in drawing

Birb Fest 2026

Project details
Achievement
First completion of a month-long drawing challenge
Materials
  • Talens Art Creation sketchbook
  • Holbein acryla gouache
  • Posca paint markers
Hashtags
  • #BirbFest
  • #BirbFest2026

This January I participated in Birb Fest for the first time! This month-long drawing challenge is hosted annually by Monkey Mintaka, who selects a list of birds to draw.

In praise of shortlists

I decided to participate using the weekly shortlist. Daily drawing challenges are too much for me in this season of life, what with taking care of an infant and trying to hold myself together amidst the collapse of society.

Birbfest 206 Shortlist - Draw a Birb Every Thursday: 1st Bronzewing Pigeon, 8th Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, 15th Short-Eared Owl, 22nd Galah Cockatoo, 29th Red Junglefowl

The shortlist ended up being perfect for me! I was able to return to my sketchbook weekly because the parameters were decided for me in advance: the subject matter, the materials I planned to use, and the style I wanted to employ across drawings. Having a weekly instead of daily challenge worked so well for me that I think I will apply it in the future:

  • For example, picking my favorite Peachtober prompt for a given week, instead of doing them all (meaning, not doing any of them)
  • Setting my own month-long sketchbook projects with a weekly prompt

My drawings

Without further ado, here’s what I drew!

A square sketchbook spread: on the left, a muted green background with a white speckled egg in the foreground. Around the egg are the words 'Birbfest 2026' and little bird print icons. On the right is a On the right is a pigeon in graphic Posca marker shapes, surrounded by a quilty border. The pigeon is gray with blue, pink, green, and purple details, and it sits on a shell pink background.

Week 1: Bronze-Wing Pigeon

Left page: a Posca drawing of a red and black bird with a big red poof on its head. It's sitting on a thin branch. In the corners are red, black, and white rectangular motifs with sparkles on the inside of each corner. Right page: a cream and brown owl in flight. In the corners are brown and cream sort of feathery motifs.

Weeks 2–3: Andean Cock-of-The-Rock, Short-Eared Owl

Left: a parrot-like bird in shades of pink, white, and grey. The corners have pink crenallated motifs that kind of look like fans. On the right is a rooster-looking bird of many colors. The page border is a series of bars in the colors of the bird; it kind of looks like LEGO bricks all lined up.

Weeks 4–5: Galah, Red Junglefowl

Photo reference credit

Reflection

Close up of the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock
  • I had planned to do a quilt motif around each bird (as I had done for the pigeon), but I’m glad I switched up the corner / border motifs to suit each bird.
  • My favorite drawings were of the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock and the Galah. These were both more graphically strong and simpler than some of the other birds, but they still ended up with some personality.
  • I enjoyed how forgiving Posca pens were for this, as I reworked some areas I didn’t quite like on the first pass.
  • Taking photos of my sketchbook continues to be a struggle for me; I never quite like how it turns out. I’d scan the pages but don’t like that look either, hmm.
Close up of the Galah

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