Please PAUSE the "How to Draw a Goldfinch" video after each step to draw at your own pace.

 

Time-Lapse (Speed Drawing) video:

 

Written step-by-step video tutorial:

 

For the first few steps, don't press down too hard with your pencil. Use light, smooth strokes to begin.

 

Step 1: Draw a circle as a guide for the goldfinch's body. First draw four marks for the height and width of the circle, then connect the marks using curved lines. The circle doesn't have to be perfect. It's just a guide. If you do want a perfect circle, trace the outer rim of a glass, a coin or anything else circular.

 

Step 2: Draw another circle on the top, right side as a guide for the goldfinch's head. This circle should be smaller than the first, and their edges should touch.

 

Step 3: Draw two intersecting lines inside the goldfinch's head. The tip of the triangle shape should almost line up with the horizontal construction line inside the head.

 

Step 4: Draw a triangle- like shape on the right side of the head as a guide for the beak. The tip of the triangle shape should almost align with the horizontal construction inside the head.

 

Step 5: Draw a few more lines to complete the guide for the goldfinch's body. Start with a couple of short, curved lines at the top for the neck. Then draw a big U-shaped arc on the lower, left side as a guide for the lower half of the body.

---

 

Step 6: Draw a couple of long lines on the lower, left side of the body as a guide for the goldfinch's tail. This guide is similar to a really long and skinny letter V that's tilted to the side.

 

Step 7: Draw the guide for the goldfinch's legs, starting with a short line, then add a curved line that's similar to the letter C on its side.

 

That's it for the initial sketch! From this point on, press harder with your pencil to get a more defined sketch.

 

Step 8: Draw the goldfinch's eye as a small circle inside the head using the initial lines as guides for placement. Add a tiny circle inside the eye, off to the side, to represent glare and a big dot in the middle for the pupil. Shade the rest of the eye using a lighter value than the pupil. Draw a bumpy line around the eye for the bare skin found there.

 

Step 9: Use the triangle-like shape on the right as a guide to draw the goldfinch's beak. First draw a series of quick, short strokes on the left side for the feathery base of the beak. Then darken the top line of the triangle- like shape to create the top part of the beak. Draw a line in the middle for the mouth and follow the guide for the bottom of the beak but draw the line a bit higher up.

---

 

Step 10: Use the initial circle as a guide to draw the goldfinch's head. Follow the outside path of the guides as you darken the lines to create the shape of the head. Make the top, right side of the head (the forehead) curve out a bit more than the guides. Draw a diagonal line across the head made up of quick, short strokes for the color separation of the feathers.

 

Step 11: Draw the top part of the goldfinch's folded wing using a series of curved lines on the left side of the body. Now draw quick, short strokes in the shape of an upside-down V for the top-most part of the folded wing.

 

Step 12: Now draw the bottom part of the wing on the lower, left side of the body using a few diagonal lines. Follow the path of the guides and draw two shapes that are thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom. The tip of the lower shape should extend down toward the guide for the goldfinch's tail.

 

Step 13: Use the guide at the bottom to draw the leg that's on this side by first drawing a feathery base using quick, short strokes. Now make the top part of the goldfinch's leg thicker as you follow the path of the guide. Use the C-shaped line as a guide to draw the curled toes. There's a total of three toes overlapping each other in the front.

 

Step 14: Draw the leg on the other side of the body by using the goldfinch's first leg as a template. Most of this foot is blocked by the first foot, so only draw the visible portion.

---

 

Step 15: Darken the outer edges of the initial guides to create the shape of the goldfinch's body. Use quick, short strokes on the bottom of the body for the fluffy feathers.

 

Step 16: Use the thin arc on the lower, left side as guide to draw the goldfinch's tail. Follow the basic path of the guide but make the tail shape thinner as you darken the lines. Add a few more diagonal lines within the shape of the tail for the individual feathers.

 

Step 17 (optional): Draw a circle made up of small, jagged lines under the feet to give the goldfinch a stick to stand on.

 

Step 18 (optional): For a cleaner look, erase as much as you can of the initial guide lines. Don't worry about erasing all of the guides. It's okay to leave some behind. Re-draw any final sketch lines that you may have accidentally erased.

 

Step 19 (optional): Goldfinches are colorful, so instead of the usual shading, try coloring your drawing. Using gray, add some shading to give the drawing more dimension and volume. Pick the direction of the light source so that you draw the shadows consistently. Shadows are generally at the cool end of the color spectrum, so add some blue to the shadows.

Use black for the top part of the head to make this an American goldfinch. Use black on the wing as well but leave a strip near the middle and a section on the tip blank. Goldfinches have a very rich black color on their feathers, so push down hard with your pencil to achieve this.

Use orange lightly on the shadows, feet and beak to further emphasize the shape. Now use some yellow-orange on the shadows and a bit on the goldfinch's body as well. Now add yellow all over the body (except the black sections) and right on top of the shadows as well. Push down hard with the yellow color to blend in all the color on the shadows. You can also continue using brown on the shadows as you add the yellow to further emphasize the shape.

Color the tip and outer edge of the goldfinch's tail black too. Use pink and peach right on top of the previous orange for the feet and beak. Use a bit of brown on the beak and feet as well to emphasize the shadows. Use light and dark brown for the stick.

Thanks for visiting! Subscribe to the How2DrawAnimals YouTube Channel for new tutorials.

To learn how to draw popular cartoon characters, visit EasyDrawingTutorials.com.

 

RELATED TUTORIALS

 

Visit the Amazon affiliate links below for helpful books that you can use as reference when drawing birds!