Supplies: paper, various grades of graphite pencils, kneaded and vinyl erasers, pencil sharpener, sandpaper block

This activity has two sections:• Sketch a Feather• Outline Feathered Details

This activity encourages you to simply have fun with your current drawing skills. You can draw any type of feather you want ‒ real or imaginary.

You have the following four options:

Option 1: Draw the feather in Figure 1 by referring to: • the five step-by-step numbered instructions.• the text and illustrations in Figures 4 to 11.

Option 2: Design your own feather by referring to:• the five step-by-step numbered instructions. • one or more of the illustrations in Figure 2.

ArtSpeak

Sketch: (noun) A simple representation, outline, or drawing that captures the integral aspects of a subject quickly and efficiently. (verb) The process of rendering a sketch.Outlines: (also called contour lines) Lines that follow the contours of the various shapes and forms of a drawing subject.Shape: A two-dimensional geometric object that can serve as the outline of a three-dimensional object. For example, a circle is the shape of a sphere.

ISBN: 978-1-77193-177-9Copyright © 2015 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic,

digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.

Use Lines to Draw a Feather

Sketch the shape of a real or imaginary feather and add details with lines

Level: BeginnerFlesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 8.0Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease: 64.5Drawspace Curriculum 1.1.A9 - 4 Pages and 11 Illustrations

Figure 1Option 3: Draw a feather by referring to:

• an actual feather. • a photo of a feather.

Option 4: Use your imagination to create your very own totally unique feather design.

Figure 2

This illustration is based on three images licensed from www.dollarphotoclub.com. Three hand-drawn feathers: File #71263456 vladischern © Five doodle feathers: File #82537069 juliasnegi © Four fluffy feathers: File #61011064 Alexander Potapov ©

ISBN: 978-1-77193-177-9Copyright © 2015 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic,

digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.

2 Drawspace Curriculum 1.1.A9: Use Lines to Draw a Feather

Figure 4: The shaft is thicker on the right and becomes thinner toward the left. The shape of the upper section of the vane is slightly larger than the lower section (below the shaft).

Sketch a Feather 1. Lightly draw a

curved line to mark the location of your feather’s shaft.

ISBN: 978-1-77193-177-9Copyright © 2015 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic,

digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.

3Drawspace Curriculum 1.1.A9: Use Lines to Draw a Feather

As an Aside

All feathers have the following three basic parts (Figure 3):1. Shaft: the hollow, rigid rod

down the total length of a feather that is attached to the bird at the quill.

2. Vane: the flattened structures that extend outward from either side of the shaft. The vane is made up of numerous long, thin branches called barbs.

3. Quill: the hollow, wide end of the shaft that is attached to the skin and body of the bird.

Figure 5: The slanted lines extending outward from the shaft represent the basic direction of the barbs.

Figure 3

1 23

2. Lightly sketch a shape (or shapes) to represent the vane.

3. Sketch shapes and/or lines to represent your planned design.

4. Use a kneaded eraser to pat your sketch until the lines become very light.

Outline Feathered Details5. Use various grades of

pencils and lines to neatly draw your feather.

Plan each line before you put pencil to paper and draw slowly. Place a piece of clean paper under your hand as you draw. Each time you work on a new section, remember to move your paper so it’s always under your hand. This prevents you from smudging your drawing, and protects the paper from the oils in your skin.

Tip!

If you are drawing the feather in Figure 1, refer to Figures 4 and 5 to sketch the basic shapes and lines.

4 Drawspace Curriculum 1.1.A9: Use Lines to Draw a Feather

ISBN: 978-1-77193-177-9Copyright © 2015 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic,

digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.

Figure 7: Several short lines help create the illusion that the barbs of this feather are attached to the shaft. Note that these lines

are also drawn at an angle to the shaft.

Figure 6: In this section of the detailed outline, the shaft becomes wider as it gets closer to the tip of the quill.

To draw the details of the feather in Figure 1, follow along with Figures 6 through 11.

Figure 8: The longer curved lines on either side of the shaft mark a few natural separations between the barbs. These lines also help create the illusion that the vane is slightly bowed.

Figure 9: The feather appears more realistic with slight imperfections created by a combination of thick and thin lines.

Figure 10: A long, thin strip of white is left along the shaft so it appears rounded rather than flat.

Figure 11: A few curved tips are added to the ends of some of the barbs. The sketch lines that are still visible are carefully erased with

the sharp edge of a vinyl eraser. This feather is now complete!