How to draw a bird
with guest contributor Zebra Pen brand ambassador, Amanda
Have you ever marvelled at other people’s nature drawings and asked, “How do they do it?” Or have you watched the comings and goings of wildlife in your garden or local park and thought, “I’d love to know how to draw a bird?” We’ve been big fans of Amanda’s beautifully crafted illustrations of the birds visiting her garden and those she’s seen on her travels, since she joined our Zebra Pen brand ambassador team last spring.
So, to get our new, ambassador-led ‘How to…’ blogs off to a flying start, we asked her if she’d create a step-by-step guide to drawing one of our favourite birds – those cheeky blue tits that bring a flash of colour and personality to our gardens at this time of year.
What you’ll need:
- Z-Grip mechanical pencil – there’s a handy rubber included at the end if you need it
- Z-Grip gel in black – useful for filling in detail
- Mildliners – we suggest soda blue, sherbet yellow, gold, smoke blue, olive, dark and cool grey, but it’s your choice
- Half an hour of me time!
How to draw a blue tit
with guest contributor, Zebra Pen brand ambassador, Amanda
Just spending ten minutes watching the birds at my feeder and then recreating them in my journal is one of my favourite creative pastimes. I’m going to show you how I do it, in six easy-to-follow stages. Follow me, and I’ll show you how to draw a bird.
Step 1: Start with the head
Starting with the head makes it easier to get the rest of the body in proportion. In pencil, draw a circle for the head – it doesn’t need to be exact!
Position the circle at a slight angle – as though your bird’s cocking its head – adds a bit of blue tit cheekiness!
My golden rule is you don’t need to be perfect!
Add a second circle – a bit more egg-shaped – for the blue tit’s body. I often make lots of lines – it’s a good way of getting the shape right. And right is when it feels right to you, so trust your judgement.
Step 2: Adding wings and tail
Add some light line flicks for the wing and tail. No need to make your lines dead straight – it’s not a military parade! Hold your pencil loosely and just go with the flow.
Step 3: Don’t forget the legs
Drawing birds’ legs is the part I struggle with most – so I tend to make them more like a suggestion of legs!
Look closely at most bird legs – you’ll see they’re almost ribbed in places (they’re descended from dinosaurs after all!) so I add some horizontal lines too.
Draw a little ‘v’ shape at the top of each leg, and if you make the claws ‘c’-shaped they’re easy to imagine gripping a twig.
Step 4: Draw in the face
Your bird’s face is where all that cheeky blue tit personality comes out, so feel free to let your imagination take over!
The beak is a simple triangle, and don’t forget to add a little cap – like a half-moon – on its head.
Try different eye shapes, add some scruffy hair standing up on his head. I often make my birds’ eyes almost glossy, with beady black pupils and a highlight gleam, but you could make them more stylised, even adding eyelashes!
To know where your eye should sit, draw a straight line from the beak to the back of the head, and position the eye closer towards the beak.
Then add a little line beneath the chin to join up the two circles. When you start adding colour, this will be the blue tit’s ‘cheeky chappie’ black cap and collar.
Step 5: Inking in
Time to ink in – I use a black Z-Grip gel usually. Some brave people might have started in ink – go you! But most of us start in pencil, then ink over the lines.
This is the stage to finesse your sketch. Those individual circles and ovals start to come together into an actual bird. Just like your pencil workings, your pen work doesn’t need to be perfect either unless you’re going for a more stylised effect. A wobbly line here and there makes your bird seem more natural.
Thicken the legs, and sketch in a few lines on the wings to add detail and you’re away.
Now it’s time for the big reveal! Rub out the pencil markings. As the pencil lines disappear, it’s like seeing your drawing come to life before your eyes.
Step 6: Going full colour
Using your Mildliners, start with lighter colours first, and layer darker shades on top to add realistic depth and shadow. If you work quickly while they’re still damp to the touch, Mildliners blend beautifully, giving you a host of unique shades.
Watch-out – you can always add more colour, but you can’t ever take colour out!
Amanda’s top tips
🎨Loosen up
Don’t be afraid to be quite loose and expressive – winging it is part of the fun of learning how to draw a bird!
🎨You don’t need to be picture-perfect
Having several goes at any stage is just fine. It’s about freeing your imagination, and letting your pen take over.
When it looks right and feels right – it is right.
🎨Take your time
Watching birds is a wonderful way to put the world on hold for a moment and I’ve always found drawing birds excellent for my mental wellbeing and relaxation.
Creating an artwork from what you see is a way of deepening that pleasure! Choose a time when you’re unlikely to be interrupted and allow yourself space to enjoy the experience.
More in the series…
Look out for our next how-to guide, coming in the spring.
And do share your blue tits and any other garden birds you create with all of us at the Zebra Pen community! Tag Zebra Pen UK and Amanda on Instagram. We look forward to being inspired.