Join John Muir Laws as he walks us through the process of creating a careful illustration of a Stellar’s Jay. We will use a combination of graphite, watercolor, and colored pencil highlights. Read More
Tag: how to draw birds
Drawing Raptors and other Large Birds in Flight
In this class, we will combine two critical elements, a functional understanding of bird structure, and key principles of foreshortening. Be sure to print out and fold the paper bird models before the class. They will help you see, understand, and draw flying birds and help solve key points of confusion. Download, print, cut, and Read More
Paint a Blue Jay step-by-step
Paint a scientific illustration of a Blue Jay with watercolor in this step-by-step demonstration. Read More
The New Bird Drawing System (video)
For years I have taught the same system to quickly draw birds in the field. Over the last few months my approach has changed radically. I think I can now get you drawing better birds with fewer lines. This refined system will help you get the basic bird shapes with less trouble and will avoid some Read More
Fast Wing Details
Try a white colored pencil on dry watercolor for fast wing details. Bird wing feathers often have pale lines along the edges of the primaries and secondaries. Click on the first image to start a step-by-step slideshow demonstration to get this effect in seconds. Materials used: Sepia prismacolor pencil, White prismacolor pencil, watercolors (Daniel Smith). Read More
How to draw a Red-eyed Verio Step-by-Step
Know more than you Show One of the secrets to a successful bird illustration its to understand bird anatomy, and then suggest detail without noodling in every feather location. To accurately draw feathers, you must understand feather groups and wing structure. I think the best book on the subject is Birding Basics by David Sibley (also Read More
Drawing Birds: Heads, Wings, & Feet (video workshop)
Are you ready to draw birds? When the bird lands in front of you, you must be ready to get the basic form on paper with a few lines. This was the focus of last month’s workshop which you can view here. But what do you do then? Once you have this basic shape you Read More
How to paint a Sandhill Crane landscape, step-by-step
The big lesson behind this demonstration is flowing from one sketch to another as live birds move before you. Do not get hung up trying to finish one sketch. If your bird moves, start a second, and then a third, right there on the same page. You do not have to finish any of the sketches. Read More
How to draw Sandhill Cranes: Anatomy for Artists
Understanding the structure below the feathers is an important part of being able to see and draw Sandhill Cranes. Train your mind to visualize what is going on below the surface, to see into the bird. Click on the first image to start a step-by-step slideshow. A relevant video Read More
Sandhill Cranes: Using shape, structure, and light to draw what you see (Fremont)
[T]his workshop is not about drawing Sandhill Cranes. It is about how your ability to draw anything improves when you understand what you see and train your eye to capture critical negative shapes, gestures, and angles. We will start with a detailed look “under the hood” of the Sandhill Crane so we all have a