Painting Small BirdsStart by drawing the beak: outline the top, then add the lower portion, all in black ink with a fine-pointed brush.
Secondly, paint the eye. Use light ink for the eyelids, and
very dark ink for the pupil. Note that birds of prey have their
eyes much closer to their beak than other kinds of birds do.
Now lightly outline the forehead and the neck with a
feathered brush, using grey ink. Paint the wing feathers with a bamboo stroke. Then pick up your feathered brush again and use grey ink to paint the back.
To paint the breast, use a feathered brush with the
predominant light colour and use the tip of the brush to add
a darker tone with a dabbing motion, overlapping the strokes.
(Note that the breast of some birds is better painted with
bamboo leaf strokes.)
Lastly, put in the tail and legs and claws. Blend in colour
from light to dark, and add a touch of white to the eye to
bring it to life.