How to Draw a Budgie

How to Draw a Budgie – Sketch a Parakeet in Twelve Easy Steps

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For many years, parakeets or budgies have been kept as family pets. Bird lovers are particularly fascinated with these inquisitive and beautifully colored birds. Artists love to paint them for the same reason. Their bright and vivid plumage provides the perfect subject to draw or paint. By following this tutorial on how to draw a budgie, you will learn a few fundamental principles of drawing such as perfecting your proportions, and learning how to add detail to your parakeet drawing. If you are keen and ready to get your budgie drawing underway, then gather your art supplies and simply follow our easy-to-follow tutorial on how to draw a parakeet.

 

 

Welcome to the World of the Budgie

These fascinating little creatures are not only beautiful to look at, but also display large doses of character and intelligence. These songbirds are well-known for their remarkable ability to hear sounds and repeat them with great accuracy, especially if it is a sound they hear often. They are incredibly vocal and can even learn a few words from their owners.

Create your own Budgie Sketch

These gorgeous-looking feathered friends come in a large array of color variants, but the most common are green and yellow.

 

 

How to Draw a Budgie Step by Step

This tutorial has been designed for drawing enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels. You can follow this tutorial using any medium you prefer, from pencils to tablets. It is important to lay down some simple construction lines using basic shapes that will help us later in our parakeet drawing. For this step, it is essential to use a light tool, like an HB pencil so that the construction lines can easily be erased at a later stage of the budgie drawing.

 

Step 1: Creating a Body for the Budgie

The first step of our budgie drawing is to create a basic body shape. The optimal shape for our budgie’s long body is a rather elongated oval. The budgie is going to be positioned facing the right side of the canvas. The oval should therefore be tilted upwards on the right-hand side. You can simply reverse these steps if you would prefer your bird to be facing left. For this initial step, it is necessary to ensure that we have placed the body oval nicely in the center of the canvas to leave room for the other limbs that still need to be added to our parakeet drawing.

Budgie Sketch 1

 

Step 2: Creating the Budgie’s Wing

The next step of our budgie drawing is to add a wing. Budgie’s wings are rather large compared to their bodies and extend the entire length of the body up to their tails. The wing will also be represented by an oval construction line, but this one will be flatter and longer than the body oval. On the same angle as the body oval, start near the top of the oval and draw the long elongated oval for the wing down the side of the body and end it just past the body oval. The wing must overlap the body quite considerably.

Budgie Sketch 2

 

Step 3: Creating a Head for the Budgie

For this step, we are going to create a construction shape for the head of the budgie drawing. The head should be slightly egg-shaped and tilted in the same manner as the other construction shapes. This construction oval should overlap the other two, but lean more into the wing oval than the body oval.

Budgie Sketch 3

 

Step 4: Creating Feet for the Budgie

Bird’s feet are rather detailed and can be rather daunting to draw. However, this task is made slightly easier for us by applying construction lines that will guide us later on. These lines will give us some confidence in adding the finer details as long as their general positioning and shape are correct. The shape of the feet does not fit easily into a geometric shape, so you will need to add these lines in freehand.

Budgie Sketch 4

Do not be overwhelmed by doing this though as you can easily erase any mistakes you make and repeat the process until you get the perfect outcome. Start just below the middle of the body oval and draw two lines extending outward to the right side of your canvas. The tips of these lines should have a short line that folds back in the other direction. At the same point of the body that you drew the other lines from, draw two smaller lines in the opposite direction.

 

Step 5: Sketching a Branch

Now that we have given the budgie feet, we have to create something for the feet to hold on to. For this tutorial on how to draw a budgie, we are going to sketch a branch for our parakeet to sit on. We can use the position and angle of our feet to help design and sketch the shape of the branch.

Budgie Sketch 5

From just above the feet, draw a line that angles to the bottom right hand of the canvas and extends past the feet twice their length. From the bottom of each foot line, draw two lines that run parallel to each other towards the bottom left side of the canvas to create the branch that the bird is perched on. The steps for the branch are only suggestions though, and you are free to design your perch exactly as you want. Just make sure to keep the position of the budgie’s claws in mind.

 

Step 6: Adding Fine Lines to Outline our Parakeet Drawing

Now that we have completed the construction phase of our budgie drawing, we can now use those basic shapes as a reference to outline our budgie. You will be pleasantly surprised at how it looks by the end of this step! You will see the basic shapes become an actual depiction of a budgie with all the facial features included.

Start with the parakeet’s head. Following the top of the head oval, draw a line that connects with the wing without denting inwards. Now that you are by the wing oval, follow the topline and curve your line slightly inwards into the wing oval and then curve outwards again to meet at the left top of the wing oval. Extend the line beyond the wing oval and then bring it back towards the wing again.

Budgie Sketch 6

Now from the left end of the wing oval, we are going to draw a tail by creating two long thin lines that curve back inwards. From the base of the tail to the wing, you can create some little bumpy lines to create the effect of fluffy little feathers. Along the bottom of the body oval, lay down a series of medium size strokes that curve and meet at points to create the impression of feathers on the body. From the feet, you can draw a smooth line along the oval body shape toward the head, with a little bulge just below the head for the neck.

For the claws, simply add lines on either side of the construction lines to fill them out and then add a few bumps to make it look realistic and leathery. For the beak, draw an upside teardrop shape by the front of the budgie’s head. Add a little bump on the top of the beak and add a little spot for a nostril. Now behind the beak of the parakeet, draw a small oval for the eye and add a pupil. 

Once you are satisfied with your outline work, you can take an eraser and remove all the construction lines.

 

Step 7: Drawing Fine Details on Your Budgie

Now that we have finished the outline part of this tutorial on how to draw a parakeet, we will now move on to the part where we add those little details to our drawing that will make it look more realistic. For this step, you will need to use a combination of little lines and small dots to create a texture similar to feathers running from the eye down the back of the bird. As you progress onto the wing, the lines should get thicker until they become little dark patches. Once you get to the middle of the wing, you should start using longer lines that extend downwards towards the tip of the budgie’s wings.

Budgie Sketch 7

Use the curves of the wings as a reference to know where to fill in the shapes. Don’t worry too much if your drawing does not look exactly the same as in our example. Just below the bump underneath the beak, you can draw a small line to help divide the body and head and add two little black dots just above the line. For some finishing touches, you can add a few small lines around the budgie’s head and a little bit of texture to its beak. To help create the impression of little chest feathers, add some very fine little strokes along the chest area.

 

Step 8: Creating Details for the Branch

We will now add some texture to the budgie’s perch by adding some small lines in the same manner that we added lines to the parakeet’s body to create the impression of feathers. Your lines should follow the same shape and direction as your branch lines to create the sense of the grain of the wood. You can add a few lines that curve and are bumpy to create the impression of imperfections on the branch for a more natural and realistic look.

Budgie Sketch 8

 

Step 9: Applying the First Layer of Color

When adding color to our budgie drawing, it is good practice to first layer a base shade and then to add other accent colors and highlights to really bring our drawing to life. Budgies come in many colors, so you can be creative with what you choose for your base color, but we are going to start with a light green base. For the branch, we will use a light brown base color and for the feet, we will use a grey base color.

Budgie Sketch 9

 

Step 10: Adding More Colors and Highlights

For this step, you should choose another complementary color as the second shade for your budgie drawing. Focusing mostly on the parakeet’s face, we are going to add a bright yellow as our second color. From the head, you can extend the yellow down and into the wing, fading into the green as you go down. You can add some further depth to the claws and branch by using a darker grey shade.

Budgie Sketch 10

 

Step 11: Applying the Third Layer of Color

Now add a softish layer of grey on the bottom of the wing, using the same shade that you used for the claws. Use the same grey to add shadows to the face and the beak, as well as on the bottom parts of the win to create a textured effect. For the last part of this step, you can color your tail and part of the wing lightly with a turquoise color.

Budgie Sketch 11

 

Step 12: Adding the Final Shading and Highlighting Details

In this final step, we will start by adding some shadow at the bottom of the parakeet’s belly. This same shade can be used under the wing and along some of the parakeet’s feather lines to create more depth to your budgie drawing. This same shade of grey can be used to bring out some of the budgie’s facial features, like the beak and eyes, as well as the tail feathers. Add a light shade to make the wings blend nicely towards the tips.

Budgie Sketch 12

 

Well done! You have reached the end of this tutorial on how to draw a parakeet! Hopefully through the process, you have improved your skills regarding construction lines and shading. Don’t worry if your final product differs from us, it is good to develop your unique style, and practice makes perfect.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Is Drawing a Budgie Difficult?

Drawing a budgie can be tricky as there are some unique aspects to drawing a bird. With this tutorial you will find it easy to follow along and create your own parakeet drawing from scratch to finish in no time.

 

Why do we Need Construction Lines?

Construction lines make it easier to keep our drawing in correct proportion and from accidentally running out of space and having to squash the limbs into the canvas due to bad spatial planning of your canvas.

 

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