John James Audubon
Y The most famous American
ornithologist, naturalist, and painter
Y Born in Haiti in 1785, raised in France
Y At the age of 18, he was sent to live on
his family’s farm near Philadelphia, PA
Y After ending up in bankruptcy, he began
travelling the country, drawing and
painting birds in their natural habitats
Y His dream was to illustrate every bird
species in North America
Audubon self-portrait
Audubon’s Method
Y Audubon used unique methods for
drawing lifelike birds
Y He hunted and killed each bird, then
spent hours posing it in a “natural” state
(cameras were not available back then
and live birds wouldn’t sit still)
Y He included natural elements of tree
branches, fruit, flowers, birds’ nests, etc.
Y He used watercolors and added pastels
and gouache
Baltimore Orioles
Birds of America
Y Within 10 years, Audubon completed
over 300 drawings
Y In 1826, at age 41, Audubon traveled
Inked copper-plate engraving
to England to have copper-plate
engravings made of his artwork
Y Audubon raised enough money to begin
publishing a book titled The Birds of
America. It took 14 years to complete.
Y The book contained 435 life-sized,
hand-colored prints of 497 bird species
on giant 39” x 26” pages
Actual size book
Audubon’s Fame
Y The Birds of America was critically
acclaimed upon its publication in 1838
and is still considered one of the finest
ornithological works in history
Florida Cormorant
Y In 2010, Sotheby’s in London broke the
record for any printed work when a copy
was auctioned for $11.5 million
Y After his death in 1851, Audubon was
honored as the namesake of the National
Audubon Society, an organization which
protects birds
Glossy Ibis
Project Overview
Y Inspired by the work and life of John
James Audubon
Y Using a neutral hue paper, students will
create a drawing of a pelican or flamingo
using a 2B drawing pencil
Y Students will explore the use of charcoal
or black colored pencil and pastels to
create shape, texture, shadows and
reflections
Elementary student artwork
Project Steps
Y Following step-by-step instructions,
students will do a line drawing in pencil
Y Next, students will trace over the pencil
lines with charcoal pencil or black
colored pencil
Y Then they will add details and shading
with the charcoal/black colored pencil
Y Next, students will add highlights with
white chalk pastel
Y Optional: add color accents with one or
two colored pastels
the
Pelican
Pencil
Sketch
Steps
Pencil
Sketch
Steps
Charcoal/
Black
Colored
Pencil
Steps
Top Row: Trace pencil outlines with charcoal/black colored pencil.
Press hard to make a very dark line.
Bottom Row: Fill in the darkest areas, making sure to leave space for the
eye highlight. Add details, starting with the feathers.
Charcoal/
Black
Colored
Pencil
Steps
Top Row: Add shading to the wings using varying pressure
(press harder for darker shadows, press lighter for greys)
Bottom Row: Add shadows to the underside of the neck, belly,
and tail to give the pelican shape. Sign your name in the lower right.
Top Row: Add highlights to the top of the head, beak, neck and eye.
Add some light background elements to suggest clouds or ocean.
Pastel Steps
Bottom Row: Add highlights to the feathers, then add some reflected light
to the underside of the pelican. Optional: add color to the beak.
Flamingo
the
Pencil
Sketch
Steps
Pencil
Sketch
Steps
Charcoal/
Black Colored
Pencil Steps
Top Row:
Trace pencil outlines
with charcoal/black
colored pencil. Press
hard to make a very
dark line.
Bottom Row:
Fill in the darkest
areas, leaving space
for the eye highlight.
Add details, starting
with the feathers.
Charcoal/
Black
Colored
Pencil
Steps
Left: Add shadows to the underside of the neck, belly, and wings to
give the flamingo shape. Use varying pressure (press harder for darker
shadows, press lighter for greys)
Right: Add a cast shadow to the ground below the flamingo. Sign your
name in the lower right.
White
Pastel
Steps
Left: Add a highlight stripe along the top of the body, then gently
smooth it with your finger. Add some light background elements to
suggest ocean waves.
Right: Add highlights to the top of the beak, head, neck, and feet. Then
add highlights to the front of the chest, feathers, thigh and knees. Next,
add some reflected light to the underside of the flamingo.
Colored
Pastel
Steps
Students will choose one color to enhance their flamingo.
Add the color in stripes alongside the white highlights, then gently
smooth the color stripes with a finger. Be careful not to blend the color
into the white or black areas.
Aesthetic Valuing
Y Discuss the colors, shapes and texture
in your drawing.
Y Does the portrait demonstrate an action?
How was that possible to draw?
Y What do you like best about your
drawing?
American White Pelican
Continuing Education
Y Learn more about the works of John
James Audubon. An original Birds of
America is part of the permanent
collection at the Huntington Library.
Y Visit Palos Verdes Library to view the
many suggested books and references
contained in the lesson plan.
Y Visit www.audubon.org/birds-of-america
to view hundreds of high-resolution
Audubon illustrations online.
Blue Jay