It’s been a while since I did one of these, and I figured I should get one more in before the end of the year. It’s not perfect, but it’s snow goosey enough. Based on a photo I took at Iona Beach on October 22, 2023.
bird art
Bird drawing: As the crow flies
Based on a photograph I took on July 15, 2023, of a crow flying low over the tidal flats of Burrard Inlet, near Maplewood Flats.
Bird art: Ruby-crowned kinglet
This shot was dark, slightly blurry and had a branch partly blocking the birb, so I fixed some of these things and here it is.
Experimenting with geese
I’ve now got it in my head that I want to do one or more cartoon with geese, because they intrigue me and horrify me in equal parts.
My first step was to do a bird drawing of a Canada goose, but in a more deliberate cartoon style. This is my initial attempt, which I’ll refine as I go along. I’m using the most obvious joke here, they’ll probably get weirder or more obscure if I do more.
Bird art: Berserk goose
This is based on a photo of a goose going berserk (as they do) at Reifel on April 22. Most of these photos turn out blurry because the goose is whipping its head around (as they do).
Bird art: Tree swallow
Birb:
Finished bird art: Black-capped chickadee
I started this bird art thing with a chickadee, but it was very simple line art (I sort of want to do some more in that specific style). Here’s another chickadee, in my now-established style.
Unfinished bird art: Hummingbird
I abandoned this sketch tonight because the reference photo was too dark and the Anna’s hummingbird was coming out way too murky.
I’ll find a better-lit photo and do another hummingbird someday, but this is interesting in a “what could have been” sort of way.
Bird Art: Full gallery (so far)
I finally got off my lazy butt and collected all of my bird drawings in a single gallery, which I will update going forward.
Here’s a quick summary of the process:
- Tools used: iPad Pro 12.9″ (2020), Apple Pencil, Procreate
- I use a photo I’ve taken, usually one I don’t post because it’s slightly out of focus or otherwise flawed
- I do a line drawing of the bird, then colour in after
The line part usually take a few minutes, the colouring can sometimes take an hour or more, depending on the complexity. I have trended toward getting more complex with the drawings, but will still try to throw some simpler ones in.
There are also a few drawings that don’t follow the above formula, like the cobra chicken, killdeer and squirrel, which is not actually a bird.
The gallery:
Crow flying
Black-capped chickadee
Brewer's blackbird
Great blue heron
Sandhill crane
Song sparrow
Wilson's warbler, light background
Wilson's warbler, river background
Ring-billed seagull
Dark-eyed junco
Spotted sandpiper
Spotted towhee
American bushtit
Mallard duck
Red-winged blackbird
Red squirrel
Canada goose
Ring-necked duck
American coot
Brown-headed cowbird
Steller's jay
American robin
Rock pigeon
Wood duck
Caspian tern
Great blue heron
Black-capped chickadee. This was the original sketch when I thought of doing them as "pop art" with only one or two colours.
Cobra chicken, done on request using a few different brushes.
Canada goose, done with the 6B Pencil in Procreate.
Killdeer. Done using the 6B Pencil brush in Procreate before I switched to colour.
Bird art: Brewer’s blackbird
All poofy and such.
Bird art: Great blue heron
A more detailed version compared to the first heron I did in this style. Based on a photo I took at Reifel Bird Sanctuary on March 18, 2023.
Bird art: Sandhill crane
These birds have about a billion feathers, each of them individually coloured. Capturing this accurately would have taken me until 2083.
Still, I like it.