Realism

This will be a realistic illustration, so we will include details like: the bird's distinguishing features (a Cardinals Crest on top of its head, a Hummingbirds long thin beak), the bird's feathers, the bird's gesture (it could be flying, sitting perched on a tree branch/feeder or the bird could be bobbin' along in the grass/ground). To push our composition further, we can also add some sort of "background" behind the bird.

Choosing a Species of Bird

Step 1:

You have to choose the type of bird that you would like to draw; there are a couple of ways to do this:

Choice #1: You may already know which species of bird you would like to sketch out. It could be one that you are knowledgeable about, one that is in your neighborhood, or maybe you already have a favorite bird (such as a flamingo, parrot or snowy owl).

Choice #2: Choose a bird is by its location. Each location will have a different climate and habitat that the bird lives in.

You could search: birds of (.........). You replace the (........) with a country or a climate. For example you could search: birds of Argentina, Japan, Africa, Australia, Mumbai, Colorado, Hawaii... Climate/habitat examples: desert birds, tropical birds, shore birds...

Choosing Its Gesture

Step 2:

Next we have to choose the gesture of the bird. The gesture is the position of the head, body, wings, tail and feet of the bird. The gesture will change depending on what the bird is doing (flying, sitting, walking or feeding).

You can begin your illustration by lightly sketching out the complete gesture. Do not worry about details yet, we are just trying to accurately capture the positioning of the birds different body parts. During this time, you can plan out the composition and where the bird will be located on your paper/canvas (centered, bottom-right, zoomed in and cut off top-left side).

Distinguishing Characteristics (Details)

Step 3:

After "Step 2" (gesture sketch) is complete, you can begin to add in the details of the bird. These details are also called "Distinguishing Characteristics." Distinguishing characteristics means: the unique traits a bird has, which is different from another bird. From its size, to its feathers, beak, feet, wings & tail (shape and length), each bird varies and is different from one another.

We should include all of the above while making an effort to draw them as accurate as possible. The more fine details that you can bring to your design, the more realistic your design will be in the end! Some artists work in smaller areas first (for example: choose one of the birds wings, begin with the largest feather and slowly work towards the smallest feather; then move on to the other wing). This is very difficult to do, you need a lot of patience, but you will love the results in the end.

Background Choices

Step 4:

Once you are happy with the amount of detail in your birds body, we can begin to add in some "major" and "minor" background details. For this step, we will open up the choices a bit more; you can draw these elements in a realistic style, an abstracted style or a combination of the two.

"Major" background detail would be the areas that the bird is "in direct contact with" or the areas that "the bird is touching." If the bird is walking along the rocky shore of a beach, then we would draw the rocks with a similar level of detail (Step 3) as the bird was drawn.

"Minor" background detail would be the areas that "are not touching the bird" or "much further away, deep background." If we continue the bird on the rocky shore example, there may be waves of water and a few pieces of driftwood in the background but further away.

"Realistic style," all of these elements could be drawn with the same level as detail as the bird (Step 3). You might simplify the detail level of the waves and driftwood.

"Abstract Style," maybe the rocks are just "blobs of color," the waves could be abstracted to diagonal zones of shaded color (light blue, turquoise, dark blue) and the driftwood could be simplified to horizontal lines of grey and light brown.

"Combination," the rocks might be drawn realistically, but the waves and driftwood are drawn using a simplified contour line (just the top of the object that shows the shape of the wave or piece of wood).

Color or Shading

Step 5 (Optional)

Once you finish your illustration of the bird, you can decide if you would like to add some color or shading. Some artists add full color to the entire design. Other artists might add just a little bit of color to areas of the bird and a few splashes of color to the background (here and there). The material that you use to add color is completely up to you and what you have available. You could even experiment with multiple materials (for example: you might use color pencils for the bird and watercolors for the background).

If you do not want to add color but would like to add some value (light to dark shading), then you could add some pencil or pen shading. Just like the full color option, you could shade the entire design or just add a few highlights and a few shadows "here and there."