The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Nature Journaling and Field Sketching › Jump Right in!
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Details. Paying close attention to the shapes- head shape, where the eye sits. I had trouble making (him?) look like his head is cocked like the photo. And patience- drawing the lines and exact colors. The feet were so interesting to draw, and difficult. Drawing from the photo also helped force me to look at the negative space more. Excited for the next lesson where Liz shows us her tricks.
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Drawing from a photo means I can take time to practice observing and capturing the shape and color. On the other hand, with all the details on the photo, it is challenging when trying to prioritize what to focus on and what to leave out.
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Sketching a bird is much more detailed than taking a photo. The detail is very difficult and there is a point tool let go ...
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I was happier with my sketch until I added the watercolours. I am still learning how they work. Having the photo definitely lets you see the subtle colours in the bird and in the branch. Replicating them is a whole other thing for me.
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I enjoyed sketching this way. It felt freeing. The wing bar
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1. I wasn't familiar with the paints or paintbrush, I kept struggling trying to find a comfortable way to hold the paint box. I knew the proportions weren't quite right and that kept distracting me. My bird looks more like a chicken, somehow. 2. There were lots of things I noticed once I started to pay attention: the way the wing feathers had layers, the different colors of the streaks. This is one of the big advantages of drawing -- you have to really observe.
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Drawing is not my strength. Trying to capture the spirit of the bird was what I was hoping for and I saw that many here were able to do that with posture and shape. I tried colour but painting is not my strength either. I will keep experimenting and hopefully improve as we go on. I have seen many of these warblers in the wild and I have always been struck by their bright yellow and in the males a noticeable chestnut streaky breast. These are beautiful birds to appreciate and ID as they migrate through in the spring and trying to capture the essence of one has made me appreciate it even more.
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Drawing from a photo is easier than trying to do a live bird; I can study it often and return to finish it when I can see if I missed a detail. I noticed the empty spaces around the bird remembering Liz's Saturday afternoon Zoom class that I took. I wouldn't have paid attention to the space around the warbler, if not drawing it. The space around the main focus will help me with the proportions of the nature scene, such as the size of legs compared to the body or size of the head versus the body.
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Drawing slowed me down and allowed me to really see the breast markings and the shape of the birds beak. I even took time to identify that this is the male of the species. Drawing is like meditation when I'm in the flow. Had to quiet unhelpful self talk first.
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1. It was more difficult than I thought it would be. It was challenging just to get the shape. I erased many times. 2. There were details and subtleties that I probably would not have noticed if I was not drawing the bird. This would make a considerable difference when nature journaling. I can understand why each person journaling was making notes about the pictures as they were working.
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Very good to jump in but it was realy challenging.Advantage for drawing: I get more understanding how the bird looks like. For me ist is difficult to match the right colours. To take a good photo is not so easy , too ;). How did you feel about drawing from the photo? Drawing from a photo is much easier than to do directly in nature
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What I liked about this was studying the details. Frustrating to not really be able to judge scale. Benefits of sketching is the attention you pay to the details, a photograph captures the details, but one may not really notice them since everything blends together more. I would not have noticed the veins in the leaves, or the layers of feathers if I didn't draw this and just snapped a photo.
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Drawing from a photo is easier than a live subject as you can study details. Just admiring a photo, I probably would have missed the lichen on the branches.
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Photos capture detail that is difficult to achieve with a sketch, particularly from a live bird that is moving around.
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1. How did you feel about drawing from the photo? What came easily and what was challenging? The hardest was not judging myself--I'm gonna need to practice drawing without self-judgment! The eye and beak came sort of easily, the proportions of the head and body were challenging. So were the lichens--yikes. Oops. Judging again. 2. Was there anything in the photo that you might not have noticed if you weren’t asked to draw it? Would this make a difference when nature journaling? Lots: the texture of the branch, the number of colors in what I thought was simply a yellow bird. I've seen them in the wild but never had a chance to study what they actually look like in detail. Will absolutely make a difference going forward!
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- drawing the branches and leaves seemed easier than drawing the warbler - the warbler's proportions seem off, elongated in my drawing while it seems more compact in the photo - fun exercise, glad to start on this course!
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