Silverbird Drawing ~ My "Learn To Draw With Friends" Contest Entry
Hello Everybody! This is my Silverbird entry for a drawing contest by @tonyr. This drawing contest can be done in black/white pencil or color pencil on paper, and this is the second of three images I will be doing for this week's contest. Just as I always do, I took photos to show my work along the way.
Drawing this Silverbird was a bit of a challenge since the colors and lightness of its feathers do not have clearly defined lines and edges. I knew I wanted to attempt this one in color, so I grabbed my trusty color pencils and jumped right in.
If you like my drawing please upvote my work, and jump over to @tonyr contest post, scroll down to find my comment with my drawing and upvote me there. The judging is based on upvotes in the comments. The link is after my images. Thank you!
![SilverBird-1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeuosLNY3w2hSpcUiiLneZccC3Bp2rLCn8tvh7jQuADq3/SilverBird-1.jpg)
The Finished Sketch
Here are the work in progress images:
![SilverBird-2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmY1HAa35fw7a6ecEsFkeV67ZmE1oq2qLJSnzUgrBVSR3a/SilverBird-2.jpg)
Getting the rough sketch down
This week's sample images force you to find other ways to find center lines and placement guides to start your sketch from. I noticed that the center line of the beak and long tail feathers cross at its eye. So I used that to help get things where they belong.
![SilverBird-3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNoVYBazss2dVgam3fFGXDwRV9S5FSFWErXxJwXwQipLZ/SilverBird-3.jpg)
Sketching in the main feature.
![SilverBird-4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmPYZn5vr3YLswrcpqbhuSfTCKNFwdVCHeR2WFQxvNKm5T/SilverBird-4.jpg)
Erasing the guide lines.
![SilverBird-5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfRQrCEfHioEaBEdSv6MXR4sdZub7YoNmdNPh5ypxiwpM/SilverBird-5.jpg)
Drawing in the details, I left a lot of the pencil lines in as shadows for the colors.
![SilverBird-6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmWyj7MFSU1YaY3rgMKQgN5BUUnnvPxv1MaLiJUQpR5ojr/SilverBird-6.jpg)
Strating with the underbelly colors.
![SilverBird-7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaLvcScFPKKmsvNPn378XVWnLFcAM1kxVDrAwoUiSZfkB/SilverBird-7.jpg)
Adding a light blue color to go under the grey.
Committing to the blue coloring undertones of the back wings was a bit scary, I wasn't sure that was the correct thing to do. I took a 30 minute break after this picture was taken and came back after I could refocus, I thought I might have messed it up, but it worked out nicely in the end
The final step was to go back in and put down the final color layer using more pressure on the pencils. I then went back over the edges and feather areas a pencil adding a bit of pressure to ease in the feathery lines and shadow level I wanted.
I hope you enjoyed my drawing.
Please vote for me here and in the comments of the contest post page!
As always, please follow me if you like my work and want to see more.
If you think others will enjoy this, Please ReSteem it!
Thank you!
Very nice! Good art. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much @firepower, I appreciate the support.
Very nice job on the drawing! I really love the details of the wings and the tree branch it's perched on.
You did a smart thing by stepping away from the drawing to have a moment to clear your head and come back with a plan to finish up the shading. I forget to do that sometimes. :)
Thank you :-) yeah I just had to walk away for a few on this drawing, for some reason I was having second thoughts about how I was doing the color. I came back with fresh eyes and powered through it. I have fun doing these drawings for @tonyr contests.
I need to get back on track with drawing and art. I put it all aside in May when I thought I was moving and never took them out of the box again! Bad merej99! lol
LOL - Well maybe after The Beast has concluded, you will have free time to sharpen your pencils for some sketches.
Beautiful drawing! Can be learned drawing step by step.
Thank you, I'm happy you like it. - Also, Thank you for you efforts with the @colorchallenge, I enjoy taking part in that.
wow @steempowerpics. This is a popular post! :)
I think part of this is my efforts now over discord and steemit chat. I'm posting my stuff in the appropriate channels and getting some feedback from it. I think in the evening (my time EST) is good, it's not a hectic with rapid postings so you have a chance to get noticed.
I just posted it to steemitchat as well but its moving pretty fast right now. Not sure how much exposure it got :)
Thanks for everything @steempowerpics! If there's anything I can do to return the favour, please let me know! :)
You're welcome. Also, go through that loooong list of other channels that might be specific to your post and drop it in there. i cant figure out how to make the post image show with the link yet. So I end up drag/drop the picture after I post to just add the image into the mix :-)
I will do mate. Thanks again!
I figured out the image thing on steemit chat - it was a DUH moment. After you copy/paste your post URL , right click on the image in your post you want and get the URL to the image, then paste that in too. Then the image shoes up with your post info.
Yeah I posted it on steemit.chat in post promotion and art category and was able to get the pic up as well but I just uploaded it from my desktop where I had it saved. :)
Hey Tony, some thoughts on the contest ( so off the contest post page )
At the moment looks like justaboutart 16 votes bird, me bird and kristyglas lion tied 13, then me penguin at 12 -- maybe drop my third place and 50/50 split on second.
Next contest, I will not enter to win. I will promote, donate towards prize, and enter for support. Maybe it needs to be switched up to a 3rd party judge(s), I would volunteer. So many great entries came in later, just no time for them to rally votes. apprentice001 lion is insane, erangvee lion also impressive. So maybe judging evens it out a bit more.
Yup. Discord and Steem.chat are very powerful tools. Networking properly helps too.
Maybe consider writing a post about it to help other Steemians navigate those places?
I've been thinking about that. But I also have a question about the upvote decay process, do you understand how/why that happens? This post went from $178 to $149 overnight, now at $145. That is pretty steep for 12 hours.
I don't know the exact math or algorithm but I believe there is a finite amount of STEEM and/or SBD that is created each day. Its distribution is based on how many active participants, how many votes over how many accounts and then factor in the volatility of the cryptomarket. From what I read somewhere...(I think it was one of @neoxian's posts) there is too much SBD and witnesses are suggested to adjust the interest rate. It's also recommended (and I can't remember who said it) that 100% Power Up posts will help the excess supply.
Honestly, I with I had a better head for the dev side of things. It's fascinating...and a totally foreign language to me. :o/ meh.
It's interesting , I need to go read up on it. 20% drop in 24hrs seems a bit steep. I am keeping my posts at 100% powerup, I am trying to earn my way to my "vote slider". This new 10 votes thing with HF19 is crushing my ability to spread votes around with any value.
I've managed to keep my vote power above 80% but I'm leaving a lot of 1% upvotes for comments (just so I have a visual tracker) and I'm upvoting content, especially with this crazy challenge anywhere from 20 to 100%.
Considering that the majority of y'all keep posting content and none seem to be slacking off, I'm voting anywhere from 20 to 60+ posts a day...I think. Maybe more? LOL
What are you thoughts on accounts like this? @ photo-trail They found my post and asked about adding me to the daily photo post they do. I'm kinda on the fence about accounts that only post pages of other people work, and many times earn more than all the people's photos they are using.
I can't wait for the ability to adjust. I had to slow down on voting the last 24 hours or so so it could recharge. I feel bad when I vote and it's only worth 1 cent - yesterday I gave a randowhale to an artist I came across because my vote just didn't feel good enough for what she can do. ( Kristina @daio )
Awesome!!!
Thank you @colovhis - Glad you like it.
That's a really lovely drawing. I like how you showed the process. I really like the blue under the gray. That little splash of color made it look very detailed.
Thank you @marxrab. That was the part that gave me trouble, so I'm happy it worked out and you notice it.
Very nice drawing! I wondered how long it took from start to finish @steempowerpics
Hi Ester, Thank you. It took me about 15 minutes to get to the blue coloring of the wings, then I took a 30 minute break to get refocused, then about 30 more minutes to complete it.
That is a great drawing @steempowerpics! I saw the contest @tonyr made...but my drawings are worse than a child's. LOL
Thank you @sgnsteems. Well we all start somewhere, I know my drawing skills for this kind of life drawing improved during my time at The Art Institute. Evolves over time.
That's good. My sister is the artist. I am better in math LOL
:-) There ya go, it all works out in the end.
Well done drawing
Thank you @pluemacher. Swing by the contest page to vote for any entries you like (not just mine).
Your mastery of light and shade is lit... You killed it @steempowerpics