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Submitted: October 5, 2012
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Common Mistakes In Bird Drawingby *Snaphance93

Resources & Stock Images / Tutorials / Other

First off, and I should've added it in the tutorial: The pupil here is stylised to give more expression. In a completely realistic bird, it would be placed in the center of the eye, about where the lines cross in step 2.

A TINY ADDENDUM TO MISTAKE 2: The beak is in one piece. How the hell's the bird supposed to even OPEN the beak then, when both upper and lower beak are fused together? Just imagine how it'd be if your own jawbone was fused to your skull, and avoid drawing one piece-beaks at ALL COSTS in the future.

Might also be an idea to look at this comment: [link] for more details on mistakes 1-3.

This is the combined result of the following:

-- Getting lotsa faves on an old and outdated tutorial
-- Seeing lotsa mistakes, and yes, a great many of these principles hold true to other birds as well. 'Specially the oval head shape, connecting the beak to the skull, the curve of the lower beak and resulting fluff, the diagonal line which the eyes and nostrils line up along, and so on. Manipulate to your advantage.
-- Drawing burds

So yes, I hope this can and will help some. If you've got any questions, ask, and if you make something with it, I'd be happy to see the results!

As a last note, I have not added nares at the lower beak because I add it when I colour the burd, not when I sketch it. Just so ya know!

More burd/gryph resources can be found here: [link]

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~Emihijes Feb 2, 2013

Very good, thanks

~blazegryph Nov 25, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Good tutorial. C: Konig has some degree of canine/feline eyebrows, but that was a conscious design decision versus being unaware of raptor facial structure.

~fearnandfire Oct 6, 2012 Traditional Artist

This is good, but I think you should make it Com. Mistakes in Raptor Drawin. XD I drew a crow not so long ago, and they're surprisingly different (I've done buzzards, pere, and gyr fals before). This is a very useful tutorial but as El said, only if you draw using lines and circles (we don't all do, and I think one could argue that it's possible to draw well without them).

I'd argue that 3 DOES look like part of the skull. I bet I could draw a skull under that. XD The opening doesn't extend back far enough, but it looks to me that it's in the right position.

*Snaphance93 Oct 6, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

But these aren't common mistakes in raptor drawing, these are common mistakes in bird drawing. I see all those odd beaks in all sorts of birds. I chose to show how to draw a falcon since raptors are the most commonly drawn birds, but yes, it applies to all sorts of 'em. Crows differ from falcons, yes, but their beak is still a part of the skull and shouldn't just be pasted on as a last thought.

Number 3 is bordering on a unibeak (which it won't be able to open), so yes, while the beak is getting better, it's still not a proper part of the skull, as the bird has practically no lower jaw. Also, the no nares is the biggest point there. Some birds don't have 'em, but many do.

Oh, I agree, there are plenty of good freehanders out there, but I think that just looking at the proportions and remembering them will help even for freehanders, as will looking at reference pics. I mean, I don't use all of these lines myself, even, at some point you get the feel for it. It's like with writing, you use whatever method works for you, and as long as the end result's good, well, no one can say you're doing it wrong.

~fearnandfire Oct 6, 2012 Traditional Artist

Still, with crows, the beak 'sheath' (unsure what that's really called

) extends almost back to the nostrils, and American crows have light feathers by their nostrils, anyways. Plus, kiwis, hummingbirds, budgies, finches, ducks, shoebills, and saddle-billed storks are all lovely birds that look differ greatly from raptors. That said, I think your tips are insightful and helpful, especially if one is drawing a bird of prey (you're right about everyone and his uncle doing that... but, really, they're cool XD).

Yeah, I'm a heavy reference user. I don't even write about most of the ref I use, only the pose ref if I've tried to replicate a pose fairly closely. Most of that is because I don't condone people actually going out and purchasing the bones, fur, or body parts of commercially killed animals simply to use them as ref. I've run into people who've done that, and I think it's horribly wasteful, bordering on cruel. I look at photos and technical drawings of skeletal and muscular structures a fair amount, though.

*Snaphance93 Oct 6, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

But the beak's still a part of the skull, that's the point

There are a great many variations of beak shapes and bird heads, but the principle's the same: The beak's a part of the skull, no matter the bird species, not some random appendage to be pasted on later. And the nare-thing is directed at birds who have nares (like budgies), not at birds who don't (like zebra finches)--people ought to research the species they're going to draw anyway, but still. But since this one was so well received, I'm planning to do a more indepth tutorial covering more species and beak shapes, building off the same basic principles shown here.

With you there, though I see no problem with it if the bird/animal's died of natural causes or had to be put down in some manner. If the parts are from an animal that's going to be eaten in either case, though, I see no harm in getting hold of its bones and hide ('s long as it's butchered properly, though, and had a good life and all) to use as reference.

~fearnandfire Oct 6, 2012 Traditional Artist

Yeah, I think an in-depth one would be nice.

Honestly, I don't have a problem with using a dead animal's parts if it died of natural causes, was put down, or was a domestic animal slaughtered for food (like a cow). I have a a few skulls that I found or was given by people who found them, but I would NEVER buy them. I'm really referring to people who buy stuff from fur farms. I've run into some people on dA who collect furs and body parts as "referrence". It sickens me that these animals died at young ages after living in small wire boxes so that some silly people can make poor-quality doodles of them, creating demand within an luxury industry that I'm morally opposed to.

~SilveryBeing Oct 5, 2012 Hobbyist Writer

Thank you for this, it's very interesting!

*Snaphance93 Oct 6, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Pleasure, glad ya like it!

~OdeeSS Oct 5, 2012

You obviously have far more awareness to the nuances of drawing birds than I do, because I still can't see how you determine that the beaks are attached/unattached. ??

Thanks, though! I will keep this in mind,

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