Kiwi

Kiwi

Micron Pens

My indepent study is focus on illustrating bird anatomy and feather patterns. That includes skeletons. So for my project I chose to draw a kiwi skeleton. I think their anatomy is fascinating because the eggs they lay are as big as them. Their rib cage is designed to support the massive eggs. They are also flightless and don't have wings with bones. Their skeletons look very odd compared to that of molst other birds. I decided I wanted to use the stippling method on this piece because that is my favorite way to shade black and white drawings. It allows for subtle detail and from a distance you can't even see it's a bunch of tiny dots.

I only used micron pens in this drawing. I wanted it to have a scientific illustration feel to it. That meant keeping it very simple in black and white. That is how most old fashioned scientific illustrations appear.

This drawing took me about fifteen hours. Stippling drawings always take me a long time. I apply the dots very precisely and I am also very picky about the shade that I am putting down. I like my drawing to look as close as possible to my reference as possible. I am proud of the way this one turned out. All of the proportions and bones turned out almost if entirely accurate. I started out by sketching the shape of the skeleton with a few circles and then filled in the details. I am glad that I finally got the opportunity to draw one of my favorite birds.