Hard to know where to start and stop my pencil. I was really nervous and insecure about my drawing. I probably wouldn’t have noticed the lines on the bird breast. I think so but seemed a bit overwhelming. drawing was difficult but I’m sharing it. I didn’t use colors and just tried for the basic bird shape

This drawing is terrible LOL. I'm using some color as well. The drawing part wasn't so bad but I stuck to basic shapes rather than details. The ratio of the details is so hard. The changing hues of orange/yellow in the legs and the olive/black progression along the back are more clear when having to draw them. Also... the bill.. is it dark grey or black?? How do I clearly differentiate the upper and lower mandible with the light reflection?? .didn't even attempt the leaves or branches... .. discouraging for sure.

I really enjoyed my first drawing of this course! My color pencils don't do justice to the brilliant yellow of this lovely bird. This motivates me to learn using watercolors. I am glad there is a photo for me to look at, as it would be impossible for me to draw a bird that would not stand still for more than a few seconds. Drawing this bird helped me notice the details such as the stripes on her belly, instead of only seeing yellow warblers as lovely yellow birds. As I progress through this course, hopefully I will learn to take more meaningful notes.

I'm doing the course with my son, and we had a great time drawing together. In my case, it was great the exercise of drawing the warbler before starting the course, with the expectations of what I will learn. My son found the warbler position a little difficult. Greetings from Chile!

I felt nervous about drawing the photo - I knew that my drawing wouldn't match the vision in my mind. The colouring was fun and came easily. I was trying to replicate the branches and leaves exactly, and that was very challenging. The drawing made me pay attention to all the small details, like the lichen on the bark, and the hole in one of the leaves, and the variety of colours on this small bird.

I was nervous about trying this - my drawing skills are weak at best.  I liked drawing from the photo because the subject didn't move, but then there was no excuse for missing the finer details like how his feet were holding on to the branch.  My proportions are way off.  I thought the details in the leaves and the bark on the branch added feeling to the photo - but trying to capture that in the drawing was overwhelming.

I was unhappy with my first try and made another attempt. I was more diligent with observation and I see the improvement between my first and second try. A closer inspection of areas made a difference and having an image was ideal way to see details particularly colorways.

At the beginning it will be more an english language lesson than a bird drawing course, but I will try it. To start drawing is more difficult than take a simple photo. Drawing I discover much more details. It is even a bird we do not have in Switzerland, anyway. No risk no fun.

1. it was easier than trying to draw moving bird. Stationary bird allowed more ability to examine details and see proportions.  Challenging because I felt I wasn't able to draw accurately at times and had trouble once made a mistake- for example- the bill.  Might not have noticed the layers of yellow and black in the wings. Would lose some of the detail on a moving bird or one that you only got to see briefly.

1. The subject didn't move! 2. Drawing the feet challenging. 3. Noticed the directions of the feathers. 4. Different kinds of feathers: straight, fluffy, stiff, etc.

I'm not at all confident about my drawing and find it a real challenge. I undoubtably noticed far more about the detail of the Yellow Warbler than I did from just looking at the picture and I'm surprised by how quickly the time goes when I'm absorbed in the drawing.  Hopefully by the end of the course the next version will look very different.

I was told when I was in my teens that  I couldn't draw and didn't attempt it until today. I'm looking forward to improving on this over the coming weeks. I dare not attempt watercolor yet!

I couldn't seem to reproduce it the way I wanted despite the fact that it was a photo. Blending the watercolors is difficult for me. I can't seem to get the right quantity of water and keep messing up and having to redo a section. I had a lot of trouble trying to capture the feet and I couldn't get the size or width of the legs right. The shape of the bird was easy for me. I like to draw unrealistic birds for myself all the time. The gradations of yellow in his feathers was fascinating for me. Drawing the bird helped me pay attention to the location and appearance of the darker feathers. I also paid more attention to the shape of his beak and to the variation in its color. If I was drawing it from sight, I would not capture all the details but I might capture its essence, how it behaves. 

Drawing from the photo turned out to be a lot more challenging than I’d imagined! For one thing, I was using a basic set of color pencils, which limited my palette. And then choosing a starting-point: Where to begin? And with what? Ultimately I chose to begin by sketching the basic geometric shapes—ovals and triangles—I saw in the bird. But even then, the proportions seemed to elude me. And each time I’d stare at the photo for a few minutes, I’d look away, and then return my attention to it—but in doing so, I kept finding that each time I did this, I was noticing details and seeing fine points that I’d missed before. (It was also sobering and humbling to realize how much I would’ve missed seeing completely, had I been looking at this Yellow Warbler in real life!) To give just one example, far from being monochromatic, the branch on which the warbler is sitting turns out to have myriad shades of grays, browns, and whites, with patches of yellow (lichens) here and there. I also noted subtleties in the profile (shape and form), and in the coloration (hues and textures) of the warbler’s wing. Would any of this make a difference in nature journaling? If what I was most interested in studying was the warbler’s behavior, probably not—I’d be looking at details of, say, how it held its wing or moved its tail, and writing down notes about this (maybe with some quick movement sketches). But if my goal was to be faithful in showing how the bird appeared, I’d have to train myself to look much more carefully at all those details of its plumage and conformation. As I said, it’s humbling to acknowledge this—especially since I’ve been watching birds for many, many years!!

What was challenging was getting the proportion of the bird correct. I needed to erase and make it bigger. I wouldn't have noticed the lichens, the rusty streaks on the breast, the different shapes and shadows on the leaves and that would have made a great difference in journaling.

1. It's taken me a long time to get around to drawing this yellow bird. I've taken drawing classes before, but haven't developed a drawing practice. I like drawing from the photo! I'm a birder and beginning bird photographer, and look forward to drawing from my photos, like the Great Crested Flycatcher I bumped into the other day. I think I got the shape of the bird right, and the general position of things on the page. Getting the first leg at the correct angle was difficult, and all those tiny little black feathers. Color wasn't something I wanted to try today. 2. I've been seeing and hearing yellow warblers all week, but it's hard to notice small details when you are viewing through binocs or a camera lens. Too much to think about. Spending a half hour really looking at the photo was eye opening for me. So much black on this little yellow warbler.  

One nice thing about drawing from a photo is that the subject does not move.  I think I did okay on the basic shape and proportions.  I found the beak to be the most challenging for me.  I tried to draw quickly and not over-think the details. If I had not been asked to draw the bird, I might not have noticed how red the streaks on the breast are.  Also, at first glance, the legs appeared grey to me.  As I drew, I noticed lots of yellow in them.  The texture of the wing feathers change from the shoulder to the wingtips.  When nature journaling, I would want to note these characteristics and I hope with my pencil or brush strokes to draw or paint such a texture change.

I like drawing from photos.  I do not try for perfection, but to capture the essence of what I am sketching.  I see different details when using a photo, but miss actual colors and movements. Pat. May 1, 2024

It's 20 years since I did any artwork. This felt exhilarating. Of course now I see 45million things I could've done differently...

Drawing from the photo made it easier to see details I would otherwise miss. I could easily get the overall shape and could go back and make changes as I put in more detail. Although I know there are different types of feathers on a bird, I would probably miss the placement and textures because the bird would have flown away long before I got much recorded. Some details in particular I would have missed are the feather on the back that must lay down even in length look sort of like an arch over the back between the longer feathers of the wing. Also, the angle of the legs show the way the bird is peeking over its shoulder slightly. I also had time to make changes to some ares as I looked more closely and had time to figure out with I was seeing. I didn’t add color because that’s just a whole other challenge for me.

I took a longer time to draw stuff out since my reference was a photo. But I really took the time to try and look at all the details. I didn't realize how many layers of feathers they had until having to try and draw all of them out. When drawing with a live bird I'd have to be quicker overall with my sketching and trying to observe more characteristics.