Iwas skeptical about being able to draw it. When I started drawing line by line it was not as challenging.

How did I feel drawing it?  Like a 2 yr old with a crayon.  drawing at this point is a challenge. would have not noticed the light spot in the eye, details of the moss on the branches (some resemble snowflakes), shifts in shades and colors, how little and pointy the birds claws are.

At first it felt daunting to try to draw everything. Once I settled on a starting point I feel like it came together in the small details as I worked my way out from the head. All of the different lichen were not immediately noticeable until I started to focus on how the branches looked. It felt like it could have been a second assignment to draw and name them all. I guess that's the difference for me. Taking the time to draw divides your focus onto the many things you must capture.

1. i tried to sketch this in pen without pencil first and that was a mistake. I found the tilt of hte head and the direction of the eye very challenging to capture. I noticed the brown steaks of its belly that i might have missed if i wasn't drawing this little bird. 

1.  Drawing forces one to calm down and focus so that you really study and learn about the subject one is observing.  It is peaceful. 2.  A photo lets one capture the image and moment in time so that one has it for future reference.  In my case, it is a very good thing that this is a still photo.  A real bird would have been long gone before I drew it.  I need to get quicker at this.    

In drawing the photo, it was easy to note the distinct features of the bird, but capturing where the bird and the branch came together was hard. Drawing a photo is a great challenge because it allows us to focus on so many aspects, like color variation on wings, that we wouldn't have noticed otherwise. When drawing in nature, you may pause and notice something about a plant or an animal that is easily looked over without slowing down and being mindful in the drawing.

Very nice to see so many different takes and versions of this assignment. I paid attention to light and dark, and worked on getting shapes and proportions onto the page. Definitely noticed more detail on the bark, leaves, etc than I would if I hadn’t tried to sketch it.

A little intimidating to start drawing but since I had no real time limit it was relaxing and only took a couple passes which was nice, except now I am seeing that I made it a little curvier than I should have. So mayve thats my biggest challenge next to differentiating the feathers vs discolorations. not sure I would be able to call it a warbler based on my drawing tho. The first think I noticed is that the bill looks like a sunflower seed, which I think is an important note because the pine warblers and goldfinches are always tripping me up at the feeder.

I found it scary to start in the sketchbook with something I don’t feel comfortable drawing.  I found the coloring markings to be challenging.  My bird seems a little too fat, compared to the photo.  I noticed the beak starting further back on the head, and the angles of the feet.

Q1. I was somewhat excited to draw this because I am eager to get started with my journal.  The outside lines of the bird were easier than any of the features of the bird within those lines.  For example, the darker feathers, the red lines of the breast of the bird and the slight changes in types of feathers were very difficult.  I didn't even try to draw most of that detail but if I knew the right techniques I would have included them. Q2. I noted the fungus growing on the tree branches and the small holes in some of the leaves when I was drawing this that I would not have noticed if I just took a photo of it.  This is absolutely one of the benefits of nature journaling, that is to notice many more details than I would if taking photos.

1. I appreciate that we started with a photo and not a video.   It was hard to stop erasing and changing what I had.  I would focus on one area and come back to that same area later and notice something different. 2.  I was able to notice the different yellow hues in much more detail than I do when I look at bird pictures.  It will make a difference when I begin to color in my nature journal pictures.

I enjoyed drawing from the photo, I had the time to study the image. I noticed the tiny feather textures near the back foot and the top of the wing. I also noticed the shading on the beak.

the most challenging thing by far is the perspective, it is easy for me to just jump right in and start drawing the parts of the photo I'm most drawn to, the "prettiest" or funnest part of the photo to draw, but then when I finish that part and have to draw the rest of the photo I realize my proportions and perspective is off, for example the bird is not exactly framed in the correct way and its relation to the branches is a bit off, because the branches were a kind of afterthought. this could make a huge difference in nature drawing if I focus on one part of the scene first and ignore other parts, the drawing will be "off" in terms of perspective and true to life depiction of the scene.

The most challenging things for me where to work on small details (like the eye) with this water brush (first time using it) and to avoid perfectionism as I am working from a photo, that's why I put myself a limit of time. On the other hand, photos allow a better appreciation of details.

I had a really hard time with the wing bars but other than that, it was a fun learning experiance.

Having a photo let me take some time to explore the details of the bird’s feathers and form. I hope that I will be able to get better at quicker studies from life as I tend to get overly involved in details.  The stripes of yellow and black of the feathers are amazing.  I’m not sure I would have been able to appreciate or even see that without a photo.

Drawing the warbler definitely made me notice details I wouldn't have if I'd just been looking at the photo, such as the subtle shapes of the wings and body, and the fact that the stripes on the wings are a different color from the stripes on the body.

I liked drawing from the photo. It gave me the opportunity to notice details I probably wouldn't have, such as the rufus stripes on the chest and the gray tones on the body. The bird wasn't going to fly away either. And when I was drawing, it gave me time to see other details such as the lichen on the branch.

I decided to keep my first Nature Journal entry just in pencil as I am not experienced in drawing or colouring.  I had a lot of fun drawing from a photo as I could focus on as many or as little details as I wanted without the added pressure of the subject flying off.  I am usually behind a camera photographing birds so it was a super experience to take my interest in birds and nature in a new direction.  I did give myself a timeframe to complete this piece though as I do have a tendency to perfectionism and that´s not what journaling is about.  I´m hoping to add some colour to my next page and look forward to trying out lots of new to me techniques.