How to Draw a Portrait Step by Step - One Thing You Must Do With Every Drawing

Getting the proportions right in your drawing are essential, anything drawn after that will fail if the proportions are incorrect. I have seen students put in a great deal of work on a drawing only to find that the proportions are definitely not right and have been very disappointed! If you want to avoid this and be pleased with your results you have to pay attention to proportions. First you have to decide what you are going to draw, OMC outdrive parts do you want to draw all in this case the bird or part of it. Having decided what you are going to draw mark the extremities that is where you want the top, bottom and sides to finish on your paper. Work on a decent size of paper, big enough not to have to worry about getting all your drawing on to it.

Next you need to decide on what part of the bird you are going to use. It needs to be a part that isn't too small or to big, in most cases the head is about right. If you use the width keep using that so to avoid confusion. Measure the head with your pencil, pastel or charcoal and step this from the top to the bottom of the bird and across the width. Then decide how big the head is going to be on your drawing and then step this measurement on your drawing to get the width and height. Once you are happy with this stage you can then start to work out other large areas, lightly sketch in the overall proportions of these using that head measurement and measuring with your pencil or charcoal. Choosing one part of the subject to measure against others will enable you to get all the proportions correct to one another.

Drawing through the subject.
No you don't need X-ray eyes for this just an ability to visualize what is happening to a shape that goes behind another. So if for instance a leg passes behind another then it helps to see where it comes out the other side if you can visualize what happens behind the one in front. To do this look carefully at say the leg that is disappearing behind the one in front, see the angle of the leg as it goes behind the one in front and follow that angle through until it comes out the other side this will help you to get the leg angle right as it appears on the other side.

Drawing through one part is important if you really want to see how another part is formed. Why is a leg coming out from behind the other leg at that point?

It will help you to see why a wing is coming out from behind another or from behind the body, you can find help on the wing shape by studying the one you can see.

With birds you will need to understand what's going on under those feathers and what I say next will help you with this.

What's different about birds?

Birds are different from other animals because there body and limbs are covered by feathers. So when you come to draw them it will help to understand what's under those feathers, to be blunt its quite a scrawny odd looking creature!

They have a thin usually bent back necks and under those wing feathers are folded arms, if you hold your arms out to the side then this is just how a bird does it when flying, and when at rest its arms are folded back. Its legs are mostly under feathers, the part you see is actually the toes with the rest of the foot going up to the heel, the calf, knee and thigh are normally under the feathers. If you crouch with your legs bent and just the balls of your feet on the ground and your arms folded back by your sides that is how a bird normally stands.

All this will help you to know what's happening when you see birds moving about and flying.