The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds

John Muir Laws is a naturalist, educator, and artist with degrees in conservation and resource studies, wildlife biology, and scientific illustration. His books include The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada, The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds, The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling, and (with Emilie Lygren) How to Teach Nature Journaling, all published by Heyday. He is cofounder of the Wild Wonder Foundation, an organization encouraging nature connection through art and science. Visit his website at johnmuirlaws.com. David Allen Sibley is an American naturalist. He is the author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds (and several other books about birds), as well as The Sibley Guide to Trees.

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