This was a National Geographic find. I love this little guy, curiously sticking his bill into the camera. It was a fun perspective to draw.
Duck
graphite
Baby Penguin in Blue Shoes
Ok, seriously. This is a cute frickin’ bird. How can you look at this bird and *not* squeal?! I found a baby penguin wearing little blue shoes. What?!
Ok, I know – at the beginning of the year, I said that I really didn’t want to draw baby birds or penguins because they were just too damned “cute.” And cute makes me squirm, because on some level I still don’t want to be mistaken for a girly-girl. Well, what can I say? I was pregnant when I drew this. There is nothing more lady-ish than procreation. It’s kind of what we’re built for. It brought out all my girl-ness. And now I can’t put it back. Bring on the cute.
Razorbill
This little bird is flapping to say “hi” to you. He’s a cutie.
Fun fact: Razorbill Pengins only come ashore to breed, and they mate for life. Wet, dedicated little families.
Black Heron
This bird is a clever bastard. He is standing in water, making a perfect circle with his wings over the water. If he stands absolutely still, a dumb fish will come right under his beak looking for shelter. This poor fish will think he has found the shade from a nice tree or bush growing out of the water – and not a clever hungry bird looking for dinner.
It’s both a beautiful sight, and a brilliant hunting strategy.
Shoebill
I love this bird. He has the craziest big ass bill. I drew another one in January. When I found this one, I felt like I had hit the freaky-looking bird jackpot.
European Robin
Robin drawn without his redbreast. A study in wing feathers with graphite rather than color.
Egyptian Goose
I love his crazy one legged pose. He looks like he’s doing one of those classic cheesy martial arts stances that people make when they’ve never taken a martial arts class but watched a lot of Bruce Lee movies. This duck will clearly try to take you down. That is, if you’re not already on the floor laughing at his earnest bravado and goofy grin.
Chiff Chaff
Graphite. I really enjoyed doing these wings.
Blackbrowed Albatrosses
I had problems scanning this one, because I did it in graphite. So it kept scanning all washed-out, white and ghostly grey. It was so hard to read. So I went a little overboard with the contrast, and now it looks like a pen drawing.
These cute little lovers are nuzzling, showing affection through neck scratches. But because they have these serious eyebrows (hence the name!) they look like they’re mad at each other instead of in love. Trust me, they’re in love.
claire meyler 