I found this source image where the line of the beak went right in to the line of the eyebrow and it seemed cool and different from I es I’d been studying.
So I drew another couple eagles from that.
And this one. I noticed a curve in that ridge on the beak I wasn’t getting right before. Although I guess each eagle could be different but in the one I noticed the s-curve in a new way to my eye.
For these drawings I added black feathers around the head, which helped to show off the contrast of the white head feathers.
A couple more from my sketchbook.
I’ve only done this once I think, where I made a black background to help make the white head of the eagle stand out…
Recently I saw this person’s drawings that are done with white “ink” on black paper. I found it to be different and really liked their drawings. 😉
Here are a couple of drawings from yesterday and one from today.
Yesterday was 2 takes on the same source image Cooper’s hawk.
I like the first one better. The closely placed eyes are true to the little bird’s place in the raptor pecking order…
The second one didn’t quite work out line weight and “feel”-wise.
This one I like, it’s pretty dark and matches the coloring of the source image well.
Both source images were taken in Cape May during the fall migration.
I’ve started a slightly new way (to me) of learning to draw a new bird. I’m doing small versions right next to each other. This makes it easier to iterate and compare each version. It also means I can draw each one quicker because they’re smaller 😉.
Here’s the source image.
These are the two side by side versions, the one on the right is my second try.
Trying to figure out the size and placement of features.
And then getting it better. I think I really improved. There so much feather and hair detail around the eye and beak that’s easy to miss or overlook.
One thing I want to get better at is capturing the essence in fewer lines/strokes.
Another take on a head on eagle portrait.
This angle was hard but it’s begun to get easier with repetition.
