How to Draw a Bird

Finished bird drawing with detailed feathers, slender legs, beak, and eye

In this drawing tutorial, we will show you how to draw a bird. This is a fairly simple tutorial because we have chosen a bird with a simple shape. We hope you get excellent results by following our instructions.

How to draw a bird step by step

Step 1: Outline the bird’s body

Draw the basic contours of the body of this beautiful bird. First, draw the back, which is formed by two long lines. After that, add the front of the torso and head.

Outlining the bird’s head, back, torso, and rounded chest

Step 2: Sketch the wing and tail

Next, add the outline of a small beak. Also, sketch the tail and wing with long diagonal lines. Use light strokes, especially during the first steps.

Sketching the bird’s small beak, wing, and tail with light lines

Step 3: Draw the eye and beak

Small details help form the complete picture. Draw a fairly large rounded eye and refine the beak into the shape of a long diamond.

Drawing the bird’s rounded eye and refining its diamond-shaped beak

Step 4: Refine the body and wing

Make the outlines of the bird’s body and wing clearer. Create a subtle feather effect with short strokes at the back of the torso.

Refining the bird’s body and wing with short feather strokes

Step 5: Detail the wing and tail

Use several diagonal lines to draw the tail feathers. Add similar lines inside the outline of the wing.

Adding diagonal feather lines inside the bird’s wing and tail

Step 6: Draw the bird’s legs

Draw the bird’s long, thin legs. These shapes widen very gradually at first and then expand more noticeably toward the bottom.

Drawing the bird’s long, thin legs beneath its rounded body

Step 7: Add the feet and claws

The process is already similar to drawing a crow, isn’t it? You can see these birds every day. Add a few more details and draw the bird’s feet with long claws.

Adding the bird’s feet with long toes and pointed claws

Step 8: Add the feather details

This could already be the final stage of the drawing tutorial. To add more detail, draw several additional feather lines throughout the bird.

Adding fine feather lines across the bird’s body, wing, and tail

Step 9: Finalize the bird drawing

Erase the extra lines from your drawing and correct any irregular shapes. If you notice any mistakes, return to the necessary step and fix them.

Completed bird sketch with clean outlines, feather details, legs, and claws

If you followed our steps, you should now have a detailed bird drawing. Using the tips from this drawing tutorial, you can draw a bird in any pose, so practice often and continue improving your drawing skills.