Birds in Watercolor and Beyond
LESSON 1: THE ESSENTIAL BIRD
In today’s lesson, we’ll reduce birds to their most basic forms. There is a deep satisfaction in seeking out the simplest elements of a beautiful subject - in fact, painting flowers and birds was a form of meditation for Buddhist monks in the 10th Century. Our “essential bird” watercolor lesson is inspired by their tradition, which valued using just a few strokes to paint the essence of the bird.
Click on the video link and watch it all the way through, then download the printable material for Part 1. As you view it a second time, draw and paint along.
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 1 VIDEO 1
Note: to see the work of mid-century illustrator Charley Harper, who called his style of painting birds “minimal realism,” visit http://charleyharperartstudio.com .
In Part 2, we'll combine essential sketching and eloquent brush strokes. Watch the video and download the printable material before you begin painting.
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 1 VIDEO 2
LESSON 2: THE ELEGANT BIRD
Today’s project is inspired by two popular trends of the Victorian era: caged songbirds and lush botanicals. We will combine the warmth of watercolor, the rich opacity of black gouache, and the elegance of thin white line to make a silhouetted bird who looks a bit like a finely honed woodcut.
Watch the first video all the way through. You may choose a bird from the printable, use an image from the Lesson 1 printable, or use a photo of your own. Practice a few detailed silhouette drawings before you move on to Part 2.
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 2 VIDEO 1
Still pondering which medium to use for your white lines? Here’s a closer look at three options pictured in the video. A white gel pen or a fine white paint pen will also work well.
Watch the video for Part 2, then print the pdf pages that appear at the end of this lesson.
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 2 VIDEO 2
Here is the finished sample painting:
…and here is a three-step sequence showing the gouache, then the white lines, then the final addition of a birdcage. You may or may not choose to cage your bird. Either way is fine!
If you choose to include a cage in your design, here are some forms to inspire you:
Here are illustrated printable pages with botanical gouache/ink patterns and some information on wing feathers. Both will come in handy in today’s lesson:
LESSON 3: THE HIDDEN BIRD
Today’s lesson features an unusual technique that has become one of my favorites: ink resist. (It is also sometimes called gouache resist.) The “reveal” step, in which the spray from a garden hose uncovers the bold and elegant lines hidden beneath, feels just like opening a present on Christmas morning!
Watch the video all the way through, then print and read the pdf Tips for Successful Ink Resist before you begin to work. Examples of simplified drawing, and reference images for this project, are at the end of the lesson.
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 3 VIDEO 1
Here’s how my black-and-white pelican looked before it was tinted with watercolor:
LESSON 4: THE LIVELY BIRD
It’s fun to draw birds in motion - but even if your reference bird is perching quietly, you can use ink textures to make your painting lively and dynamic. Watch the first video and print the pdf before you start to work on Part 1.
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 4 VIDEO 1
In Part 2, we’ll combine vigorous texture with the precision of a fine-tipped drawing pen. Watch the video, print the reference images, select your favorite, and jump right in.
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 4 VIDEO 2
Here are the earlier stages of my watercolor example, a dancing heron. The dark marks at the corners of my rough sketch are placed there to help my scanner find the pale pencil marks of the preliminary bird.
When you add the feather structure, use as much pencil as you like, as long as the lead is soft (2B or 4B work well). After all your ink has dried, it will ve very easy to remove every trace of pencil with your kneaded eraser.
LESSON 5: THE PLAYFUL BIRD
Watercolor is an astonishing medium. You can begin with a few spatters and splashes, using only two colors (Pyrrole Orange and Phthalo Blue) and after a short, happy journey you arrive at a completed hen. Yes, we’re painting poultry for our warm-up project. Chickens are usually overlooked when it comes to painting birds, but they make wonderful subjects. Watch the video all the way through and print the pdf pages that appear below the screen before you begin Part 1.
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 5 VIDEO 1
Your preliminary sketch can be very simple -- no need for great detail. Your watercolor brushes will provide surface textures and shading. Here’s how my hen sketch looked:
…And here is the completed little black hen:
In Part 2, we’ll employ an unusual method for moving paint across the paper’s surface: blowing sharp puffs of air that push the color away. Feel free to use as much or as little of this “wind power” as you wish, depending on the final effect you want. The bird in this image, for example, uses much more of this technique than the bird our video demo.
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 5 VIDEO 2
LESSON SIX: THE TONED BIRD
This summer was the 50th anniversary of my first illustration job. Over all those years and thousands of drawings on tight deadlines, I discovered some shortcuts in creating realistic images. This week, we will use one of my favorites (and one of the most fun). After laying down a heavy wash to tone the entire surface of our paper, we’ll lift out all the light areas before we ever begin to paint. Using this method, your painting is half finished before you paint the first brush stroke!
Our earlier projects have been loose and impressionistic. Now, we turn our creative energies to a realistic subject: the wonderfully expressive faces of owls. Before we paint, we will do some sketching in Part 1. Look carefully at the eyes of our references, and spend a little time drawing several examples. Sketching preliminary studies will make your final painting more accurate.
Watch the video for Part 1 and print the pdf files before you begin to sketch.
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 6 VIDEO 1
In Part 2, we will use a combination of watercolor and white gouache over toned paper. Each of us will have slightly different backgrounds, since no two washes are the same. If you have a rich background and your watercolors seem to fade into it, experiment with mixing a tiny amount of white gouache to your colors -- just a touch on the brush tip is all you’ll need. The extremely opaque nature of gouache will keep your pigment on the surface of your painting.
Watch the video all the way through before you begin.
Note: This lesson requires the watercolor board that was on our supply list. Heavyweight (300lb) watercolor paper also works very well. Our usual 140lb paper will not tolerate the repeated wetting and lifting.
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 6 VIDEO 2
Here’s the progression of the demo owl to completion:
LESSON 7: THE BIRD IN THE FIELD
Field sketches -- those basic drawings created outside, while looking at a live subject -- can teach you a great deal about your bird, and they also sharpen your powers of observation. Watching birds fly, feed or interact with other birds can provide a wealth of information and insight no photograph can possess.
Today’s lesson is different from all the others. (You’ll notice that right away!) I’ll share my approach to field sketching, give you some specific tips for quick and accurate drawing, and offer techniques for simple lettering and using “mental snapshots” to capture a moving subject. Then, instead of drawing from a photo reference, try to find a live bird to sketch. Any bird will do. It might be a songbird at your backyard feeder, chickens in a coop, an ostrich at the local zoo, pigeons in the park, or wild birds along a shoreline or at the edge of the woods. Birds are everywhere -- ornithologists estimate there are 400 billion individuals on the planet at this moment -- so grab your sketchbook and see who is in your neighborhood today.
When I draw outdoors, I try to keep my supplies very light and simple:
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 7 VIDEO 1
Here is my outdoor sketching kit all packed away: all the art supplies and field guide fit into the gray zipper pouch, the binoculars are in their case and all that remains is the small sketchbook and water. If you have to walk very far, every ounce can make a difference.
Here are two pages of drawings from my morning of sketching terns and pelicans on the bay. When sketching light-colored birds, it is helpful to block in a simple background color for contrast. Keep it neutral -- a gray, blue or green can work well. Remember, field sketches are really just visual note-taking and the goal is not a finished piece of artwork:
It’s great fun to be outdoors with your birds, but they don’t hold still for long. How do you sketch them when they are constantly moving around? I use a method of “mental snapshot” to help get active subjects captured on paper. This method also works well if you are trying to draw a bird you are looking at through binoculars -- another tricky prospect! Here is the technique:
Think in the stages of your drawing. At first, it’s only the general form and flight angle (more about that in a moment) you are after. Watch your bird closely, ignoring everything except the basic form -- no need to think about shading, patterns, beaks or eyes at this stage. While still looking at your bird, close your eyes and hold that “snapshot” in your mind. Open your eyes while looking at your paper. Picture the “snapshot” there. Practice it a time or two, and you may be surprised how much information you retain when you visualize the “snapshot” on the blank sketchbook. Draw what you remember. Then repeat. This method improves with practice. And it’s fun. Give it a try!
The first step in drawing a flying bird is to see and draw the flight angle. Your drawing will be built on this foundation. Here is an example of that concept:
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 7 VIDEO 2
Here’s a printable to help with visualizing flight angles:
It’s important to include written notes with your field sketches. Some people have more text than sketches, while others include just an occasional label or observation. Any sort of printing or writing will do, as long as it’s legible. (When you look at a sketch in 20 years, you may not recall the details of that day, so you’ll want to be able to read your remarks.)
I sometimes use a modified form of block printing called “quickhand” for jotting things down rapidly. It’s as fast as cursive writing, but I like the look of it better. If you are not in a hurry, block printing works well, too. Here are examples of both:
The watercolor field sketches you make this week will help prepare you for our final three lessons, which all deal with realistic birds, and how to paint the settings around them. Enjoy!
LESSON 8: THE SOARING BIRD
“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” — Leonardo da Vinci
When you “walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward,” what you will see are soaring birds. They inspire us, they uplift and entertain us, they teach our hearts to fly. In today’s lesson, we will learn three methods for creating the space for our birds to soar. Painting skies in watercolor is a playful, exploratory process in which no two results are ever exactly the same. This lesson will return to our earlier technique of lifting the background wash to create lighter values, and then working on top of them.
I encourage you to cut your paper down to a small size (I used 6x6 inches) for this project. The smaller size will prevent warping, encourage you to keep your skies fairly simple, and fit the sizes of our brushes better than a larger image would.
Watch the video all the way through and print the reference images (or use your own). Try out all three sky painting techniques. Take a look at the step-by-step completion photos, which demonstrate a red-wattled lapwing painted into one of the three skies you saw on the video. Can you tell which one I used for the painting?
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 7 VIDEO 1
Here is the sky, completely dry, with my sketch drawn lightly in 4B pencil. Using the #4 brush, I rewet any darker blue areas inside the bird outline and lifted them with a damp paper towel. This won’t return the paper to white, but it will considerably soften the blue background. (You can see this in the lower wingtip.)
Always be mindful in placing your bird in your painted sky... don’t allow the edge of your bird to line up with elements in the clouds. The human eye is powerfully attracted by continuous line, and your viewer will be distracted.
Next, I used white gouache for any pure white areas on the bird. This is the same technique we used in our lesson on toned brackgrounds:
Next, I painted the head and tail. All the darker areas on the bird are painted with a mixture of Ultramarine Blue and Pyrrole Orange. (More blue = a blackish tone. More orange = a warm brownish tone.) The highlight areas on the top of the head and under the throat are made by rewetting and lifting away the dark paint with a dry brush. The red wattle is the same mixture with some Quinacridone Rose added. I painted the flight feathers with the blue/orange mixture, using more orange here to create the warm reddish-brown color:
Using my good old orange/blue combo, I painted a thin layer along the leading edge of the bird’s shoulders and back:
Working from front to back, I added the golden-brown mantle of this bird with my same old blue/orange combo, brightened up with the addition of Hansa Yellow. The highlights are touches of white gouache. All done!
Why isn’t the lapwing reference in our collection of reference images?
While it is informative to watch the unfolding of the demo watercolor, it’s much more informative to take those principles and test-drive them on a different bird of your own. Each watercolor is an unfolding sequence of unique choices, and you will learn more if you are allowed to make those choices on your own, with your own bird, from start to finish. Enjoy!
In Part 2, we’ll paint birds’ eggs. Is there anything more charming than the sight of a clutch of speckled eggs tucked into a nest? Watch the video and print the illustrated pdf pages before you begin:
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 8 VIDEO 2
LESSON 9: THE SCENIC BIRD
In our last lesson, we set our birds free to fly across a background of sky. This week, we’ll provide a place for them to perch awhile. In Part 1, we’ll explore quick and easy techniques for creating stone walls and weathered fences. Watch the video and print the illustrated pdf pages before you begin to paint:
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 9 VIDEO 1
Now it’s time to add a bird or two! The video reviews the process of creating textures and combines them -- you may paint your birds quite small, as I have, or zoom in for a close-up and feature them larger in your image. Either way, be sure that the proportions of your bird and your scenery match.
Watch the video and print the reference images, or use some of your own. Enjoy!
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 9 VIDEO 2
LESSON 10: THE FINAL BIRD
It’s handy to have a few creative techniques for painting the vines and branches upon which your bird will perch. In Part 1, we’ll put a colorful twist on the classic watercolor tool, negative painting. Most helpful for building layers of overlapping plant material, negative painting is perfect for lush foliage. Watch the video all the way through, then print the accompanying pdf pages before you begin:
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 10 VIDEO 1
...And in Part 2, we return to our birds. In our final project for this course, we will use another traditional watercolor technique: glazing with layers of color or texture. Remember to work from light to dark, and allow undercoats to dry before adding new pigment on top. Most of all, enjoy yourself:
CLICK TO WATCH LESSON 10 VIDEO 2
Thank you for doing this course with me!
Another one I loved first time around!
Thanks so much!! This is great!