How to Draw a Robin

Крок за кроком

1. Крок 1

   Draw one oval for the whole body of the robin.

   Nearly every bird is one egg-shaped mass with everything else attached to it. Draw the egg in one motion and let its tilt say what the bird is doing.

   Обережно Building the body from several small arcs.

   Перевірити The body should be one smooth closed shape.

2. Крок 2

   Place a small circle for the skull.

   Bird heads are smaller relative to the body than beginners expect - usually about a quarter of the body length. Measure against the egg before you commit.

   Обережно An oversized head, which turns the bird into a cartoon.

   Перевірити About four head-widths should fit along the body.

3. Крок 3

   Build the neck with a curve each side.

   Even a short-necked bird has a neck: two curves joining head to body, front and back. Without them the head floats and the bird reads as a snowman.

   Обережно Leaving the head disconnected from the body.

   Перевірити Both neck curves should touch head and body.

4. Крок 4

   Put the beak on, and get its angle right.

   The beak grows out of the skull rather than sitting on its surface, and its angle continues the line of the head. Shape and size are the strongest species cues on the whole bird.

   Обережно Sticking the beak flat onto the front of the circle.

   Перевірити The top edge of the beak should line up with the skull.

5. Крок 5

   Draw the eye, then fill the pupil.

   A bird's eye sits high and close to the beak. Small, dark, with one highlight - and its position matters far more than its rendering.

   Обережно Placing the eye centrally, which deadens the whole face.

   Перевірити The eye should be nearer the beak than the back of the head.

6. Крок 6

   Draw the wing over the body.

   The folded wing lies ON the body, crossing its outline. That overlap is what attaches it - a wing drawn inside the body outline reads as a pattern, not a limb.

   Обережно Drawing the wing floating inside the silhouette.

   Перевірити The wing should cross the body outline somewhere.

7. Крок 7

   Add the wing feather divisions.

   Feathers come in groups, and the groups are what you draw - two or three curved rows, not individual feathers. The eye supplies the rest reliably.

   Обережно Drawing every feather, which turns the wing into a fence.

   Перевірити You should count feather GROUPS, not feathers.

8. Крок 8

   Place the legs under the body, toward the rear.

   Legs attach much further back than they appear to, because the visible leg is really the bird's foot and ankle. Get the attachment point right and the balance follows.

   Обережно Legs planted centrally, which makes the bird tip forward.

   Перевірити The legs should attach behind the middle of the egg.

9. Крок 9

   Draw the tail.

   The tail continues the body's line rather than being stuck on the end. Draw it as one shape - separate feathers come last if at all.

   Обережно A tail at war with the angle of the body.

   Перевірити The tail's top edge should flow from the back line.

10. Крок 10

    Draw the underside of the robin.

    The breast is the fullest curve on the bird and it carries the pose. Round it generously - a flat chest makes any bird look deflated.

    Обережно A flat front, which loses the bird's volume.

    Перевірити The chest should be the roundest curve on the drawing.

11. Крок 11

    Draw the pattern this bird actually has.

    Markings follow the body's form - they curve as the body curves. Flat pattern drawn over a round form cancels all the volume you just built.

    Обережно Drawing the pattern flat, ignoring the curve underneath.

    Перевірити Any stripe or patch should bend with the body.

12. Крок 12

    Texture the breast lightly, curving with the body.

    Three or four short V-marks down the breast, each curving with the chest rather than sitting flat, and the whole bird reads as feathered. They also confirm the body's roundness - marks on a form must bend with it, which is the same rule as every stripe and patch on the site.

    Обережно Covering the breast evenly, which turns the bird into a pinecone.

    Перевірити The marks should bend the same way as the chest outline.

13. Крок 13

    Anchor the bird: ground line, then shadow.

    One line under the feet and one flattened shadow arc beneath the body, darkest between the legs. A bird with no ground floats in white space no matter how well it is built - and the shadow also confirms where the legs actually are, which birds hide well.

    Обережно Skipping it and leaving the bird hovering.

    Перевірити The shadow should sit directly below the body's widest point.

14. Крок 14

    Firm up the keepers, remove the guides.

    Weight the silhouette and the beak, keep the feather marks light, erase the construction. The contrast in line weight is what separates finished from traced.

    Обережно Uniform line weight over the whole bird.

    Перевірити Silhouette darker than interior - check by squinting.