My 6-year-old daughter decided to join me for the for the first exercise, and we had a blast! I felt comfortable drawing the sticks and leaves and then totally lost with the bird. I would not have noticed the moss if I hadn't drawn the image, and I can see how that would be a nice environmental detail for a nature journal. I like that when you draw, you really need to hone in on the details to capture them, and often with general photography you trust the image to do that for you.

I probably would not have noticed the feet as much.  It was a great exercise.

I’ve been trying this year to add a page to my journal every few days. I’ve also been doing some drawing and watercolour courses. I approached drawing this bird as just drawing it. I intended to draw quickly and tried to draw confidently. I’ve always been more of a photographer than a drawer but I love the focus that drawing gives me and my results are improving. I’m so impressed by everyone’s contributions to this discussion. Here’s mine (note that I am in Australia and we do dates differently. This is dated April 6.)

At first I didn't trust myself to get started, but then it just kind of flowed.  Having the time to draw from the photo really let me focus on the details.  When I'm just looking at a photograph, I don't really notice the finer details of color variations, patterns, and proportions.

I didn't think much, had no prior training or practice in drawing...just listened to Liz and drew what I saw. I liked what I did and look forward to learning more. Wow! SO many drawings look like professional work already!      

When drawing from a photo, you have so much more time. So I was trying to work quickly to capture key details and get to just a little more than a gestural drawing. I was also trying out a "field brush" where the water is in the handle of the brush. I discovered that severely limited my ability to control how wet the sketch got, and I couldn't get any detail on the wing until I switched to a normal brush.

I was more focused on the bird in the beginning and less on the foliage at first.  I later realized that habitat is important too.

I liked drawing from the photo because I could take my time and really look at the bird. I saw much more detail than looking at the bird in the wild. I did this pretty quickly and struggled with the feathers. That's something I need to learn. However, my biggest issue is sketching the legs and especially the feet. I find this very hard. Like others, I can lost in the detail and spend too much time on things that not that important.

I like drawing birds from photos because I get distracted easily outside and using a photo gives me the opportunity to look closely at what I'm drawing, particularly when it's a subject like a bird that would normally move out in the world. None of drawing birds comes easily, but figuring out angles and proportions comes more easily than knowing what to do with wings, feathers, and feet. I had to force myself to revisit the feet after sketching them in half-heartedly at the end. When drawing out in the field I'd most likely not be able to see the feet well enough to draw them accurately so a photo reference would be required if I wanted a complete drawing. Beaks and eyes are challenging but fun to work on and when you get them right it almost makes up for anything else in the drawing that's not quite right.

It's a bit difficult drawing from a photo because there's just so much detail to take in..  proportions, light aspects, scenery... and it's all right there in front of you to compare your drawing against. I don't think I've ever drawn a bird before so that was a challenge in and of itself. I loved figuring out how each feather was folded together and the patterns they form. The careful attention to detail that's required for sketching will definitely impact my ability to take in the small details of a scene/subject. Even with this bird, I was immediately drawn to the dark eye and bright yellow color and would probably have noticed this in nature, but it's doubtful that I would have picked up on the muscles in the bird's talons or the breathing hole and the bluish tints in it's beak. I've learned so much about bird anatomy just from this simple exercise.

I started a bit stressed out because I do not draw very well. After a few starts I decided to approach the drawing a more relaxed way and to really observe the photo and let the focus take me away. That was much better -I stayed present and just observed, drew and wrote notes. I am looking forward to doing more!

I feel like my drawing didn't capture the spirit of the bird as much as eye wanted. It looks like a mischievous look in the eye I didn't capture. The beak was very challenging and I erased it three times before sticking with this one. The feet also were difficult. If I hadn't been drawing I wouldn't have noticed the soft brown lines coming from the eye of the bird or the little rippled edges of the leaves and the way the light hit them. It was very relaxing. Seeing extra details would add more vividness to the pictures, giving them more life when nature journaling.

I found this very intimidating as I can't draw at all. Most of the journal example videos looked very professional and I thought - oh boy this class is too hard for me. Anyway, I went ahead and drew the bird. I felt nervous and unsure. Nothing came easily. I used the "circle" type method to try and get the body and head right but it didn't help. I persevered and ended up with a recognizable bird so that is a good start. I did not even try the feathers much. I just wanted to get a drawing that at least resembled the photo in general terms. It was great that the photo "didn't move"! I wouldn't have noticed the lovely way the feet curl around the tree branch if I had just taken a photo. Nature journaling encourages , actually demands, observing details. That is more fun than taking a photograph I think. I need to overcome my frustration that my drawings are not only not perfect, but are the opposite. And accept where I am now and that what I do now is the best I can for where I am right now. Easier said than done but a good goal.

I definitely felt a bit nervous, trying to get everything perfect, but then I remembered no one is looking at the picture except for me. Drawing the bird shape was a bit easier than filling it in. I had a hard time trying to get the patterns of the feathers into the sketch but that's definitely something I noticed more than if I were taking a picture.

Once I realized that there is not time limit, I took my time and tried to get as much detail as I could.  Doing the contour of the warbler was easiest for me but when it came to the eye and beak this was another story.  I erased my eye and beak 4 times before I was happy with it.  My distances and proportion of the eye never added up.  

Here's my Yellow Warbler. It was much easier to draw from a photo than from live observation.

I felt intimidated at first because I'm not artistic. But I'm taking this class to enjoy nature as I see it, and I feel my bird turned out o.k.; just a little longer and chubbier.:) Getting the bird's body dimensions and details was difficult for me.  I found I enjoyed drawing the leaves. Although I used no color in my drawing, I think I would not have noticed all the beautiful colors and details of the branches had I not drawn this.

I felt at ease while drawing from the picture because I knew that all the details were already captured and always there for reference. I'm not sure that any of it came easily; I had to think about every part. The part that was especially challenging was creating the varied texture on the branch. Oh, and capturing the bird's expression was tough. Had I not drawn it, I wouldn't have noticed the extra detail around the bird's eye or its nostril. Not having those details would not have a dramatic difference while journaling but having them makes it more special. 

Is this primitive? Yes! Was it a challenge? Yes! Was this a fun exercise? Yes! Do I have room for improvement? Oh double yes! :)