It felt nice, although strange. The legs came easily but the shape of the head and details in the wing not so much. Drawing makes me focus on shape but I definitely simplified it and made it flatter than it should be.

I loved the activity

In the very short class I took with you earlier this year, you really liberated me from feeling like I need to draw perfectly.  I started by looking at bits and pieces of shapes and shadows and not thinking so much about a bird.  It was super relaxing because I wasn't constantly criticizing every pencil stroke, more just having fun and wondering if my drawing would fit on the page. :) Making it look three dimensional is hard for me. Really seeing the lines, the fluff, the feather contours came easily.  I would not have noticed how much dark smudgy coloring is on this little Warbler if I hadn't been drawing it.

It was a bit challenging, but not overwhelming. I drew some ovals and circles, like D.J. had done. that helped. And then kept making a lot of adjustments, erasing, redrawing. Trying to get proportions and  angles of the bill, tail, legs, wings, with respect to each other. I just did pencil for now, but if I had painted in color, I think I'd recognize it. It was fun to try this. And just that one tip from D.J. helped me get started. As I drew, I kept noticing more about the bird, that I did not pick up on first glance, such as all the detail in the wings. With photos, I have mainly looked at those reddish streaks on the yellow breast. Also, shape of the bill, angle to the head, size of the eye. Doing this drawing, I realize that by doing the nature journaling, I will cultivate my observation skills and attention to detail. Even the stance of the bird, its posture, and I wonder, what is the habitat, what kind of tree is it sitting on? These are things I would try to draw and take notes on, to investigate later.

I answered the questions on the page.  I think there is a lot of room for growth here, but this first attempt made me happy and excited to see where I go as I progress through the course.  Seeing everyone else's work, really inspired me, as well!

I forgot to add an image to my comment. Here we go. {shudders}

I only used my pencil for this because I'm a stick figure drawer with no watercolor experience. It was daunting to start. And my scale is way off. There's lots of lichen on the branch the warbler is on. Some of the leaves have been nibbled. And I've never noticed the reddish-brown 'stripes' on the warbler's belly before.

1. I felt pretty good about drawing the photo. I found it  pretty easy to draw the warbler. It was difficult to get the wings right. At first I used the water brush to paint the wings, but I couldn't get the lines thin enough so it turned into a black blob. Then I painted over the wings with yellow and restarted them. I decided to use a very thin paint brush to get fine lines.2. I would not have noticed the position of the feet or how the wings fold.This would make a difference in nature journaling because your drawing would be more realistic with the more detail you can add.

1.  I draw from reference photos a lot, so this felt normal. Drawing the shape of the bird and the branch came easily. However, trying to get all the details in (especially the wing) and enough contrast using just a mechanical pencil was a little challenging. 2. If I wasn't asked to draw it, I would not have noticed the way the the light and shadows fall on the bird. I also paid a lot more attention to the warbler's feet and how the are clutching the branch in a surprisingly loose looking way.

1. The drawing is okay for a first time - nothing special. Proportions seem alright, shading is meh. 2. What did I notice in drawing? Details! I would otherwise 'see' the whole without necessarily noticing all the minutiae that actually make up the image. 3. I'm an archaeologist and we typically draw our artifacts and features, along with photographing them. Why? Because photographs provide us with an objective, 'scientific' image (more or less), while drawings pull the subjective human mind into the object. In drawing, we represent only those details that help us tell the story's picture - the characteristics that are most important to us.

I had a good time doing it.  It took me a while because I’m traveling and I don’t always have access to Wi-Fi.  My friend Francis and I have been zooming and trying to do the lesson together.  I like drawing from photos because I can take my time getting the image on paper.  It’s also easier to capture details, that I may miss if I was drawing in plain air.               

I liked being able to refer back to something that doesn’t move. While drawing I noticed the color variations in the Wabler, bark and leaves. I do believe this would make an excellent reference to an unfinished drawing

The advantage of drawing from a photo was the subject never moved. One of the problems I had was trying to paint in the details on such a small image.

I like drawing from a photo reference.  However, the challenge for me was seeing the fine details in the photo.  I had difficulty with the background.  I wondered if I should have did the background color first then paint over it?  Should I have used a different brush?  Did I use too much water?  I had a harder time manipulating the paint to cover the negative space as opposed to coloring in the subject.  I think I would have seen more details to add if I was nature journaling.

I had fun doing this I definetly noticed the way the light reflected on his eye, the way the wing feathers layer and the way it’s toes grip the branch. Also I love seeing all of your beautiful sketches.

Not having drawn or sketched in over 30 years, i felt a bit anxious.  With that said, i actually enjoyed it and I don't think i did too bad a job, although scrolling through some of the sketches below, I'm definitely a first class beginner! I actually found the beak and the feet to be the most challenging.  Getting the correct length and angle of each was difficult for me.  If i had not drawn this bird, i probably would not have noticed the stripes in the underbelly.  As well as the curve of his claws as they clutch the branch.  I think this is what draws me to nature journaling vs photography.  Noticing details definitely makes a difference.

I felt pretty good drawing from the photo. For me drawing the warbler was fairly easy. I found it challenging to paint the bird with detail using a water brush. I could not get thin, detailed lines so I decided to paint details with a thin paint brush. If I was not asked to draw the photo I would not have realized how many layers of feathers there are on the wings and how they all fold together perfectly. Noticing how the wings fold would make a difference when nature journaling because the more details you can include, the better and more accurate your drawings will be.

1. I like jumping right into drawing. At first I was just going to use pencil, but I so love the vibrant yellow and the contrasting black that I decide to break out the colored pencils. (I haven't a clue how to use watercolor yet.) The general outline of the bird came fairly easily, but the folded wing was hard, with its layered feathers. 2. I would not have noticed how the warbler's talons gripped the branch, nor how the feathers in the wing layer up sort of like a folding fan. I also would not have noticed the sparkle in the bird's eye, the brownish feathers on its belly, or the slight bluish cast to its beak. 3. Having a photo in which the bird is captured in a pose makes the whole process a lot easier. I imagine it will be incredibly difficult to capture this amount of detail in the field, where the bird would be in motion and likely would fly away.

• Drawing from a photo is going from 2 dimensions to 2 dimensions, it takes skill but looses some of the magic of 3-D to 2-D. On the other hand, your subject remains still so you can pick up on the nuances. There were things I would not have noticed if I were not drawing it. I would not have seen the insect bite in the leaf and might not have noticed the moss or lichen on the tree. I also was made very aware of how the birds feet wrapped around the twig and I might not have made note of that and just been dazzled by the color of the bird.

I had fun sketching and painting the Yellow Warbler. I love how the bird is bright yellow and the contrasting orange stripes (chest) and black stripes (wings) make the bird stand out in the green background. I wasn't able to make the stripes and the yellow turned out more greenish. But, I think I did a great job for my first try!

1. I've done most of my nature journaling from photos, which I've always thought is cheating... in a way. Yellow Warblers in the flesh do not hold-the-heck still so I don't have to fight to keep its details in my noggin. It's easier to draw a motionless bird in a photo. 2. Loads more details in photos. You can see where and how the feathers lie. I think for a person with a poor memory for moving birbs, photos give greater detail, but weak satisfaction. My Internet service is wonky, so hope this wasn't my second post on this topic.

  Drawing makes me notice details on the bird and background I would not necessarily pay attention to when birding or taking a photograph of the bird. This is what makes nature journaling fun. You begin to ask what insects the bird may be eating in the tree or bush with insect damaged leaves. You want to know more about the kind of bush and what kind of lichen is growing on it. Getting the correct proportions is always a challenge to me. A birds complex wing feather arrangements are another challenge. Also the angle of the photograph foreshortens some aspects of a bird which can also present problems. T