Learn The Basics Of Bird Drawing With This Easy Guide

Birds are an integral part of our ecosystem. The serenity and calmness that comes from gazing upon their beauty is indescribable. They can be found in every country, and come in a wide range of hues, forms, and dimensions

To successfully draw a bird, one must be able to convey the bird's essential character. Discovering which of a bird's feathers, eyes, legs, or beak defines its character is the key to bringing that bird to life in your drawing. Whether you are sketching a hummingbird or an ostrich, the same rules apply. The key is to capture the character that gives each bird its unique beauty.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to draw and shade a bird from scratch, from establishing basic shapes and lines to adding realistic shading.

Here's what you'll get out of this lesson:

• Instances of a bird's rudimentary form
• The Easy Way to Sketch a Bird
• Coloring a bird in the shade

What you'll need to get started:

• An HB pencil (or graphite powder and a file)
• Using a gentle brush
• Here, have a graphite pencil of the 4B variety.
• A 0 Retractable mechanical pencil measuring 5 millimeters in diameter
• A ruler
• Something to use as a mixer
• Tombow's Mono Zero 2 3mm eraser
• An eraser you can knead

The name of the bird you're depicting:

Here is the entire procedure we'll explain to you:

Section 1 Birds' Rough Outline

Birds can vary greatly in appearance. But they can typically be reduced to more elementary shapes like circles, lines, and triangles And that is exactly what we'll be doing with this eastern bluebird Here, a mechanical pencil is the tool of choice.

Start by drawing a branch.

Since birds typically rest on branches, we'll use a series of straight lines with subtly varying angle values to represent a branch.

The Second Step: Doodle an Egg

A egg, you say? The size of the body is up to you, but remember to leave room for the head and tail.

3. Make a circle

Next, we'll draw a circle that overlaps the egg we made in Step 1 by a third. Since our bird will be perched on the branch, its neck won't be strained to lift its head.

Fourth, make a cross by connecting the two points.

Place a horizontal line vertically through the center of the body and the center of the head. There you have it; the rules for the eyes, the beak, and the limbs.

Fifth, sketch a circle

Currently, we're going to draw a tiny circle for the bird's eye, and place it in between the guidelines for the two heads.

Detailed instructions for drawing a leg are provided in Step 6.

For the leg, draw a short line like the one shown below and extend it so that it nearly meets the branch.

Seventh, sketch the other thigh

Make a short line to represent the other limb. Since the branch is slanted, it need not be mirror-image to the other.  

Eighth, sketch a pair of ellipses.

Outline ellipses at the end of each leg to serve as the claws' starting points.

Claws: Method Nine

Increase the number of claws on each leg to three. Claws like these will be grabbing the branch, so they should be curved ever-so-slightly.

Tenth, sketch the beak's underside.

When the egg reaches the point where your guidelines intersect, erase them and draw a line there. Just add the two lines below to make the little triangles.  

In Step 11, we'll sketch the beak's peak.

Proceed to the beak's peak, but this time make the triangles slightly larger.

Twelve, incorporate two triangles.

Incorporate two inverted triangles in the area between the eyes, then cross out your guidelines.

The 13th stage is to incorporate the nostrils (nares).

Expand the nares into a horizontal "V" as shown in the image below. Because of the way the head is tilted, the other one is hidden.

Add the right side in Step 14.

Since we're depicting the bird frontally, we can't see its wings. Make the wings into a rounded shape.

Adding the left wing is Step 15.

Treat the left as you would any other faction. Check that the shapes intersect in the midline of the foot.

Add a tail for Step 16

Draw the bird's tail in the shape of a long ellipse. Now that you're ready for the next stage, erase your guidelines and the overlapping lines.

Make a rough outline of the bird in Step 17.

Outlining the shape of our bird with mechanical pencils. It's best to treat the feathers on the bird's body like fur and draw it with light, feathery strokes. Draw a circle around the nose and a tracing of the beak's exterior.

Eighteenth Step: Outline One Leg

The bird's legs and toes will be given volume with cylindrical shapes, while the talons will be rendered with pointy shapes. In case you're confused, here's a diagram to help.

Procedure 19: Draw a template for the other thigh

To treat the other leg, simply repeat the procedure described above.

Twenty-First Step: Draw an Eye Outline

Create the bird's eye view by drawing curved, organic lines. Follow the rules you set out, and you'll succeed.

Instance 21: Include the Neck

There are distinct clusters of contrasting plumage on the bird's head and body. To determine the gap, draw a line through the feathers and the points where the head and body meet.

Step 22: Decorate the legs with feathers.

The legs are also covered in feathers; soft scribbles near them will give that impression.

Stage 23: Draw a diagram of the branch

Then, draw an outline of the branch and give it some bumps here and there.

Section 3 Shade Techniques for Birds

Graphite powder is the next step, so fill the bird with it.

Inject the bird with graphite powder using a soft brush. Maintain a dark monetary value on the head and a light one on the body.

Twenty-fifth Stage: Eye and Head Shading

Follow the steps below to decorate the bird's crown with tiny feathers. Don't forget to use a 4B for the outline and a mechanical for the finer details.

The 26th Stage: Cover the Body in Shadow

Use the same method, but on a larger scale, to shade the bird's body feathers as shown in the diagram, with darker values where shown and lighter values where shown.

Shade the beak and legs (Step 27)

The darkest values are found in the beak and the legs; to achieve these, fill them with several layers of graphite and exert some pressure in the shadowed regions.

Adding highlights and shadows to the branch is Step 28.

To make it look like the character is wearing tiny feathers, remove some graphite from their bodies using mono zero erasers. To give the branch some texture, shade it in by angling your pencil.

That's all there is to it! Final thoughts:

Congratulations on finishing the tutorial! The results were excellent.  

You should have a better idea of how to draw and shade a bird now that you've read this.

At this time, we bid you farewell.

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