Oil Pastel Bird Drawing in 3 Easy Steps

Bring a little colour and calm to your day with this quick oil pastel project. Perfect for beginners, this simple bird drawing helps you get comfortable with layering, blending, and shaping using just a few colours. Follow along step by step - you’ll be surprised how easily it comes together!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

You only need a few things to get started:

Pastel Pad: the textured surface helps your colours blend smoothly
Pencils: for sketching your outline before you start colouring.
Oil Pastels: pick a few bright and dark shades for contrast.

STEP 1

Start by sketching two small birds on textured oil paper in pencil. Sketch the birds in the centre of the page – they look a little bit like upside down tear drops. Then draw a line between the birds to represent the wire the birds are sitting on.

STEP 2

Apply a first layer of black, then dark blue, then light blue then yellow and working from dark to light, blend towards the centre of the page with your thumb. Add more layers for extra depth and texture.

STEP 3

Make sure you have a sharp edge on your black pastel. Fill in the birds and add your wire – the pencil line you drew earlier. You’re done! Is it a success? Don’t worry if not, try again on a fresh sheet of paper.