Full Description
John Muir Laws's guide to drawing birds is itself winged, soaring between a devotion not only to art but also to the lives, forms, and postures of the birds themselves.
Here, artistic technique and the exquisite details of natural history intertwine, and drawing becomes the vehicle for seeing. As Laws writes, "To draw feathers, you must understand how feathers grow, overlap, and insert into the body. To create the body, you must have an understanding of the bird's skeletal structure. To pose this skeleton, you must be able to perceive the energy, intention, and life of the bird."
This how-to guide will perfect the technique of serious artists but also, perhaps more importantly, it will provide guidance for those who insist they can't draw. Leading the mind and hand through a series of detailed exercises, Laws delivers what he promises: that "drawing birds opens you to the beauty of the world." An Audubon Book.
More journaling titles by John Muir Laws:
The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling
How to Teach Nature Journaling
The Laws Sketchbook for Nature Journaling
Contents
Acknowledgements
Foreword by David Allen Sibley
Bird Drawing Basics
The Joy of Drawing Birds
Draw a Bird in Six Steps
Posture, the First Line
Proportion
Head Position
Angles
Everything Follows Shape
Step by Step: Warbler
Step by Step: Sparrow
Mastering Bird Anatomy
Songbird Bills
Cranial Kinesis
Feather Groups vs. Markings
Step by Step: Drawing Head Details
Turning Heads
Head Angles
Body Feathers
Suggesting Feathers
Feathers of the Chest
Chest Patterns
Back Feathers
Wings and the Automatic Linkage System
Spread Your Wings
Wing Tricks
Wing Proportions
Step by Step: Drawing Wings
Technical Points
Suggesting Wing Detail
Tail Shape and Structure
Moving and Foreshortening Tails
The Thigh Bone's Connected to the ...
How to Balance Your Birds
Understanding Bird Feet
Simplifying Bird Feet
Leg Position and Angle
Bird Leg Details
Windows of the Soul
Iridescence
Details and Tips for Common Birds
Birds of Prey
Raptor Anatomy
Raptor Body Feathers
Step by Step: Peregrine Watercolor
Drawing Waterfowl
The Angles of Heads and Tails
Duck Details
Duck Heads
Waterfowl in Motion
Step by Step: Ruddy Duck
Working with Waders
Wader Heads
Step by Step: Shorebird Value Study
Hummingbird Helper
Bird in Flight
Build a Flight Frame
Angled Flight Frames
Another Angle on Wings
Wing Tip Tips
Make a Flight Model
Sketching Small Birds in Flight
Underwing Anatomy
Step by Step: Raven in Flight
Field Sketching
Go Outside and Draw
Field Sketching Is Not Field Guide Art
Working in the Field
Field Sketching Zen
Drawing Moving Birds
Birds in Habitat
Travel Sketching
Documenting Rare Species
Materials and Techniques
Keys to Better Drawing
Observing Light and Shadow
Planes and Texture
Using Negative Space
Combining Shapes
How to Show Depth
A Few of My Favorite Things
Fast Sketching Combinations
A Portable Watercolor Palette
Paper Selection
Painting on Toned Paper
Color Theory Heresy
Reinventing the Wheel
Using Colored Pencils
Step by Step: Colored Pencil Warbler
Step by Step: Mixed-Media Stellar's Jay
Watercolor Choices
Watercolor Techniques
Mixing Complementary Colors
Step by Step: Mixed-Media European Starling
Using Reference Material
Bibliography
List of Illustrations
About the Author
