How to Draw a Bird in a Tree

Step 1: Round head

Left of the middle, draw a small round head, wider than tall, with 3 soft low puffs on top.

Tip Keep the bird small. The whole tree has to fit around it.

Step 2: Stubby beak

Start on the head's front. Draw a fat triangle beak out to a point and back. Add a mouth line.

Tip Keep the beak short and fat, not a long bill.

Step 3: One big eye

Behind the beak, draw a big round eye with a big black dot and a white shine.

Step 4: Plump body

Start behind the head. Draw down to the rump, round a fat belly, and up the chest to the beak.

Tip A plump egg hanging under the head, narrower than the head.

Step 5: Fan tail

Start on the rump. Draw a fan tail down and back, round the end, to the tummy. Add feather lines.

Step 6: Folded wing

Start under the head. Draw a wing line, round at the front, stopping at the rump. Add 2 feather lines.

Step 7: Two legs

Under the tummy, draw 2 short legs side by side. End each one in a small round foot.

Tip The feet will hold on to a branch.

Step 8: The branch

Start by the tail. Draw a branch left under the feet to a point and back. Stop below the start.

Tip Make the branch thinner and thinner towards its tip.

Step 9: The trunk

Start at the branch's top end. Go up to a point, then down to the ground. Add the other side.

Step 10: Leafy treetop

Draw a big bumpy cloud of leaves all the way around the bird and the branches.

Tip Lumpy is good. Real trees are lumpy.

Step 11: Leaves and ground

Draw 3 little leaves growing from the branches. Add a ground line under the trunk.

Step 12: Yellow and orange

Colour the head and tummy yellow. Colour the beak, legs and feet orange. Leave the eye white.

Step 13: Brown wood

Colour the wing and tail dark brown. Colour the trunk and branch light brown.

Step 14: Green leaves

Colour the treetop green, around the bird and wood. Colour the 3 leaves dark green. All done!