Natural History Illustration: Birds in Flight

Overview

This course explores the beauty, movement, and diversity of birds through natural history illustration. Working in graphite, ink, and watercolour, you will develop the skills needed to capture both the form and the character of birds, with a particular focus on depicting birds in flight. Through a series of practical drawing and painting exercises, you will study a wide variety of bird species, exploring different approaches to observation, composition, and mark-making. While bird identification is not the primary focus of the course, you will become familiar with key anatomical features and field marks that distinguish different groups of birds, enriching both your observational skills and your artwork.

The course includes an in-depth exploration of wing anatomy, feather structure, and the challenges of representing movement, texture, and light. You will experiment with a range of techniques in ink and watercolour to create expressive feather textures and dynamic studies, supported by step-by-step video demonstrations and guided practical exercises. Alongside developing your technical skills, you will also examine how artists, both historical and contemporary, have drawn inspiration from birds in their work. By the end of the course, you will have produced a portfolio of observational sketches and studies, alongside one or more finished watercolour illustrations of birds in flight, demonstrating your growing confidence in natural history illustration.

This module is ideal for students wishing to develop their technical skills in ink drawing and watercolour while deepening their observational practice. Some previous experience with ink or watercolour is helpful but not essential, making the course suitable for both developing artists and enthusiastic beginners ready to build their skills.

Programme

During the course, learners will explore the following:

Unit 1: Introduction

• Overview of the course, going over materials, gathering resources as inspiration and setting yourself up for success.
• Module overview
• Getting started
• Workspace set up and materials
• Gathering references and Artist Study presentation

Unit 2: Birds from a glance

• Getting familiar with sketching birds
• Species of birds and shape language
• Bird anatomy – presentation
• Observing birds from life and sketchbook ideas

Unit 3: Wings and feathers

• A deep dive into wings and flight
• Mechanics of fight - presentation
• Feathers and further wing anatomy
• Drawing wing anatomy in practice

Unit 4: Capturing textures

• Ink and watercolour
• Up close and personal
• Details of birds explored (eyes, beak, feathers etc)
• Ink techniques for creating texture
• Watercolour textures - adding colour to studies

Unit 5: Birds in flight

• Filling your portfolio
• Mix media sketching
• Observational drawing and life drawing tips
• Environmental storytelling
• How to integrate environment details in sketches

Unit 6: Creating a final illustration

• Using your sketchbook as a resource
• Composition and lighting
• Planning the illustration
• Painting demonstration

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:  

1. Draw a range of bird species from reference and observation
2. Understand the structure and shape language of wings and feathers
3. Capture lifelike textures of birds in pencil, ink and watercolour
4. Illustrate a final full-colour piece of a bird in greater detail, as an artist would do for a commission

Assessments

1. Illustration. Learners will create an illustration of a bird in flight using the research and preparation from the module units. The aim of this assessment is to push students to focus on a larger full-colour illustration with more detail than in sketchbook work. Learners will be expected to include their planning and references (40%)
2. Portfolio 1500 Words. Learners will create a sketchbook portfolio including unit tasks, research and observations throughout the module. Students will be encouraged to reflect on their art work and record their progress. This compiled work will be presented as a portfolio in a PowerPoint template or as a pdf. (60%)

Reading Suggestions

Reading suggestions will be offered throughout the course.

Entry Requirements

This course is for everyone. No previous experience is needed and there are no formal entry requirements.

What Do I Need?

A list of materials, not included in the course fees, will be available prior to the course start date.