Sketching (2 Viewers)

Read that to help identification skills it
s a good idea to draw/sketch your target !

Know any books that can help a novice like me to perfect my sketching skills


Also has anyone noticed how bird identification books tell you the difference between say two types of a similae bird BUT unless they are standing next to each other in your field of view its of very little help !

Yes. "Drawing Birds" by John Busby is excellent, and I would thoroughly recommend it. It is a current title so is easily available from bookstores - I got mine in Waterstones a few weeks ago. The relevant info is this:

Hardcover 144 pages (July 2004)
Publisher: Christopher Helm
ISBN: 0713668164
and it is priced £19.99 although amazon.co.uk have it cheaper.


For some inspiration I would also get Mike Warren's superb little book "Field Sketches" available from his website www.mikewarren.co.uk/index.html It isn't a "How to" guide, just a reproduction of his field sketches.

I agree with Sea Wanderer, Busby's book is a must, especially as it has now been updated. He is awesome in his ability to portray a bird in just a few lines.You might find the following also useful:
'The Right way to Draw' by Mark Lindley(Paperfronts ISBN 071600805)
'Learn to Draw Wildlife' by Peter Partington (Harper Collins ISBN 000412746-3)
'Learn to Paint Birds in Watercolour' by Peter Partington (Collins ISBN 000412343-3)
Have fun and let us know how you get on. It's not easy to sketch real,moving birds. Buy lots of cheap sketchbooks!

My tip is to try and memorise specific colouring shape and flight pattern, use single lines as much as possible, and try to flow the shape. Art is great fun and if you practise on children first it will definately speed up the ability, as children are rarely still. I must admit to doing better on a fast sketch than trying to do a proper picture. Cartoonists tend to get the "jist of a subject" in very few lines, that is the trick to help you get what you need to sketch a fast likeness. Good luck, but above all enjoy!