Animal Drawing: Vermillion Flycatcher

I wanted to do a project to warm up on this chilly winter day, a this little guy does the trick. The Vermilion Flycatcher, is a small passerine bird that can be found in the southwestern United States. The species grows to about seven inches in length, males are bright red in color, with dark brown plumage. These flycatchers feed mostly on insects such as flies, grasshoppers and beetles. These are usually taken from mid-air, after a short sally flight from a perch. In this lesson we use Vermillion Flycatcher to work on composition, overlapping shapes and color. The little guy is perched on a prickly pear cactus.

Materials: Heavyweight drawing paper, sketching pencil, thin tip sharpie, colored pencils or watercolor pencils and chalk pastels.

Step #1:  Draw light guidelines across the center and down the middle of your paper. Lets start with drawing the prickly pear cactus, draw a large half oval and attach four smaller ovals as shown below.

Step #2: Draw the cactus buds and add some flowers.

Step #3: Lets draw the Vermillion Flycatcher with a oval coming off the cactus. Draw his beak and eye mask, he has a round eye. Draw his wings and attach his tail below the cactus that he is perched on.

Step #4: Draw the birds feathers, use a "u" pattern for his breast and a elongated "U" for his wings as shown below. Add detail to his tail feathers.

Step #5: Draw his long talons coming over the cactus.

Step #6: Now its time to draw the prickles on the cactus. Have fun and finish your project with choice of materials.