Drawing Birds

An expert guide to producing beautiful lifelike drawings of birds in their natural habitat.

This inspiring book is an essential guide for any artist wishing to capture the beauty of birds of all kinds in pencil.

Birds are a fascinating subject for artists of all skill levels and renowned bird artist Andrew Forkner shows you how to achieve beautiful, accurate and lifelike drawings in graphite. Whether you are a bird enthusiast, or an experienced artist who wants to apply their skills to a new subject, there is a wealth of information here.

The book includes sections on materials, basic techniques, composition and reference gathering, as well as how to draw the key features of birds such as eyes, beaks, claws, feathers and wings.

Andrew takes you through the unique features of the main bird groups, including waders and water birds, wildfowl, birds of prey, garden and woodland birds, owls, seabirds and game birds, and includes a full step-by-step demo for each group.

This book is an expert guide to producing beautiful lifelike drawings of birds in their natural habitat. Artists of all interests will find a lot to inspire them in this detailed, practical and beautiful guide on drawing birds. The book includes sections on materials, basic techniques and reference gathering, as well as how to draw the key features of birds such as beaks, eyes, claws, wings and feathers. A special section focuses on birds in flight, and this is followed by chapters on the main bird groups including: Waders and water birds, Wildfowl, Birds of prey, Owls, Garden and woodland birds, Seabirds and Game birds.

Each chapter covers the techniques specific to the group as well as numerous examples and a full step-by-step demonstration. The absence of colour means that Andrew uses other aspects such as pattern, shading and shape to give his paintings life and interest. Written for artists who wish to apply their skills to drawing birds, as well as experienced artists who want to improve their drawing skills, this is an expert guide to producing exquisitely rendered, lifelike drawings of birds in their natural habitats and nothing could be more inspirational than Andrew’s accurately observed and truly beautiful drawings.