• susanne
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      IMG_9069
    • susanne
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      Drawing went well but hard to paint using just 6 colors. I need to learn how to mix them. I notice the structure of the bird's feathers and it's feet.
    • Richard
      Participant
      Chirps: 6
      It would seem that drawing from a photo would be easier.  IMG_4429This was pretty discouraging!   Perhaps using colored pencils or pastels might have been better for me. Using water colors is a new experience, so I definitely need that training.   I can usually draw reasonably well, but the watercolor technique is not yet something I understand... yet.    Would add more detail, but since I'm just messing it up more I will quit now :-) .  (For fun I also tried this image on my iPad using "Sketchbook"... with only a very slightly better result.) Untitled 4 Certainly drawing, compared to photography, forces one to see detail (not shown in my image) such as texture of feathers and the branch, leaves etc.  Colors are (usually) automatic in photos, but with painting the colors need to be matched... not that easy for me.  Also, drawings can emphasize, more easily, details that the artist would like to highlight. Seeing details helps understand the overall image, and may reveal new information about the subject.  Sometimes, with photography, details are only noticed sometime later... often much later (even years later!) -RGD
    • Cornelia
      Participant
      Chirps: 6
      I am very excited about this course :-). First I drew the bird in pencil and then coloured it in afterwards, but only with coloured pencil because I can't paint in watercolour (yet). I have a pencil and sketchbook, as recommended in the course. However, I find that the lines on the paper are too grainy. That's why I haven't bothered to draw the feathers in more detail because the lines are blurred into each other. The bird is very pretty, but it doesn't exist here in Switzerland.Lektion-1-Yellow-Warbler
      • Magpie
        Participant
        Chirps: 11
        I think your bird looks great. I have the same issue that the birds are always from USA and I live in Europe.
      • Cornelia
        Participant
        Chirps: 6

        @Magpie Thank you for your kind feedback! Yes, it's a pity, I haven't found out what this bird is called in German - probably because there is no German name for it. But at least if I ever travel to America and see this bird, I can say with a connoisseur's expression: "Aha, a Yellow Warbler!" :-D

    • Jean
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      Fun to start drawing! Drawings make you pay more attention to details, but photos have far more detail and are more accurate. Drawing in the correct proportions and getting the tilt of the head were challenging. Drawing the image almost makes it come alive. IMG_9652
    • Martha
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      IMG_7626 First and second attempts. Yes, notice way more detail than if I took a photo, but also a drawing makes me part of the image in a way; I'm less of a passive observer. I'm looking forward to seeing improvement!
    • Michael
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      was tough to draw, didn't come out like I was hoping it would, details like the legs and feet would have been easily overlooked if just looking at phot as opposed to drawing
    • Shona
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      This was a fun exercise to do with my 10 year old son.  He got quite frustrated, but persevered.  Progress over perfection :) YELLOWWARBLER2YELLOWWARBLER1
      • Cornelia
        Participant
        Chirps: 6
        I like both of your pictures very much. It's great that your son stuck with it. He has good powers of observation.
    • Deb
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      It was fun, but I was to critical and erased a lot! the leafs and branches were fairly easy.  The bird was not too hard, but I couldn't get the head and beak right.   I noticed the moss and lichen on the branches, little hard to draw too.
    • Carrie
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      I actually did better than I thought I would!  I can at least tell what bird it is and it doesn't look like a cartoon! The lichens on the branch and the little brown spots on the leaves I would have likely missed if I were not so focused.  I am glad I had an eraser!
    • Jane
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      I enjoyed it to a point but found it hard work. I realised that my pencils were too soft and the paper too granular for sketching detail. I was happy with my shapes but not the shading. I improved my shading by zooming into the wing and paying more attention to the detail. I would have no idea how to mix colors and pencil to get the detail on this bird. I wouldn’t have noticed much of the detail on the bird if I hadn’t been asked to draw it. Nature journaling has to be more impressionistic, I realise! IMG_2060
      • Kim
        Participant
        Chirps: 6
        Nice detail and expansion on the wing detail. Kim
    • Barbara
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      I was afraid to start because I “knew” it wouldn’t be “good.”  I really enjoyed myself. If I hadn’t been asked to draw the bird, I wouldn’t have noticed the geometry of the branch or the fact that something munched on one of the leaves.  I wouldn’t have noticed the variety of colors in the bird or how it’s feet wrap around the branch.
    • Linda
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      easier to draw from a photo because you can look at it for a long time.  make corrections. i m looking forward tolearning hoe to draw something that is moving
    • Stacey
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      1st Course - Yellow Warbler [1st Course - Drawing Exercise]  I was excited to jump right into this exercise. I'm used to drawing from still shots, so I can zoom in and view details. The challenging part was the birds' physical form and wing placement. Nevertheless, I'm overall pleased with the outcome. I typically start all my drawings using a blue pencil - quickly sketch out the basic shapes I see... Then, apply the colors in watercolor. I go back in and tighten the sketch with a mechanical pencil. I refined and blended the color with a watercolor pencil, and finally cleaned up the drawing in pen and ink.
      • Kim
        Participant
        Chirps: 6
        I like your sampling of the colours used, much like a water colour painting.  Having fun with the layout is what I hope I can accomplish.
    • Jean
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      yellow warbler There was tons in the photo I would not have noticed. I liked slowing down to really look. And that's the point of nature journaling, no?
    • Carol
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      Screen Shot 2024-02-01 at 9.29.46 PM Fun first try.  Drawing had me looking for more detail, shapes within, and trying to get depth.  The claws helped me work on depth, but I noticed after the drawing, that the bird's head looks to be angled toward the camera a bit - not sure how to bring that across in the drawing.  Very excited to move forward with old lost drawing skills, and spend more time as we go :)
    • Susan
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      It’s challenging to draw exactly but the representation is a bird with quick sketch.  Fill in colour and markings afterwards.  When sketching one is studying the subject closely, plumpness of the bird as an example.   Details might be more easily remembered with drawings?
    • Stephanie
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      I am somewhat comfortable drawing from a photo (with ongoing practice).  I find it challenging to sketch (in graphite) and capture the brightness and/or shading that colors allow in a photo.  One thing I noticed in the photo was how long the toes/claws were as well as the unexpected rust-colored streaks on the belly.  Learning about bird wing structures will also help when trying to capture complex coloring/feather patterns
    • Charlene
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      WhatsApp Image 2024-01-31 at 16.45.04_71e603afDrawing from a photo is less intimidating than drawing from a live creature that moves around! My bird is a bit out of proportion - eye and beak too big. I guess one pays more attention to proportions when drawing, rather than just glancing at the photo. This was a good exercise for me in making a drawing and not agonizing over its lack of perfection.
    • Nancy
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      It was challenging to get the proportions right.  I noticed the relationship between the beak and the eye.  Also the shape of the wing and wing feathers.  The legs were really hard to get at the right angle.IMG_5759
    • Cathy
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      It was difficult.  I've been drawing with a pen and ink online class, working from a photo as well as a drawing.
    • Cathy
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      IMG_20240130_162910309
    • Sarah
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      PXL_20240130_152001268.MP I felt good but really didn't feel I spent enough time on it. I was focusing on shape, eye position, and proportions.
    • Pamela
      Participant
      Chirps: 6
      IMG_1058 I felt good drawing from the photo and eager to learn more about the difference. I am just learning to sketch, so I was aware of lines and shapes and beginning to sketch in values before I switched to color. I liked playing with the edges of the bird and thinking about how to sketch the mushroom and yellow spongy lichen on the branch. I realized the things I need to work on: Shape of the bird, beaks, eyes, feathers. If I hadn't been asked to draw it, I would not have seen the context of lichen echoing the yellow of the bird. I am unsure of my own eye, so I'm eager to find the differenced between sketching nature and photos.
    • Heidi
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      1. I was glad the first exercise was drawing from a photo, it provided an opportunity to focus in on one thing/scene. Getting started was easy, it got more challenging as I tried to add detail and then didn't stop when I should have! 2. The lichen and moss I probably wouldn't have noticed right away, but as I was adding details to the branch, they became more obvious. This may be helpful when nature journaling to look closer at things and observe the whole scene.