The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Nature Journaling and Field Sketching › Drawing What You See – Upside Down Drawing
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Pretty cool exercise. I focused on lines and shapes.
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This exercise requires patience and focus. I had the most difficulty with the splotchy
belly shapes because they are more irregular and "floating" vs connected by other lines.
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@Candy I was so , I forgot the tail!
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At first I really found this lesson enjoyable. But then about halfway through I realized that some of my proportions were really off. I got rather frustrated and and wanted to erase half of what I had done. Then my husband reminded me that this is a learning process and I should just finish it. I can always go back and try it again later, continuing to improve with each try. I stepped away from it for a couple months, then came back and finished it. Overall once I was done I am really happy with the results.
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I had fun with this exercise - it forced me to take my time and look at the shapes in relation/proportion to each other - rather than thinking about the whole subject. It came out better than I thought it would!
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This was challenging and fun! I started out seeing the sparrow but after I will I got so focussed on the drawing I started to see only lines relating to other shapes or lines. A really helpful exercise.
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It was difficult, and I had to keep focused! I was surprised that when I flipped it around it actually looked much like the bird I was drawing. The details were hard to do (markings on chest). I guess that tells me that if you really draw exactly what you see and don't be limited by the overall appearance, you can be accurate :)
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Fun and hard. Had to really concentrate on the shapes, not an upside down bird : )
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Pat M., October 27, 2020 It was difficult, but a good workout. Bird proportions dicey.
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I have done this before and it really is amazing. I did have difficulty keeping my place on the subject. Good exercise.
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This was so hard for me!! I ended up with a headache. No joke. I had a really hard time with proportion and negative space - it was like my mind could not adjust to the image being upside down. While the exercise made me slow down, I found that I started to give up at the end and hurry........this was the hardest so far.
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I haven't tried upside down drawing in a very long time, and again, it forced me to slow down, and use all those skills we've learned. After awhile it just became like doing a puzzle - here's a squiggle, it points at that line, it's halfway down, under the bulby thing, same length as this line. But wow those islands were tricky.
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Beautiful and very accurate!
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You did great!!
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This was quite challenging and I had to work very slowly. The sparrow turned out better than I anticipated. The marks on the stomach got a little confusing.
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Needed more patience and quiet to do it right. Did try to work as shapes but believe I need to draw it larger to see the smaller details
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Let death be the moment when I turn the picture of my life over and marvel at the results. This exercise was a real gift to me...trusting, enjoying, and "mov(ing) through" without mental baggage/memory. Thank you.
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That's a neat message! Well done!
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I found this exercise challenging. It took awhile. I tried to concentrate on the relationships between shapes, but I never quite disconnected from seeing a bird. I'm pleased with the results and could keep tweaking it.
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Drawing the branch felt easy to start but the closer I got to the head the more challenging it became. I ended up putting my finger on the computer screen to remember where I was. But the more time I spent looking at the lines while drawing, the more accurate the drawing became. I have to say I am super happy with the result.
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What a great exercise! Very quickly I found that I had to concentrate on the subject, to the point of seeming to do blind contouring drawing. Super fun.
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This exercise took quite awhile for me. After three tries starting with the branch end, I found it worked to start with the negative space between the bird and the branch. I am not sure I ever totally disengaged from the fact it was a bird, but as I moved from shape to shape it became easier to concentrate on just the shapes and their placement. I think my result is pretty good, but some of the proportions aren't right. Enjoyed this once I got past the start.
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This was challenging for me and when I first started drawing I wasn't sure I would be able to do it. I'm pleased with the results in that I did focus on the negative spaces while drawing and got all of my lines and shapes. This exercise made me slow down and really look at shapes and negative spaces. I found I had to print the picture because it was too hard to look back and forth at the computer screen.
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Difficult. I saw the sparrow as it was, in the photograph.
The form of my bird was way off, and I’m not sure what went wrong.
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It took a long time for me to sketch the Song Sparrow and it was challenging. I tried to look at the subject as it was. It eventually all came together and I was surprised it turned out as well as it did. It was definitely a fun exercise.
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This was difficult ! The longer I drew the more I focused on shapes, lines and portions.
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I'm having a hard time figuring out how to get the foto and words in the same submission.... I found drawing the bird upside down excruciatingly slow, and I think I am going to learn patience. It turned out very good in my opinion, so I'm happy. I am enjoying this course.
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