Duck Stamp

The main idea that guided my art was trying to copy to the best of my ability a duck having in mind the accurate scientific aspect of it as well. Throughout the process of drawing this duck, I learned the specific characteristics and attributes that mallards have. For instance, female mallards, shown above, have a distinct blue stripe, and a green head with a brown/orange front. I also learned the environment in which mallards live: all aquatic habitats, prefer fresh water at all times, and sometimes on coastal waters, near sheltered bays.

The materials I used during this project included pencils, colored pencils, and blenders on watercolor paper. I used a light 2H pencil to roughly outline a sketch of my duck and its surroundings. I used colored pencils to color my duck adding the right colors to the right features and angles, And I used blenders to blend in what was needed like the water and the head and body of my mallard.

The process of this artwork took many steps to achieve. My first step to the mallard was to research a particular duck, once we chose a duck to research, we had to figure out the environment and characteristics and features of the duck to have accurate surroundings around the duck once we drew it. After this, we began with a sketch, roughly outlining the edges and proportions of the duck, comparing it to the realistic picture online. During this step, I decided I'll have my duck face left and not in a left-to-right motion because the mallard I was drawing was on land, clearly not moving. So, by doing this, the angle looks like my duck is not moving at all, just standing on rocks.  The next step was coloring the duck, adding the right colors for the wings, body, and head, shading, and blending the colors together to create accurate textures and colors compared to your references. The last step for this project was to fill in the background with whatever environment fit best, I included a lake with nearby mountains and bays, shading and blending the best I could to make it look realistic.