How to draw A Songbird on a Twig

How to draw A Songbird on a Twig

What you need

• Drawing paper Cartridge or sketch paper with a little tooth.
• Blue pencil A light blue col-erase pencil, or a very light HB.
• Graphite pencils HB and 2B; a 4B or 6B for the darkest darks.
• Kneaded eraser Press and lift; pinch it to a point for highlights.
• Sharpener A sharp point makes cleaner hatching.

Step by step

1. 
   01

   Placement

   The twig and the tilt

   A diagonal twig, then the bird's tilt: a line from crown to tail tip, about three and a half head circles long.

2. 
   02

   Big shapes

   Egg and circle

   An egg for the body, tipped along the lean, big end forward; a circle for the head, sunk into its top. No neck.

3. 
   03

   Construction

   Beak, eye, wing, tail

   A wedge for the beak, split by the gape line; the eye just above it; a teardrop wing; a long tail; two short legs.

4. 
   04

   Construction

   Commit to the outline

   Graphite over the blue: crisp at the beak and along the shadow side, soft where feathers fluff. Then lift all the blue.

5. 
   05

   Construction

   Beak, eye and the head's pattern

   Darken the beak but keep a light ridge on top; a round dark eye with a catchlight; then map the cap, cheek and bib.

6. 
   06

   Light and shadow

   Pattern and light

   Value comes from two things: the pattern (black bib, chestnut band, brown back) and the light. Keep the breast and belly lightest.

7. 
   07

   Details

   The folded wing

   Rows of scalloped coverts, a white bar, then long tertials with pale edges and the primaries beyond. Streak the back; edge the tail.

8. 
   08

   Details

   Toes that grip, and bark

   Toes wrap over the twig and grip, three forward and one back, each with a small hooked claw. Bark runs along the twig.

9. 
   09

   Finishing touches

   Darkest darks last

   Last, the darkest darks: the eye, the lores, the heart of the bib, the claws and the bird's shadow on the twig.