Male Lesser Birds of Paradise

Male Lesser Birds of Paradise

I bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab A last week. It has got an S-Pen which I could use for drawing or digital painting. After making some sketches of basic shapes, I decided to draw a bird. I used Autodesk Sketchbook free edition to create the drawing.
I haven't bought the professional version of the application but I feel that the free edition is powerful enough to create complex drawings. The bird that you see in this post is called male Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). It lives in the jungle of New Guinea particularly in the lowland and lower montane forests. Local people call it Burung Cendrawasih or Burung Kuning. Male birds are usually active in the mornings and in the afternoons. They compete one another to attract female birds for mating.
Paradise birds have been hunted since hundreds of years ago for their beautiful feather. It is important for us to protect them so that they will not extinct from their natural habitat. 

Watercolor Painting of male Lesser Birds of Paradise

As a tourist guide, I often organize birdwatching tour to the forest of Klasow valley in Sorong regency - West Papua province of Indonesia for birdwatchers who want to see birds of paradise and other tropical birds. If you are interested in taking a hiking and birding tour, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com
Here is the watercolor painting male Lesser Birds of Paradise which I have drawn and painted since three days ago. First, I created its sketch after studying the anatomy of the birds based on some photographs, drawings and videos. I also have seen the bird a lot of times when I guide birdwatchers in Arfak mountains of Manokwari, Klasow valley of Sorong regency and in Tambrauw mountains.
After making the sketch, I added colors on to it using Derwent watercolourpencils. For his yellow head and neck, I used Deep Cadmium 6. For his dark brown chest, stomach and tail, I washed it with Burnt Yellow Ochre 60 in combination with Sepia 53 for the feather lines. I gave Kingfisher Blue 38 for the bill and Mineral Green 45 for the his throat.
The branch of a tree where the paradise bird was perching consisted of 2 main colors, i.e. Emeral Green 46 for the leaves and Bottle Green 43 for their lines. The wooden branch was colored with Burnt Yellow Ochre 60 and Copper Beech 61 for the bark lines. The legs of the bird were colored with Kingfisher Blue 38.

Male Lesser Birds of Paradise

Because I used the picture for my Tropical Art Shop in Zazzle, I had to import the artwork into Adobe Photoshop and removed its background. So, it can be printed on a lot of products such as t-shirts, mugs, and towel.
I hope that all of you like this watercolor painting and are interested in ordering some products in my Redbubble Paradise Bird artworks too. Just click the drawing above to see my portfolios.

Lesser Bird of Paradise - a pencil sketch

I have just created a pencil sketch of a male Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). This is not a final drawing of the bird. I used Staedtler 2B graphite pencil to do the drawing.
I still have to refine it and add some colors using my Derwent Watercolour Pencils. I also plan to make the digital version of the sketch using Inkscape. I don't know how long it will take to finish the artwork. It can be 3 days or even 1 week. I cannot stay for a whole day coloring the sketch.

My pencil sketch of male Lesser Birds of Paradise 

In the previous article about Paradise Birds, I said that most of them live in tropical rainforest of New Guinea. They like to dance in the mornings and in the afternoon. They mate with many partners. Because of their beautiful feather, they have been hunted by human for centuries.
Paradise birds, together with other birds, disperse seeds of the fruits which they eat to all corners of the forest. This is a very important role in preserving rainforest.
Rainforest absorbs CO2 gases that we emit from our cars, motorcycles, stoves and cigarettes and at the same time releases Oxygen that we breathe every second. Therefore we must preserve rainforest, protect paradise birds and other wild animals in the jungle.

Male Lesser Birds of Paradise

I have just uploaded this vector drawing into my Redbubble online store that I created using Inkscape. It is a male Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). The bird lives in tropical rainforest of New Guinea. As a tourist guide, I organize hiking and birding tours in the jungle of Klasow valley and Arfak mountains to watch the birds of paradise, cuscus possum and other wild animals that make the tropical rainforest of West Papua as their natural habitat. If you are interested in taking hiking and birding tour in the forest of Klasow valley of Sorong regency of West Papua - Indonesia, please contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Male Lesser Birds of Paradise

Male Lesser Birds of Paradise have to perform courtship dance to attract his female birds for mating. This dance is usually performed early in the mornings and in the afternoons before sunset. The dance performance has been an interesting tourist attraction. I have guided hundreds of nature lovers and birdwatchers on a hiking and birding trip in Arfak mountains for visitors who want to watch the paradise birds. The duration of the rainforest tour is usually between 3 to 4 days. We will stay in tents or the villagers houses (depending on the location that we are heading to). 

Birds of paradise and other birds are the guardian of the rainforest. They disperse seeds from the fruits that they eat throughout the forest. Tropical rainforest ecosystem is very important in our life because it absorbs CO2 gases which we emit every day from cars, motorcycles, and stoves. At the same time, the rainforest releases Oxygen which we breathe every second.

Now you could order this digital illustration as printed materials on various Redbubble products such as T-shirts, hoodie, iPhone case, and duvet cover or even Drawstring bag and spiral notebook. Please, click this Lesser Birds of Paradise Redbubble for more info.