What You Need to Draw a Hummingbird
To draw a hummingbird outline, you will need a few basic supplies:
- Paper – You can use regular white printer paper, drawing paper, or watercolor paper. The texture of the paper will affect the look of your drawing.
- Drawing pencil – You’ll want a soft lead pencil such as a 2B or 4B for sketching. This will allow you to create light lines and shading.
- Colored pencils, markers, or paint – You can use any of these coloring supplies to fill in your hummingbird outline.
- Eraser – Both a regular eraser and kneaded eraser can help you erase mistakes and lift graphite for shading.
- Ruler – Having a ruler on hand helps with proportion.
- Reference photo – Use a reference photo of a hummingbird to help you draw the anatomy accurately.
Gathering these basic drawing tools will equip you to create a detailed hummingbird outline drawing.
Step 1: Sketch the Basic Shape
Since hummingbirds have very distinctive body shapes, the first step is to loosely sketch the basic form of the bird. Here are some tips for this initial pencil sketch:
- Lightly draw a circle for the head and oval for the body. Leave plenty of space below for the tail.
- Extending from the body, sketch two lines to represent the wings. Draw the wings spread out since hummingbirds rarely stay still.
- The tail will eventually consist of long tapering feathers. But for now, just draw a arrow point shape for the length of the tail.
- Draw an S-shaped curve for the neck and pointy beak extending from the head.
- The feet can be simple lines coming from the body oval.
Keep your initial lines very light. You will be erasing some of these early lines as you refine the form. The goal is to capture the general shape and flow of the hummingbird.
Step 2: Add the Beak and Head Details
With the basic body sketched, you can start defining the details of the hummingbird’s head. Here are some tips for this stage:
- Draw the beak in an elongated triangle shape extending from the head.
- Add a round eye above the curve of the neck.
- Define the area around the beak and eye for the face.
- Erase early sketch lines as you add details.
- Depending on the angle, you may need to adjust the head shape.
- Add a circle in the eye for the iris and pupil.
- Consider leaving the head mostly white and shading the beak and eye details.
Take time on the face and head since this will give your hummingbird drawing personality. Observe photos closely for unique characteristics to portray.
Step 3: Draw the Body and Tail Details
With the head defined, shift your focus to the hummingbird’s body:
- Refine the oval body shape.
- Draw the feet in an angled V-shape.
- Depict the wings accurately based on reference photos. The undersides of the wings are generally smoother than the tops.
- Carefully erase early sketch lines from the body and wings.
- The tail consists of long feathers starting from the end of the body. Draw these extending outward with the middle feather being the longest.
- Consider adding some lighting shine marks along the body.
- You can shade the feet, parts of the wing, and some tail feathers.
Take time with the body and tail since this makes up a majority of the hummingbird outline drawing.
Step 4: Refine the Entire Outline
Once the head, body, wings, and tail are mapped out you can refine the entire outline. Here are tips for refining:
- Go over early light pencil lines to reinforce the key contours.
- Carefully erase any sketch lines extending beyond the form.
- Observe your reference closely and make any final adjustments to proportions or anatomy.
- Use your kneaded eraser to lift graphite and create feather textures.
- Lightly blend shading with a tortillon or tissue.
- Consider the direction of light and add highlights and shadows with pencil.
- Look closely for any small details to enhance the realism.
Take your time perfecting the outline since it will set the foundation for the later coloring phase.
Step 5: Start Coloring Your Outline
Once satisfied with the pencil drawing, you can begin adding color to your hummingbird outline:
- If using colored pencils, choose lighter tones first for the base layer of color.
- Apply darker colored pencil slowly in thin layers for deeper shades.
- Blend colored pencil strokes smoothly with a tortillon.
- Watercolor markers allow you to directly apply both light and dark shades.
- Aim for a gradient look by transitioning between tones.
- Use very light pressure and multiple layers with markers to prevent heavy lines.
- Try mixing colors to match the colors on your reference photo.
Work patiently through the coloring phase to mimic the beautiful iridescent plumage.
Tips for Drawing Tiny Details
Here are some tips for adding the tiny finishing details:
- Look closely at your reference photo for small unique spots and markings.
- Use a sharpened colored pencil to add scales on the feet and fine lines on the beak.
- Consider adding background elements like foliage, flowers, or branches.
- With paint or markers, you can add touches of shine on the head, wings, or tail.
- Try using a very fine tip black marker to add tiny feather details.
- Don’t rush through this step – even tiny details can bring your hummingbird drawing to life.
Enjoy bringing out the small touches that make your hummingbird truly unique.
Practice Makes Progress
Like any new drawing skill, expect to progress gradually through lots of practice. Here are some final tips for improvement:
- Draw from reference photos to understand the anatomy.
- Experiment with different mediums to see what you most enjoy.
- Sketch a hummingbird once a day for faster improvement.
- Aim to capture not just shape and form, but also texture.
- Study both photos and real-life hummingbirds for behavior clues.
- Trace your own sketch to reinforce the muscle memory.
- Focus on value, contrast, and form to add realism.
- Mistakes and errors are part of the learning process!
Stay motivated and keep practicing to improve your hummingbird drawing abilities over time.
Conclusion
Drawing an accurate, realistic hummingbird outline involves carefully sketching the shape, refining details, and patiently adding color. Use high-quality reference photos for anatomy. Map out the basic forms, then tackle each area in detail. Take time perfecting the pencil drawing before coloring. Practice regularly and observe real hummingbird behaviors to progress. The intricate feathers, shading, and lively nature of hummingbirds will stretch your artistic skills. But with persistence and the right techniques, anyone can master drawing beautiful, graceful hummingbirds.
