The most challenging was drawing the bird and trying to get its anatomy correct. I’m not sure I would have noticed all the detail on the branch in the photo or it’s texture from the lichen and moss. Yes. I think noticing more detail does make a difference in nature journaling. One may start out drawing the bird but then notice the detail and decide to place mor emphasis on this detail rather than the bird. Noticing the detail opens up more journaling avenues.

Need to learn to use the watercolors.. I like them, but they're a bit messy. I think photos have an advantage in getting everything recorded at once, so no details are lost. However, the sketching process makes *me* pay attention to the details as I'm drawing them.

I think drawings have the advantage of capturing feeling through the eyes and hand of the person drawing - as long as a scientific approach isn't required.  Photos have the advantage of capturing actual colors and detail in a clear image.  I enjoyed drawing from the photo, because I tend to be slow and might miss a lot of details if I were drawing from nature.  I think the overall proportions came easily to me, although there are some areas that are a little off.  What was challenging for me was the relationship between the eye and the beak, and capturing the position and definition of the feathers.  I might not have noticed all the detail in the branches and feathers if I didn't draw it, and this detail can be important when reporting on your observations in your journal, to differentiate the various birds and their environment.

1)  I felt intimidated at first drawing from the photo, but relaxed when I realized the bird was not going to fly away and that I could take my time. It was challenging to get proportions right and to capture the essence of a living creature.  The easiest thing was making observations. 2)  I would not have noticed the details on the branches, eg the lichen and mosses.  I also would not have been as aware of the subtle colors on the bird and leaves.  I think this makes a difference when nature journaling because it exercises observational skills leading to questions, the next drawing, getting lost in the moment, etc.

Photos are quick and easy but one's attention to detail really comes into play when you try to draw/paint it. I kept wondering how much detail do I need to add?

Getting the shape of the warbler was not too difficult but I struggled with the beak. I did notice a slight up angle on the bottom of the beak and how it wraps around the head. Just had a difficult time trying to capture it. I like to do drawings from photos to loosen up and practice shapes. There is less pressure to be quick because your subject isn’t about to fly away!

It was a fun sketch to do.  I love drawing birds.  Drawing the bird was easy, except for its feet... I probably would not have noticed the lichen or the moss on the branches. I would have been focused on the color of the bird and it's markings so I could identify what kind of bird it was.  Yes it would make a difference in journaling, because the type of tree and leaves are part of the birds habitat.

There is so much I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't draw this yellow warbler, particularly the fine details, like the color of his legs and feet, or the way the the reddish brown is patterned on his breast. I am sure it all makes a difference with nature drawing because so many differences between species  are so subtle, that they are important to notice and document, if you really want to learn what you are looking at. Drawing is such a good way to focus, and to take the time to really notice.

• When you draw, you pay attention to all the details in the photo, even the tiny ones. But when just looking at a photo, you don't notice those tiny details.
• Drawing this photo was very interesting. I'm a little bit sad, because I don't know how to paint properly. Hoping to learn it here.
• Drawing the bird was easy but getting it's beak right was challenging. Still couldn't get it right.
• Yes, there is a lot that I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't draw this. I wouldn't have noticed how it's feathers are placed, how it's legs are placed and how the branches are.
• This would help me to notice more details when nature journaling.

What a treat that the warbler stayed still! It was very quiet; I would have liked to hear it sing on this cold March morning. Leaves are easier for me to draw as it feels there is more room for interpretation. The proportions, curves and angles of the warbler were tricky to capture accurately. The eye is so rich and perfectly circular in the image, the beak a triangle. Painting, well...I find it extremely hard to find the right colors. I don't know how to mix, and the water came out to fast from the brush. Maybe I was squeezing to hard? I went to dipping it in water and that was worse. I used a watercolor pencil for the streaks and it wasn't sharp enough and made wider streaks than intended. Being asked to draw it helped me see the details: where the wing met the body, shape of the beak, the twiggy nature of the feet.  Fun!

It was a tough draw! I am very rusty, but it was fun to play around and work on how to approach it. There are absolutely elements I would not have noticed if I had not attempted to draw the bird. I perhaps would not even have noticed the prominent red coloring around the chest and throat, instead focusing on the yellow and black, had I just spotted it in the wild or glanced at the photo. This would certainly make a difference when journaling. 

photos of course have the  advantage of rendering the image in a perfect way; however, digital photography has made most of us snap happy. I point and click and click and click and do not necessarily look at the all the little details in the bird. Drawing forces us to study minute details of the thing we are recording.

My image would not upload. It was in JPEG format and only 4 MB. Don't know what I did wrong. I felt challenged, a little scared and wondering how much detail I should in. I ended up drawing the entire picture with pencil, not just the bird. If I had not been drawing, I might not have noticed the red stripes on the bird's breast and the leaf that had been chewed.  I guess you should try to draw everything you see. But not sure.

My first thought was that it was pretty unfair to be asked to draw a bird without receiving any instructions on how to do it, but I have to say, the end result was not as disastrous as I thought it would be. Still, I can't wait to learn some techniques and tools in this course, including how to use watercolor :)

I’m really new to sketching and this was challenging, but I was surprised at how not terrible my bird’s shape and proportion came out. I can’t wait to learn some tools in the upcoming lessons to see how my style develops. The feet were challenging for me, and painting it didn’t do it any favors, but whatever. I’m here to learn!

Kind of scary until the head was drawn and it surprised me by looking like a bird! The head was easy; trying to get the body proportioned was more difficult.  I would not have noticed the brownish stripes on the bird or the way the feet were wrapped around the branch. This would make a huge difference in nature journaling because the more you notice, the better able you are to identify the object.

Amazed; surprised at liking my drawing. I stopped thinking and just drew; shape, shape, shade, get some scale on the beak, position eye, then more shading with shape of tail. I was out of my comfort zone until I wasn't. DJ's journal and narrative was a big difference maker. Feet were most challenging, partly because of the angle. I would not have noticed the bird's bend to the right without trying to draw the legs and feet. In journaling, that's significant.

I think it was probably easier to see details on a photo of a bird than in real life because obviously the birds typically are moving around but it was less relaxing. I think when in nature, I feel like I would sketch and not worry but here where it's clearly that I'm seeing all of the details, I felt some sort of pressure to include all of the details (of the bird - didn't do much with tree). It was interesting as I started going along how I started to notice the layering of the feathers and slight tone differential of all of the yellows and browns. When I came to the neck towards the end of my time, I didn't realize at first there had been a pattern there. 

Taking the time to stop and observe was itself grounding, relaxing, drawing is a little unnerving, when done for critique. Still it is so good to put pencil to paper. What was easy was the angles of the contour, what was challenging were the proportions, and the feeling of 'hereness' of the bird. I would not have noticed the blunted point of the beak, the wrinkleliness of the branches, the lichen, the slight turn of the head towards us, the very different angles of the legs, the orange breast streaks.

I definitely notice more detail in the photo when I am drawing from it.  I was afraid that my drawing would not look like the Yellow Warbler that I know but it does have some resemblance.  The outline of the bird cam easier than I thought it might.  Filling in the wings and rest of the bird was harder than I thought it might be. -like how to get those primary feathers to look like primary feathers.

I enjoyed drawing from the photo. What came most easily was that the bird stayed nice and still! The angles of the legs and the way the feet wrap around the branch was the most challenging and also what I might not have noticed if I hadn't drawn it. And yes, this would make a difference when nature journaling....

It was a blast.  I really enjoyed creating. The shapes came pretty easily and the proportions were harder.  The shading also seems harder.  How do you make the shadows and the darker lines in black and white.  I noticed the lines on the feathers and around the eye, also the moss on the branches.  These differences would be missed if just looking at the photo.

1) At first it seemed easy. Getting the outline was okay. It was more difficult when I began adding details. I felt like I was messing up the more I added, and I was happier when it was more of a general shape and feel. 2) I definitely notice the bill and eye details more - particularly the shape and color.