Drawing Birds

by John Busby

This is a fully revised and updated new version of a popular RSPB handbook to the art and joy of drawing birds. John Busby beautifully conveys his own remarkable ability to capture the grace and motion of living birds, illustrating his ideas and suggestions with many examples of his own work. He also uses illustrations from over 45 other talented bird artists to demonstrate a variety of principles and techniques. The text covers a wealth of topics, including choice of media, sketching from life, composition and different ways of interpreting the subject matter. This is a beautiful and inspiring book which will appeal to aspiring artists and anyone who has ever been entranced by the beauty of birds.

Genres: Art, Drawing, Birds, Nonfiction, Nature, Animals

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 1986

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this, which is less how-to book (which I was looking for) than a book illustrating various artists in how they draw birds, There is some attention to craft, to building from quick sketch to completed daring or painting, and it is useful to see the range of work. I used this book in a class focusing on Okay For Now, a YA book about a id discovering Audubon's drawings of birds. We all went outside and looked at birds and made drawings of them. It was pretty fun for a bunch of English types. But that's I think what Schmidt and Busby would have us do: Pay close attention to things; to birds, but to anything.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for drawing birds, both for its utility and for the beautiful collection of art. This is not a how-to book, but more for refining the work you already do. It's not full of art-related technical terms, but there is enough to not sound condescending to an artist. Busby argues that the best bird art comes from drawing from life, and he deals with issues like mechanics/anatomy of birds, drawing birds in/on water, in flight, and overall composition. Now to see if I can actually do this....

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Busby has a well-balanced, realistic approach to drawing and appreciating art from the field. There's no doubt that the techniques he shares will be helpful when the moment strikes. Until then, I'll enjoy looking over the field sketches and finished paintings, accompanied by tips and quotes from the many artists included in these pages. I also look forward to perusing the extensive list of other recommended books in the back.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found used
Excellent text and supporting art.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have plans to draw a lot of birds, but this book includes a lot of really engaging artwork and some interesting thoughts on image composition, etc.

[Elizabeth Matthews]

delightful

[Cody Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give it a fair rating. I loved the art/illustations in the this book, they were very nicely done!

[Linny · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful - get again to actually practice. He's a Timber author, taught at Edinburgh Art. Friend of Jennie Hale in Devon (friend of Jude's)

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

British book and birds. Art and history. Glorious paintings. Text over detailed. Some pages to try copying.