I gave the owl a try that was provided in one of the lessons and I am having a issue with feathers and detail. I would love to finish but I feel like I ran into a wall somewhere. Any help would be great.

Thanks, John Litz

after looking at the drawing ... I see it looks like you started to do some detail but got tired....detail takes alot of time .....sometimes looking at the whole picture is overwhelming so I will look only at the section I am working on .. I look for any highlights or small strokes like in the feathers ...if you get tired put it down for a day maybe two and go back to it .. you will see your detail and be excited to start again ....I have often used my paint shop to enlarge the image and this made it much easier for me to see the detail I was drawing and a sharp pencil at all times when doing small thin lines so I believe you need a harder lead ....also shading and highlights play a huge part in the quality of the end result .
I think your doing a great job and hopefuly one of the experts on animals will stop in and be able to offer you advice . good luck and it is looking great so far .

Thanks for your responce and I think your right I just didn't have the interest that I started out with. I will finish and on the next drawling find a subject that collects my interest on a more challenging level. Thanks again .....

Absolutely. It's important to choose subject matter that will hold your interest, especially when working on a detailed drawing that will take long time to do.

I will look forward to seeing your work .

I must say it's been many years since I have sat down and sketched anything. I enjoy comming in the forum and talking with all of you artists. Thankyou for all of your help and friendliness.

Hi,

I think that you have a great start with this drawing. To get a more realistic look you will need to eliminate the line in the drawing. Try dabbing it with an eraser. The feathers look heavy at the moment. It takes a very light touch and many layers of graphite to get the soft look. You can have a look in my gallery. You will find three bird drawings. Two are in the Challenges album and there is an osprey catching a fish in the RJB album.

Stick to it you will surprise yourself.

Great help thanks so much, I was wondering if I could create a gallery of my own so I could kind of see my progression?

I agree with you Kim, and I think that its something that has happened to us all! Sometimes we hit a drawing so hard and we put so much in to it, that when we wake up the next day to begin again - maybe we arnt in the same frame of mind, or we just pooped out and cant match what weve started - if thats the case just take a break and hit it again the next day!!!