Summary

An artist embarked on a week-long bird drawing challenge, creating 49 sketches, and learned about 'birbness' along the way.

Abstract

The author of the article, who is also an artist, engaged in a delightful week-long project focused on drawing birds. Initially inspired by a photo from Christine Morris Ph.D., the artist chose a stylized approach over realism for the July Weeds & Wildflowers prompt. The project unexpectedly escalated, resulting in 49 bird sketches, including practice drawings and more refined pieces as the artist's skills improved. The artist used reference images, anatomical diagrams, and even personal bird videos to study bird anatomy and develop an anatomical shorthand for sketching. The term 'birb' was also explored, with the Audobon Society's explanation of 'birbness' being a defining characteristic of cute or funny birds. The artist expressed gratitude for the creative spark that led to this productive period and shared a resource for others to enhance their creative sessions.

Opinions

The artist found the process of drawing birds both fun and educational, particularly enjoying the development of a personal anatomical shorthand for bird sketching.
The artist initially underestimated the number of sketches produced, indicating a surprise at their own productivity and dedication to the project.
There is an appreciation for the term 'birb' and the concept of 'birbness,' which adds a layer of enjoyment and community to the bird drawing experience.
The artist values the use of various reference materials, including nature photography, anatomical diagrams, and personal video footage, to improve their understanding and representation of birds in their artwork.
The project was not only about skill development but also about discovering new concepts, such as 'birbness,' indicating a broader curiosity and love for learning within the artist.
The artist acknowledges the influence of the July challenge and the broader community, including Christine Morris Ph.D. and Dennett, in sparking their creative endeavor.
By sharing their worksheet resource, the artist shows a willingness to help others achieve similar creative depth and productivity in their artistic pursuits.

A Delightful Week of Bird Drawing

And learning about ‘birbness’

Illustration of a baby Canada goose by the author

To help demonstrate July’s Weeds & Wildflowers prompt, I drew the charming little bird from the photo by Christine Morris Ph.D.

I chose to draw it in a stylized manner rather than trying to be realistic. You can see my drawing on the prompt:

Shake It Up!

July Weeds & Wildflowers Prompt

medium.com

It occurred to me that I’d like to be able to draw birds in my usual semi-realistic style. To do that, I’d need to learn more about bird anatomy, and maybe do some studies from real life. I filed the thought away as a fun project for later.

Then I ambled off to do an unrelated art series, drawing fantasy characters. I had fun, and I was still in the art mood…

Reader, I made 49 sketches of birds in a week. I’m not sure what happened.

The number seems absurd to me now. However, it started simply enough. I collected a number of reference images. The first few were nature photography and anatomical diagrams from the internet, strictly for practice. I won’t be sharing the drawings I made from those.

The next batch of references were freeze-frames from bird videos I took, with the birds mid-flight or in cool action poses.

And then, I pulled up my drawing program and had fun sketching, trying to develop the type of anatomical shorthand I use for cartooning (curved lines and simple shapes to build on). I was having fun, and time flew, and I ended each day with a page of rough sketches.

You can see all my drawings and some notes about the project here: Teaching Myself to Draw Birds!

Then I flipped back through my digital drawing pages to count my sketches. Including the practice ones, I counted about 49, and was surprised. If I’d set out to do that many, I’d have been daunted.

Larger chunks of the drawings were done in the early days since I was racing through sketches as I worked hard on learning the anatomy. I didn’t polish them up since I wasn’t going to share them.

Toward the end, I was working from my own photos and liking the results. So I made fewer and spent more time on shading and cleaning up stray lines.

I also learned the internet term ‘birb’ for a cute or silly bird.

I believe I’d heard it before, but I looked it up this time when someone used it in response to my drawings.

The Audobon Society helpfully explains ‘birbness’ to us:

First, let’s consider the canonized usages. The subreddit r/birbs defines a birb as any bird that’s “being funny, cute, or silly in some way.” Urban Dictionary has a more varied set of definitions, many of which allude to a generalized smallness. A video on the youtube channel Lucidchart offers its own expansive suggestions: All birds are birbs, a chunky bird is a borb, and a fluffed-up bird is a floof. Yet some tension remains: How can all birds be birbs if smallness or cuteness are in the equation? Clearly some birds get more recognition for an innate birbness.

So, I learned something new, and not just a drawing skill.

The July challenge kicked off a flurry of art I did not expect! Thank you Dennett for starting it all.

Here’s my worksheet resource for having a deeply creative work session!