I completed the first of the three little birds with coloured pencil class and decided to try my hand at using the techniques learned to sketch a robin with my Prismacolor Premier Pencils. As someone who is an absolute beginner, I am happy with the results.
4 Likes
You did a great job. I love the coloring and the eye.
Nice effort in applying what you have learned. I like the velvety texture you have achieved on the head and the translucence of the eye. The back and tail may benefit from some additional textural details. Also, you might consider adding some feet or other grounding of the bird.
You did a wonderful job dorothy! The beak and eye are so realistic! It looks like he’s staring at me, hahahaha! The proportions are really well done too. I’m going to do the coloured pencils course next. I am so excited and motivated after seeing your robin.
Oh, yes! You will be thrilled at fast your eye learns to talk to your fingers! Keep drawing!
Thanks Ivey! It will certainly be a challenge.
Thank you! I am just getting used to the coloured pencils.
It was fun to do and then to try and apply the techniques. I definitely learned a lot and still have a long way to go too!
Thank you for the comments. I might go back and try to add some additional colour to the back and tail, but I was scared of over-doing it, so I decided to quit while I was ahead. I will have another look! Oh, yeah, bird feet are on the list of things to practice! 
I tried my rusty hand with colored pencils. I think I need some more work before I will post them. I definitely overworked them. Because my right-hand shakes so much I am learning how to draw left-handed. I succeeded at eating left-handed so my food gets to my mouth without sending it all over everywhere. I am slowly learning that my left hand is getting used to the ‘story’ the mind is telling it to do
.
I have a set of pastel pencils and I am afraid to use them, but they have the consistency of soft pastels but surrounded by wood. I know how to use soft & hard pastels and I will just have to try to do this picture again. I am sort of scared I will mess it up again. Four times before and I keep telling myself that I won’t let it beat myself. But at this moment I feel pretty whipped. I’ll give it a rest. Find another subject.
Lenora
Don’t give up! My father was shot by a sniper in the war and had to learn to do everything all over again. He managed it though. Just like art, it takes time and patience!
Lenora,
Don’t despair on the pastel pencils. I have a set of FaberCastell Pitt from years ago that is sitting unused. I just watched one of Matt’s videos on drawing a bird with pastel pencils. The process seems a bit like oil painting where you can make adjustments by layering on. So, after seeing that it doesn’t seem so scary.
Thank you for you kind words. I am going to try my hand at doing the piture over. It is of 3 childen and I am about convienced that I need to do the individual so that I won’t get upset when the 2nd or 3rd child isn’t the way I wanted themt to look. Got some blenders this weekend and that will surely help keep all the pastel dust from landing in my lap. I have to ‘try’ to stay out of Michael;s, Hobby Lobby and Jerry’s Artarama, and Dick Blick. My suppliles are ‘growing’ on me and I have to get to my printer to make name tags on them. Actually, I need to ‘try’ to get them straighted out.
Lenora