How to Sketch a Parrot

1

Begin your first sketching step by drawing two shapes, one for the head, and then the other which is oval shaped for the body. You will then draw the beak guide shape as well as the facial guide.

2

Begin sketching out the actual structure of the parrot's head and be sure to include those periodic bumps for feather detailing. When the head and some of the neck is all sketch in the way you see it here, you can begin tackling the bill. Start with    

3

Color in the eye and some detailing around the base of the beak, and then continue the task of sketching out more of the parrot's body. For me, I started by sketching the lining for the back, and then I began with making the wings. For the parrot's w   

4

Before you tackle sketching the tail, you should finished with getting the parrot's torso and belly done. Start where you left off with the neck and continue sketching the body line that will ultimately form the chest, belly and tail. Add some tail f   

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This is the last step as far as drawing out the concept of your sketched parrot. All you have to do now is draw in the branch that it is perched on, and then sketch in the detailing to the wood.

6

Before we even TOUCH the drawing any further, we must evaluate in our minds, the importance of the 'light source'. This is an important part to any sketch. In the case of this drawing, we will determine the brightest highlights hitting the bird at th   

7

Make sure that your sketch is free from guidelines, mistakes, and other debris before you start the shading process. Start by shading the beak one mandible at a time.

8

When you shade your drawing, you must always be certain of your light source and how the darker shades recede into the parent shadow base. This is important because without the proper highlights/shading, you will result with an unrealistic and bland    

9

Now begin shading around the eye starting at the base of the beak. When shading this area, make sure to add in some texture strokes for the fine feathers that surround the parrots eye and cheek.

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Ok, this may seem like a lot, but in fact, it isn't. What I did was add a light wash and began to shade with hatching and cross hatching strokes. I primarily use cross-hatching on the darkest areas so it covers more white space. This technique should   

11

This is a simple technique yet important one, used when I shade the dark parts of the drawing. 1. labels the common way to shade. I use this more commonly and trail from 'light to dark'. The closer the base of the shadow, the darkest it will be. 2. I   

12

Using the same techniques used from above, I go ahead and add light wash of shadows the wings, and using slanted hatching strokes for each half of the feather. This will make the feathers seem as if they had feathery details, creating an overall dyna   

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Add shading to the legs, feet, and branch, and then you're done!

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Tweak the areas for added detailing and definition. When you are done you should have a nice sketched out drawing of a parrot.

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March 24, 2012

Description: I said I had two more lessons that where sketch based. Here is the first of those two. It is on "how to sketch a parrot", step by step. I have really been getting into sketching animals and I find myself getting addicted to the whole sketching concept. This is one of my favorites so far, but then again I have only drawn a few which means the better I get, the more in love with the images I will become. The parrot is obviously one of my favorite birds in existence. I find them interesting, intriguing, and incredibly entertaining. I love everything about these birds to the point where I am trying to save up to buy my own. I did have a cockatiel named Rocky, but he passed away when I was like thirteen or so. I had him for a few years and even taught him some tricks. He danced, sang songs, and even mimics whistles that you made. Sketching birds is one of those things where you fall in love with it real quick because birds are such detailed animals. Their feathers, the contours of their bodies, and shapes of their beaks are all factors that you have to sketch in a very traditional manner. I know it's not the best sketch in the world, but at least it looks like a parrot. I hope you too will enjoy teaching yourself how to sketch a parrot. I promise it is incredibly fun especially if you're a bird lover. I have one more tutorial coming your way so stick around for more drawing fun. Peace people and enjoy!

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#draw birds #draw realistic animals #how to draw realistic #draw realistic #how to sketch #sketching in pencil #how to draw parrots #how to sketch animals
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