November 24, 2010

Dinner

I'm gonna eat this guy tomorrow. But, not his face. I'd have issues with that. Damn, those are ugly birds. I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think that Turkeys are exempt from that idea. They are like the nasty street hookers of birds. Yikes.

Finished Size: about 1.5" x 2"

May 19, 2010

American Kestrel

This is just another sketch from the wonderful photos on birdbook.org.

Finished Size: about 3" x 4"

April 20, 2010

Where Chiclets Come From

So, I chew on Chiclets gum during the day because they don't contain Aspartame (a component that might set off my migraines). Anyway, I thought...where do they come from..in nature of course? So, obviously, they are baby Chick excrement. There you go. And, now you know. And, knowing is half the battle, G.I. Joe!

Finished Size: about 3" x 1.5"

February 15, 2010

African Pygmy Falcon

I just like this little guy. He's a stout falcon. This is yet another sketch from Birdbook.org. I love those photographs.

Finished Size: about 4" x 5"

January 27, 2010

American Crow

Same bird, different day...different pen. I grabbed the Bic Fine ball-point pen this time, and I like the feel of it. You don't get the rich blacks (until I bump up the black contrast in Photoshop), but you can get more levels of pressure for shading purposes. I think I'll try some more drawings with these until I get more of my other favorite pens.

Finished Size: about 4" x 3"

January 22, 2010

Snowy Owl

I thought this one would be easy to draw, but it proved more difficult. It would have been easier had I used pencil because there are too many soft shadows and subtleties in the photograph for ink to really represent it well. Next time...pencil it is.

Finished Size: about 4.5" x 4"

January 21, 2010

Chestnut-Mandibled Toucan

This makes me want cereal. Follow the nose, it always knows.

Finished Size: about 6" x 3"

January 20, 2010

White Cheeked Turaco

This bird just really struck a cord in me. What a very unique and cool head shape. It reminds me of the head shape that has been used on the Phoenix birds in some illustrations and movies. So very neat. I like him. I'll name him "Flameretardant."

Finished Size: about 3" x 4"

January 19, 2010

Spectacled Owl

Here is another bird from the fantastic birdbook.org. I think I am going to do some more of these because it is just too enjoyable. This one took a bit longer (15-20 minutes) as it was a little larger than the last...and there are LOTS of lines that I dropped on the page. But, I like the outcome. I can only imagine how long I would spend on this if I were to do a hard core illustration instead of the quick drawing. There is just so much detail on the feathers. I would probably go a little nuts after a while trying to recreate that.

Finished Size: about 4" x 5"

January 18, 2010

Augur Buzzard

This is a quick sketch of a fantastic photograph from Andrew Zuckerman. You can see his photos (and hear the sounds the birds make) on www.birdbook.org. They are truly amazing.

Finished Size: about 3" x 3"