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Message: <blockquote data-quote="phil baber" data-source="post: 1885753" data-attributes="member: 71208">Suvi,I am loathe to tell anyone how to improve their work. As I consider it an intensely personal thing. And I've been damaged in the past by the meddling of others.I really like the individual nature of your work. And as Tim says, do what YOU do and what no-one else can. That is what people will respect. Paint what you feel you see. Not what others tell you it should be. Refer to the living subject for answers. Then interpret your way. Sketching birds, I find, is a process of making "quick memories", then translating them to paper. Often I find I am sketching "jigsaw bits" of a bird. Only later will I put them together as a whole subject. A bit like taking down messy instructions for building a plastic model aircraft, complete with notes. Have a look through others' threads to see this in action. If your sketches look like an unintelligible mess to outsiders, then, I believe, you are on the right track! After all, the sketches are there to help YOU create something wonderful later!Keep on practising, and keep posting!!!:t:</blockquote>