How to Draw Anything by Mark Linley

Author:Mark Linley
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780716022237
Publisher: Constable & Robinson

Fig. 118 A Cocker Spaniel.

Assignments

1. Draw an accurate profile and a front view of your favourite dog.

2. Try to sketch three different breeds of dog. Work from life or photographs.

3. Draw your fast impressions of a dog moving. Use pencil or pen.

17

Feathered Friends

Having worked through this book so far your observation and drawing will be good enough for you to tackle bird art. Depicting our feathered friends requires keen vision, attention to detail, a good memory and ability with pen or pencil. That means you, doesn’t it?

Many beginner artists think that birds are much too difficult to sketch because they rarely stay still for long, so they never attempt this fascinating subject. I once thought the same way, but became hooked on identifying the birds around me. I read many books and guides on birds, became increasingly interested in them and then began my art by copying photographs, drawings and specimens in museums. You can begin by copying my ink illustrations. Try using a 2B pencil to make things easier. My complete drawings here in this chapter have close ink shading but you can use very fine pencil lines and then smudge them with your finger to produce a wide range of lovely grey tones.

Heads, beaks and bodies

Bird watching is a very popular hobby for thousands of people. These keen folk are sometimes called “twitchers”. A good twitcher can identify a bird in seconds. How is it done? It is a bit like aircraft recognition. The watcher learns about body, head, wing shape, and a lot more, including habitat, colour, flying characteristics, feeding habits, song or call and so on. A would-be bird artist follows the same route – and takes on a new, interesting hobby which can become a nice little earner!

Figure 120 shows the head and beak differences between just four kinds of bird. The top four drawings are of a peregrine falcon. Under this is a duck, then a seagull and at the bottom a member of the finch family. Notice how beak shapes differ. Most artists tend to draw birds in profile because they are easier to identify from this angle. Copy these examples in pencil. Start by drawing the basic shape accurately.

When I want to draw a bird I first take a good look at the overall shape of it. I then jot this down before adding beak, eye, and wing details. It is a construction job. Figure 121 is an example of this. Copy these and try to sketch them quickly. With a little practice you will soon become good enough to draw some birds from memory even after only a fleeting glimpse.

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