This was very hard but I loved the exercise.  I would not have noticed much of the detail and shading had I not tried to draw it.  The shading was especially difficult. I look forward to stretching my skills more!

Color shading was the hardest. I wouldn't have noticed it's little feet/claws and how close it's eye is to its beak. I also don't think i realized that birds eyes don't have pupils?

I feel like my drawing looked a bit generic.  I noticed the many yellow colors in the bird when I drew it as well as noticing the body shape more.

This was my first time using the portable water brushes and I feel like I went a little too wet at times. I found that getting the details like the stripes on the belly and shading of the wings was hard with watercolor, but I'm glad I tried it. I certainly wouldn't have noticed how the claws grab around the branch but loosely in some parts and the shape of the beak. I tried so many times to make the beak look just right!

I really enjoyed the entire process because it made me pay close attention to the moss, the shape of the head, the beak. The feet and expression of the bird came easily, whereas the sticks, feathers, and leaves were more challenging--probably because they required some very minute details, and I was more interested in the birds head and feet. All of this would be so useful with field journaling because it is what I pay attention to when it comes to nature--the utility of the claws around the branch, the form of the beak for pecking, etc.

drawing this bird from a photo was interesting because of the Possebility to look closely at each little detail. Drawing the legs was most challenging because you have to find out where exactly they are bound to the body. And it makes me curious to birds anatomy.

Drawing this bird brought up a memory: Last year, I rented an old gas station in rural Utah to use as an art studio. I bought a small kiln for firing ceramic sculptures and set it up on the concrete floor of the main room, where they once sold candy bars and heat-radiated hot dogs. Since kiln firing took between 12-14 hours, I had a habit of loading it up at night and then camping behind the building in the back of my truck. One of those mornings, waking up at dawn to the sound of the neighbors letting out their horses, I went inside to check on the status of the kiln. It had completed the firing cycle, but still needed time to cool down prior to unloading. I decided to take the opportunity to stroll down to the trucker cafe for some watery coffee and a breakfast burrito. On my way back, I came upon an unmoving yellow bird laying on the sidewalk. It was still alive, so I cradled it to my chest and brought it back to the gas station, where I called my birder sister for advice. We identified the bird as a yellow warbler. She told me that it was possibly in shock, and the best thing to do would be to keep it warm and hope for a revival. Luckily, the lid of the kiln was the perfect temperature for bringing birds back to life, or so I hoped. I made a small bed out of plastic tupperware and an old shirt, and snuggled my unresponsive patient into the recovery room atop the kiln. I spent the next hour in a state of worry, periodically peeking in at this sweet and brilliantly-colored new friend. In time, the bird righted itself into a sitting position and began to blink. When it seemed ready, I brought it outside for release. It seemed as though the bird sat perched on my finger for a long time before suddenly taking flight to an elm tree. Sweet sweet sweet she's so sweet, I thought. May she be singing today.

disfrute dibujar utilizando esta foto- pero se que sin movimiento es mas facil. Nunce he podido dubjuar ni pintar los aves en vivo porque muevan tanto- hasta lo deje intentar. Fue facil capturar la forma del cuerpo, pero los detalles mas finos como de la rama, o como dejar espacio blanco tambien fue mas dificil.

I used to draw as a child and now that I am in quarantine I tried to pick back up the habit. At first I was scared because of the time that I haven't draw and that I never draw "real" stuff, just animated.  For me the most challenging part was drawing the details and getting the proportions right but drawing the bird as a whole was fun. If I wasn't asked to draw it I would have never noticed the wing proportions; this might help for nature journaling just to get the details right for differentiating species.

I enjoyed drawing this bird and am looking forward to learning techniques that will allow me to do so with more attention to detail, shading, and composition. I thought the beak was difficult to draw well and am hopeful to improve that over time. I think my drawing lacks the "expression" of the bird in the picture. I guess I think this drawing is kind of flat, but I had fun doing it, so it's all good. I don't think I would have noticed all the details of the feathers if I wasn't asked to draw this bird. In my past drawings I sort of scribble wings, but this time I counted them before I drew them (of course, the number drawn may still not be reality!). This was a fun exercise, and I'm looking forward to learning more and getting better.

Lesson One's photo drwg: I wasn't satisfied with this, the eye and beak are wrong, etc. So what I realized was I was already too critical with the process, and must try to be patient. The basic layout came quickly, the composition was already figured out by the photographer. I found the sketchbook page too small so I think I'll get the larger book recommended. I want to develop a quicker, tidier journal handwriting style. I noticed the positioning of the bird better, where it was on the branch, where the leaves were by drawing it. Practicing this should make things go faster for moving targets. 

Getting started with drawing from a picture is a great way to get started.  Understanding how to draw the different textures was very difficult.  Nature journaling will allow me to observer greater detail that I have not noticed previously.

1. Yellow warblers don't pose, so it was good to have one hold still in the photo. It was all pretty challenging. I decided to try the pens that I got for the course. I think pen is less forgiving than pencil because you can't erase or shade. I tried to draw the whole scene and getting the texture of the bark was quite difficult/impossible. Plus, my bird looks 'flat,' not round. 2. I would not have noticed the shading around the head and back of the bird without drawing. Nor would I have noticed the 'stripey' look to the wings. So a nature journal would make you stop and look more closely.

The beak was challenging for me. I think I really notice the proportions when I have to draw something. I think that is the advantage of drawing for a nature journal, you are forced to look at all of the details

Since this is my first serious try at drawing anything I think I did ok. I found drawing from a photo not as difficult as I thought and  that I paid more attention to the detail of the bird than if I was taking a photo.

I find drawing from a photo reference gets me in a very meditative state. However, when it comes to drawing from life, it gets you in this fast mode action & fun you get to use all your senses it really develops the muscle memory & makes you faster. I never tried drawing a moving bird I find it quiet difficult cause they are very active, birds would fly in a second, which makes it hard to capture. On the other hand I'm familiar with figure drawing, you get the chance to capture a human movement, cause humans tend to take their time waiting for their coffee or texting on their phones it would be easier to capture the gesture than a flying bird or other creatures. When it comes to color it is more accurate from life for sure, than a photograph, but the lights & shadows will keep on changing, which I think why photos would be easier if you want to make an accurate painting with shadows & lights. Drawing from life would be great for developing your gesture drawing skills, building your observation muscles & remembrance maybe. I think painting or drawing for nature journaling would be easier on still objects but the challenge would be the accuracy of the lights & shadows & the feeling, which will change depending on the time of the day, weather, how fast the object moves & how long you take on the painting. when it comes to anatomy you can always go back & study from a reference photo and redraw what you've already drawn on your nature journal.  

I thought using a photo was much easier to see the detail and capture something because the subject is frozen.  It was a challenge because I do not know bird anatomy very well, had to sketch what I saw without knowing the parts.  The photo has so much detail that it seems nearly impossible to capture the likeness of a bird without suffering lots of ugly's in real life.  I may spend some time practicing sketching other pictures I have taken of birds to get more familiar with the parts.  Hard to describe where the color is without the vocabulary.   Seems like using photos and sketching in the field will benefit creating the Nature Journal. Pat

I was able to take my time so I guess it felt easier than nature journalism. The texture was less challenging than what I thought but the form was challenging. I would´t have noticed the different levels of the wings or the subtle orange stripes in the body. Yes, I think it must be quite different  To catch details and poses in live movement,

It is much easier to draw from a photo. It gives me time to notice lots of details and work to make my drawing more accurate. The more details I add to my drawing, the more I learn about the subject and the better I remember the experience.

While drawing I realized that I do not know bird anatomy very well so I was drawing what I saw without understanding what it was or how it works, this can be a + or - to the overall picture.  Drawing from a photo is easy tho I am very rusty.  I did use my eraser a few times.  I liked the talons wrapping around the branch and want to draw these again in close-up.  Pixel, my rat terrier, is glad that I'm done drawing so my lap is available.