So we have the bird’s eye view of some birds! Moorhens more exactly. Weeks ago, as you may recall, we came across some baby moorhens being born and nested under the bridge of the brook bordering our backyard. I was then inspired to create a few paintings about this and firstly shared a watercolor painting Watching Baby Birds. And now, how about a simple digital illustration of these moorhens!
Pencil Sketch
First the pencil sketch with Procreate Pencil on a square background. Just a rough outline. It is about Mama Hen feeding her babies with a worm in her mouth. That seemed to be a recurring scene I had witnessed as the adult hens would go about and hunt for food whilst the babies remained in their nest till they can fly, walk or swim independently. And of course, I was keen on capturing this bit!
Filling in Colors
This time, I started with coloring the background before the subjects. Separate layers were provided for each area and shape in case I wanted to change anything. For the background, I filled in with the usual Medium Airbrush. The BIrds were then colored with Dry Square Inker brush for a more textured appearance, followed by a light touch of Luminous Bristles from the Lights brushes. As for the mama bird’s eyes, I experimented with the Neon Tube (from the Lights brushes too) for that glowing illuminated look. Worked rather well, I must say, and hence I sought to repeat that for the babies!
Adding Texture
Unhappy with the size and shape of mama bird, I made some alterations before proceeding with the finishing touches. The background needed to look more watery and thus I introduced some light from the Electricity brush followed by a layer of Silver glitter on top. To balance the composition better with the blue water, I cut off some of the nesting area on the top right corner. Now that’s much better! The nesting area itself had more added with some brushes from a new set Magical Textures along with some of the glitter spilling on the corner. And finally the worm: I flipped it horizontally and rather than leave it white, I introduced some gold glitter stripes across it. Now I’m done!
Another fun experiment with digital painting! I enjoyed playing around with the various textures available and discovering the new. One of the wonderful things about digital art is being able to easily change and manipulate the subject, painting and composition. Once again, I ought to work with it more often and look forward to another session!
My Kawaii Quarter 