Drawing a bird flying in the distance can seem daunting for beginning artists, but it’s actually quite easy with some simple techniques. The key is to focus on the bird’s basic shape and simplistic details rather than getting caught up in complex textures and features. With a step-by-step approach, you’ll be able to create a basic flying bird drawing that looks great, especially as a small element in a larger landscape scene.
Gather Your Materials
Before you start the drawing process, you’ll need to gather a few materials:
- Paper – Any type of paper will do for practicing basic bird drawings. Good options include sketchbook paper, mixed media paper, and drawing paper pads.
- Drawing Utensils – You can use graphite pencils, colored pencils, pens, or markers. Start with a simple HB or No. 2 pencil.
- Eraser – Both soft pliable erasers and click erasers work for erasing pencil lines.
You don’t need fancy art supplies to learn how to draw a distant bird. Basic materials are perfect for beginners.
Sketch the Basic Shape
Let’s start the drawing process by sketching out the basic shape of the flying bird. Here are some tips:
- Draw a slightly tilted oval or egg shape for the bird’s body.
- Add a straight or slightly curved line for the outstretched wings.
- Sketch two short lines at angles for the legs.
- Place a small triangle at the bottom for the tail.
Keep these initial lines basic and light. You’ll add more detail later. Focus on getting the right proportions and angles for the major bird body parts.
Refine the Body Shape
Once you have the basic bird shape sketched out, you can start refining the body:
- Define the oval shape of the body, keeping it slim and aerodynamic.
- Refine the angle and shape of the wings to show they are outstretched in flight.
- Add finer lines for the legs and feet bent in flight position.
- Refine the triangle tail shape and size as needed.
As you make adjustments, refer to photo references of birds in flight positions. This will help you accurately depict how a flying bird holds its body and wings.
Add the Head and Beak
Now it’s time to add the head and beak to your bird drawing:
- Sketch a small oval for the head toward the front of the body.
- Add angular lines to form the beak shape attaching to the head.
- Refine the angle and size of the beak based on your desired bird type.
- You can add a small dot for an eye, keeping it simple.
The head and beak details will help define the bird species and bring your drawing to life. Just keep them simplified since the bird is small and flying at a distance.
Include Simple Feather Details
To finish your distant flying bird drawing, add some basic feather detailing:
- Use short, curved lines around the head and body for a subtle feathered texture.
- Add longer curved lines following the shape of the wings to depict flight feathers.
- Use hatching lines or subtle shading in the wings to show depth.
- You can add subtle lines on the tail feathers as well.
The feather details don’t need to be extensive or complex. Just some simple lines provide that essential feathered bird appearance.
Optional – Add Colors or Background
Once your pencil drawing is complete, you have the option to add color or create a background:
- Use colored pencils or markers to fill in the bird with realistic colors for the species.
- Add a watercolor wash or light shading to create the illusion of distance.
- Sketch horizon lines, trees, or clouds to place the bird in a landscape scene.
- Keep the background soft or blurred to enhance the distance perspective.
Subtle and soft coloring can enhance your basic drawing. But a pencil sketch alone achieves that perfect distant bird effect.
Practice Drawing Birds at Different Scales
With these basics down, you can practice drawing flying birds at different scales for landscape scenes:
- Do thumbnail sketches of tiny birds on the horizon.
- Draw birds slightly larger as midground elements.
- Sketch birds at nearly full size coming toward the viewer.
Varying the scale adds depth and layers to your nature drawing compositions. Tracing basic bird shapes is great practice.
Tips for Drawing Realistic Distant Birds
Here are some additional tips to guide you in drawing realistic distant flying birds:
- Study photos of birds in flight to note how they hold their wings and angles of the body and legs.
- Pay attention to the silhouette shape to identify different species based on size and proportions.
- Use clean, sparse lines to capture the essence of a faraway bird without over-detailing.
- Create groups of small birds rather than a single focal bird to depict realistic distance.
- Keep your lines very light so you can easily erase and make adjustments for accuracy.
With observation and practice, you’ll start to develop an intuitive sense for sketching simplified birds at a distance.
Common Issues and How to Avoid Them
Here are some common issues that arise when drawing distant birds and tips to avoid these mistakes:
Issue: Bird looks stiff, flat, or awkward
- Solution: Use more fluid, dynamic lines and pay close attention to the body angles and positions of flying birds in references.
Issue: Drawing looks overdetailed
- Solution: Use a very light touch and sparse lines to capture the essence of a faraway bird simply.
Issue: Bird shape looks inaccurate
- Solution: Double check proportions against photo references to capture the body, wings, tail, and head correctly.
Issue: Perspective looks off
- Solution: Use techniques like diminishing size, tilting angles, and fading lines to create the illusion of distance and perspective.
Avoiding these common mistakes will help you achieve more realistic, naturally flying distant birds. With practice over time, your observation and bird drawing skills will sharpen.
Conclusion
Drawing distant birds in flight may seem like a challenging feat, but break it down into simple steps and it’s very approachable for any skill level. By focusing on the basic bird shape, adding key features like the wings and beak, and using sparse detailing, you can create simple, beautiful flying bird sketches. Persist through the practice process to train your artist’s eye for accurately capturing flight silhouettes and perspectives. The ability to quickly sketch distant birds is an asset for nature journaling, wildlife illustrations, and landscape art.
