Nature Journaling and Field Sketching

This is my first attempt to sketch anything e.v.e.r.  I'm am really challenged at all aspects, but the proportion threw me off and had to erase several times.  As a beginner, I like sketching from a picture.  The bird stays still, haha.  Can't imagine going out and attempting to draw something on the move right now.  I'm going to bring in color and see if this looks any better.

1. How did you feel about drawing from the photo? What came easily and what was challenging? I often draw from photos because the subject is static and I can change my sketch based on how closely I believe the image has been replicated. I am enrolled in this course with the specific goal of developing impromptu sketching/drawing skills so that I am not bound to replicating static images, I want to capture the escence of what I am observing. 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? I feel like that with a photo to draw from I often loose the "life" in the subject because I am trying so hard to duplicate the image instead of capturing the feeling of the moment in nature.

Sketching has an advantage over photography as I can emphasize whatever aspect I want.  The colour or the texture I can focus on one area as I wish.  Photography has the advantage of being instantaneous.  I am not fast at drawing!!!  Will be interesting to try and sketch a live specimen! I would not have noticed the lichen on the branch if I wasn't taking the time to draw!

This will be very good for me and you just have to start somewhere! I know I need to work on proportion, more details and probably lot more. It is nice having the photograph to keep looking at but it'll be interesting when I have to draw a live subject that moves!

I enjoyed drawing from the photo.  It seemed easier since the bird stood still! It was challenging to see the details of the birds plumage. I'm not sure if there was anything I didn't notice. I would think that when you are nature journaling that you have to be fairly quick and might have to leave some things out.

I felt really comfortable drawing from the photo, but texture of different feathers challenge me a lot. Deep looking to the photo gave me a richer insight to the characteristics of the bird. Although I wonder how different will be when nature journaling. A continuous moving bird will make drawing very difficult so, I imagine that sketching is a totally different task.

I enjoy drawing from photos as it gives me a chance to really look at the subtle color changes, shadows, bright yellow to olive and black wing edges. When I drew this picture I noticed almost immediately that I was focusing on the details way too soon and not paying enough Attention to the scale and the shape of the bird.  It needs to be. Bit plumper and the detail of the wing could actually be a little less messy. I think drawing from life in the field is going to be a challenge for me. I have never drawn from life, not even a building. Something that moves around a lot will force me to start focusing on shapes and basic colors before I can work on more details in the sketch.

I like drawing from photos as it gives me time to work on getting it as correct as I can. It also allows me to go back and redo characteristics. Finally it allows me to focus on the details of a particular species to get better at I.D.s. A photo lets me notice poses and even personalities in birds...or any living thing. Drawing straight from nature means working fast so I might not get to see that.

The proportion is challenging and feathers are difficult to capture

Drawing from a photo, I felt I had to be exactly like the photo.  Ugh!  Feathers are a challenge as well getting the size and shape correct.

It sure is easier with the yellow warbler posed perfectly for me. The feathers were a real challenge becuse I wanted to study them later and learn the specific names of the different types of feathers. I wanted to try and get the different layers close to the correct position. I am so excited to learn how to draw and paint in nature. I wouldn't have noticed the layers of feathers and where they are when the bird folds its wings. I also always thought of a yellow warbler as all yellow. Look at the rusty colored patterns and the white and black on the wing feathers. What a great surprise!

This is my first attempt at drawing in many years. I look forward to improving my sketching and developing a style to call my own. I’ve enjoyed seeing everyone’s work.

First sketch is attached. Using a photo is helpful in some ways  - get more details because animal is not moving. You can take your time with the sketch. In nature you would have more of an issue with angle of sun, brightness of natural light, etc. I will need to practice and find the right pencil to work with and then perhaps go for color.  Need to work on control of pencil as making sure I capture proportions of structures.

Here is my finished sketch. I have not had a pencil in my hand since college, 1978, so I am happily not discouraged!! Was not ready for color and need to work on getting the details in. Concentrated more on sizing and spacing. Yay!

It was much harder than I thought. Trying to get the proportions correct and details. The details make the difference, I just don't feel I can begin to draw them

Drawing forced me to look at all the details which makes me more observant to journal. The detail of the feathers, the texture of them, & the fine breast streaks were very hard to try to capture. I haven’t used a ‘water brush’ before so I’ll have to master that too to do so.  I hope to be more precise in painting those details though. It will be interesting to try this again at the end of the course.

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1. Drawing from the photo with pencil, then over that with ink felt comfortable, since I do that often. The painting part was hard. I find paint intimidating so instead of jumping right in, I got familiar with the Koi sketch box colours by painting and labeling them. It was my first time using a water brush and I found it difficult to control how much water was in the brush. 2. I like taking photos of nature because it is a very fast way to capture a moment and my camera easily reproduces colours. Drawing from a photo allows me to spend more time with the subjects, observing and reproducing. Drawing the yellow warbler helped me notice the colours of the different feather groups, the shape of the bird's beak, and how the bird positions his feet on his perch. I also payed closer attention to the brown of the branch, its texture and how the shadows fell on it. I noticed the shape, colour and vein pattern of the leaves. The time to observe and reproduce when drawing makes me notice more details in nature which make my nature journaling experience richer.

Started my sketch....some pro's and cons about photo's. Pro's: I found if I could not see the detail of a specific area I could magnify it, for instance the moss and lichens. The subject stays still, so, you can come back to it more than once to refine. And I noticed I had overlooked some items in the pic such as branches I neglected to add but saw them on a second glance. I could take time to see how the leaves overlapped. Con's: you focus too much on trying to recreate the picture in front of you instead of using it as a framework and adding your own talents and impressions to it. My first attempt is too "stiff" b/c I was too focused on "getting it right". I was also focused on the picture, overall, whereas in the field I would probably be more focused on the bird itself. Overall, I had too slow down, observe, think, try, erase and try again. It made me discipline my mind and body to slow down which is some of what I am looking for in this course. I have to attempt the bird next so I am not done and will come back tomorrow with a fresh eye. I appreciated everyone else's work so thank you all for being my muse.

Getting ready to do my first drawing and looking at all of yours is helping me decide what notebook, what media, how detailed and how much of the picture to do as some of you focused on the entire picture while others more on just the bird. I am thinking this is going to take more time rather than less.......

1. It felt good to draw again. I found it challenging to capture the round, stout shape of the bird. I liked getting the eye with the light in it. 2. I noticed the shading around the bird's neck and head - a little darker yellow than the rest of the bright yellow. would not have noticed it without drawing it.