrate on the tail. And then long legs. All right. Now the roadrunner has a long neck it always throws forward. It has wings it doesn't use, too. But when you think of a roadrunner, you're going to think he's running. So you probably want to position him as a running bird. Make his legs splay out, like he's covering some ground. Okay. Everything else, look at the picture and see what makes that bird what it is. A cardinal will have a top notch. A goose will have a long neck and a big belly. And that's pretty much where you start. The rest is up to you. And that's how you draw birds.