I enjoyed what became my singular focus on drawing this bird & kept returning to the page to “fix” this or that until it was almost edited out of existence. Tried the color pencils & my poor bird wanted to fly away from them so stopped before I ruined it and lose the sense of pleasure at working on it at all. Working from a photo made it easier because the visual angle stayed the same. I could back again and again to change a line or correct a bit of shading to satisfy my eye. Almost got myself in trouble by enlarging it and seeing the delicate feathering but after trying to capture that, decided to stick with one focus because that would likely be closer to the actual field experience. I agree with another nature journalist here that I get too hung up on my version of “perfection” and need to let that go!

I found this exercise challenging, but overall enjoyable. I first drew the branches without leaves to help establish scale for the bird, but then after I had the outline of the warbler I got distracted trying to portray precise leaf arrangements instead of focusing on the bird itself. The bird was hard, especially in black and white. I really was struck by the subtlety of color, and how much variation there was. The eye (or getting the expression of the eye) and the feet were what I struggled most with.

It was fun! I often use the photos to draw. So this exercise was very familiar to me. Photo provides to see small details, though my photos aren't good as sample photo. I think I need bigger journalbook or sketchbook!

I enjoyed the exercise but I find when using a photo I get hung up on perfection ! I am hoping this course will help me loosen up more . You can be that exact when you have a moving object and I need to work on that . I always get frustrated when my subject moves so I am looking for tips to help me relax with that and just get on with it ! 

I noticed my mind jumped to what I assumed I saw, even as I was trying to pay close attention to what I did see. This little guy is chubbier and has more attitude than I caught--and what powerful looking feet!

I was nervous to start, didn't know where to start. Had a difficult time with the scale. I was drawing what I was thinking instead of what I was seeing. The longer I took, the more I saw, and tried to accurately change my sketch to match the photo. I would never have noticed the layers of feathers, the detail of the branches, the lichen growing on the branches. At first it looked like a smooth bird with a few markings, upon closer inspection I was able to pick out individual feathers and stripes, various colors. It changed from a yellow bird to a yellow, black, and brown bird. A bird with stripes, and layers upon layers of feathers. I learned I need a very large ERASER!

I started my drawing in pencil, then added splashes of color then outlines things in black. I noticed as I was doing this that I was “distracted” by nagging thoughts about shape and proportion, and I had to dismiss those in order to proceed with the image. As I was working, I was also distracted from the bird by the realization that there were LICHEN on the branch the bird was sitting on.  I’m really into lichen right now, so that detail pulled my focus for a while. I think the biggest thing I noticed as I was working was how the bird’s feet were wrapped around the branch.  I focused on its toes for a bit, and how the toenails were sooooo long.When I’d finished with the drawing, I added a date and a few notes. Q: What advantages do drawings have over photos? Drawing forced me to break the image down into components.  I used the technique of creating the bird out of geometric shapes, and that really helped. I don’t think I got the proportions right, but I won’t beat myself up over that. The “advantage” to drawing is that it made me STOP and really LOOK at the bird: how its body was put together; what its eye color was; what the beak color and shape were; how its feet were holding the branch.  I also noticed more about the branch itself; the lichen on in; the gnarly wood; the leaf with the circle cut out of it (probably by a leaf-cutter bee)… I was more “present” with the bird and its surroundings. If the nature journal is supposed to act, in part, as an assist to scientific understanding and knowledge of wildlife and their habitat, then noticing and capturing the “small stuff” (like the lichen) would be important. It makes me wonder what sort of habitat the Yellow Warblers prefer to live in.  Will Climate Change affect them?  Do they interact at all with the lichen (for nesting, etc.)?  It makes me want to learn a lot more. Q: What advantages do photos have over drawings? The most obvious advantage to me is that a photo freeze-frames a particular moment in time, and you can take that image home with you and draw from it (rather than sitting out in the field) Photos also have the advantage of keeping your subject absolutely still. Birds flit all over the place; trying to do a drawing of a moving subject would make me, as a beginner at nature journaling, absolutely crazy. Another advantage: The light stays the same.  When you’re in the field, even a few minutes can completely change the way the light on your subject looks and acts.

I always need photos as a source for proportion and detail so I’m looking forward to getting away from this dependency. However, details in the bark, moss, feathers might have been missed if drawing quick sketches outdoors. 

1. I felt immediately absorbed and realized I could spend 1 min, 5 mins, 50 mins or hours drawing this.  I also yearned to use color. I was very tempted to draw the foliage, not the bird.  The bird at first seemed too amorphous, the foliage offering more variety, but that quickly changed.  I also struggle with proportion and shading. 2. The angle of the beak and the way the back of the beak formed an arrow was something I saw only when trying to recreate it.  I can already feel how this kind of drawing transforms and deepens my attention and places me squarely in the moment I'm in.

Guess it's obvious that my interest is in the bird!

Loved viewing all of the submissions!  I wish I had posted my drawing of the Yellow Warbler, which I think was better than it turned out after painting it.  I'd like to have some input about how to minimally paint in a journal.

As I was painting the Yellow Warbler from the course photo, the trees/branches/leaves were easier for me, as is typical, while the bird was a challenge.  Although I've painted for years, I'm mostly self-taught, and have never taken a drawing course.  Without a photo, I might not have noticed the little clump of nesting material or fungus in the twig notch under the bird's perch.  I like including such little details, so I prefer having photos to help me along.  In my journal, I wrote that the day is sunny, about 10ºF, breezy, and the snow is diamond-studded.  It's 02/22/2020 at 10:30AM.  As I sit at the dining table, I see larger birds at the feeders outside, but smaller birds didn't emerge until at least an hour later.

I am and have always been a writer.  I took this course because I have always been intimidated by having to add any kind of sketch or drawing to my writing. I have three empty journals waiting for me to get brave enough to make my mark in them. Drawing this bird was a huge challenge for me. Seeing what others have done with it made it even more intimidating. But I want to journal; I want to keep a record for myself and to share with anyone who’s interested, so I’m going to make an attempt to learn to sketch.  I know it will improve my observation skills, and I love what one of the sample journal writer said about it helping to cement things in her brain.

It took me a long time.  I really struggle with drawing skills trying to get right angles and lines, etc.  if the subject were moving it would really be a challenge for me to make a likeness of what I was seeing.  getting values correct also I find challenging.  still, I enjoyed it and hope to improve with this class and all that we are going to learn.

1. I tended to draw from the photo as if I was drawing from real life, that is, I did it quickly. I tried to get everything down on paper in just a few minutes. And with a warbler even a few seconds can be too long. Looking back at some of the other responses I could have spent all day. Of course that is the beauty of drawing from a photo, you have all the time in the world. 2. I really didn't concentrate on other things in the photo except the branch because I felt it was necessary to add it in order to get the correct angle on the legs. I loved some of the extremely detailed and finished journals in the video, like the woman who did a sketch a day. The birds especially looked to have been drawn from photographs  or worked on later from detailed notes. The colors and detail were so exact.

Since I have not been drawing lately, I found everything challenging, but manageable once I started. I struggled to get the dimensions right on the bird. I need to work on head size and beaks. I found it easier to start by lightly drawing the shapes within the bird. I had difficulty getting the correct colors with my colored pencils. I would not have noticed the lichen and moss on the branch, nor how the warbler's feet gripped the branch if I were not drawing it. Nature journaling always helps me notice more details.

I was really taken by the layering of the wing feathers, although I struggled to capture it with a waterbrush and 05 pigma.

The picture actually looks better on paper than in the photo.  But I hope to get better with detail and proportion.  The good thing is, that by doing this sketch, I'll be looking at more detail the next time I spot a yellow warbler.  This actually came out better than I expected!

Loved this first assignment.  Found myself going back into it to add dimension and shading, which I tend to shy away from on first drafts.  I became fascinated by the lichen on the bough, and by conveying texture along the branch.  The bird was a total delight -- I was immensely grateful that it didn't move!

I Yes, it's definitely felt weird to start drawing with no instructions and I need to figure out proportions! but this was a lot of fun and I appreciate drawing from a photo until I hone my sketching skills....