For Drawing Hawks and Eagles

Just a quick note: In a recent post I wrote on a raptor sketching workshop I gave, I mentioned the two booklets I prepared for the course. One was Raptor Anatomy for the Artistic Bird Watcher, the other was Sketching Raptors.

I've now put these together into a short book I have named How to Draw Raptors, a Sketching Workbook, and rather than take the time to describe it, I'll just copy the info from its web page for you here:

Written and illustrated for artists of all capabilities, this manual covers the anatomy of raptors from eyes, ears and beak to feet, talons, wings, tails, and feather construction, showing how and why they are unique and the part they play in making raptors the incredibly beautiful and functional predators they are.

Learn sketching techniques and how to get the best results when drawing a moving, living animal; how to indicate feathers with simple strokes; how to use feather markings to indicate the entire feather; the effective use of pencil strokes when shading, and many other details.

Created originally as a workshop manual for birders wanting to sketch live birds at a wildlife rehabilitation center, this 20 page manual is packed with essential information. Its comb binding allows it to lie flat for easy reference and the workbook format allows the user to draw right in the book if desired.

A section on right-brain techniques,with exercises on contour drawing and negative spaces, is included to warm up the intermediate or advanced artist and get the less experienced artist quickly up to speed.

For realistic results, a section on ways to achieve 3-dimensional effects is included. It covers shadows and how they can add shape to a flat drawing, shading with pencil and tortillon or soft stump, erasers and interesting techniques for their effective use.

Templates for drawing raptor heads and raptor talons will give you guidance on how to draw convincing eyes, beaks that would open properly, and translate important information from the shape and size of the skull to a feathered, living bird with fierce, lifelike eyes and glossy beak.

Advanced drawing methods are also addressed, featuring tips and techniques on other subjects as well as birds: hair direction for mammals, symmetry on such things as seashells (this applies to other symmetrical subjects as well, such as bird wings and tails), applying veins to leaves, and shading a furry animal.

If you enjoy drawing animals, birds in general, and raptors in particular, this would be a useful book to own.

The reason I'm putting this on my blog is that I've gotten emails from post readers asking if it's available. It is.

And now I'm back to working on The Green Anole illustration for The Southern Swamp Explorer. The book is supposed to be done by the end of the year and I'm wa-a-a-y behind schedule!

p.s. I'm hoping to get my first newsletter out this coming week. If you'd like to receive it, be sure to sign up for it in the column at right. It will list upcoming workshops and will have a section on sketching tips.