Friday, December 20, 2019

A Digital Drawing of Male Lesser Birds of Paradise

I have just checked folders of my wildlife drawings to find any sketches or drawings that I haven't uploaded onto this blog. There are some of them. So, tonight, I upload a digital drawing of a Male Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). This tropical bird lives in lowland and lower montane rainforest of New Guinea. It is a unique forest that is very rich with various species of trees, lianas, flower plants, bamboos and mushrooms. West Papua province of Indonesia where I live, this paradise bird has become an important target of observations among tourists whom I guide in the forest. 
Paradise bird graphic art by Charles Roring
Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)
To create the above drawing, I started by making a sketch using graphite pencil on paper. After making some necessary corrections, I filled the sketch with colours. WWhen it was ready, I redrew it using a tablet and stylus. The Android app that I used was Autodesk Sketchbook. The final drawing is presented above.
some products with printed digital illustration of birds of paradise
Drawing of Male Lesser Birds of Paradise
I often organize tours for visitors to rainforest of Klasow valley of Sorong regency Tambrauw Mountains and Susnguakti forest in Manokwari. We spend 3 to 4 days hiking and exploring the forest to see birds, reptiles, insects, and some mammals. There are a lot of birds that we watch including Magnificent Riflebird, King Bird of Paradise, Hooded Butcherbird, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Shining Flycatcher, Northern Variable Pitohui, Spangled Drongo, Eclectus Parrot, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Brown Cuckoo Dove, Hooded Pitohui, Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot, Helmetted Friarbiard, Superb Druit Dove, Papuan Dwarf Kingfisher, Black-capped Lory, and etc.
Birding Equipment
To increase the chance of seeing colorful birds, I bring a Kinglux 20-60×60 mm spotting scope, a pair of Visionking 10×42mm roof prism binoculars, laser pointer. I also bring loudspeaker with a smartphone that contains the recording of bird sounds. Sometimes, I play some bird sounds to attract them.
When the birds are in close range, I use my camera to photograph them. They become my main reference when I make manual and digital drawings of birds that I present in this blog. 

Bird and Wildlife Art

My bird and Wildlife art is now available as prints on t-shirts, mugs, iPhone cases, stickers, spiral notebook, tote bags, pillows, and etc. Please, support this blog by buying some of them at this link: Bird of Paradise

Monday, December 9, 2019

Beautiful Fruit Dove

I often travel to Raja Ampat islands to guide tourists on a birdwatching and snorkeling tour for 3 to 5 days or even more. During the tour, we watch Red Bird of Paradise, Hooded Butcherbird, Eclectus Parrot, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Claret-breasted Fruit Dove, Beautiful Fruit Dove, and a lot more. 
Here is my watercolour sketch of the Beautiful Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus pulchellus)
Beautiful Fruit Dove in Waigeo Island
Beautiful Fruit Dove in Waigeo island
When I accompany tourists on snorkeling tours, we go by motorized boat to islands in Kabui bay, Dampier Strait and northeast coast of Waigeo. We swim over coral reef and see a lot of tropical fish including butterflyfish, wrasse, parrotfish, and a lot more.