• Disclosure & Privacy Policy

Pamela Groppe Art

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Painting Workshops
  • Contact

Free Painting Tutorial

Paint a Hummingbird

How to Paint a Hummingbird, step by step tutorial on painting a beautiful hummingbird in acrylics. Beginner friendly!

I know you are going to love how to paint a hummingbird!  You might have thought that it was an intimidating feat but really when you break it down one stroke at a time it is much easier than you imagine.


Hummingbirds come in so many different colors and even shapes that you can have a great time painting up a few.  Soon I will do a collection of designs with hummingbirds included so practice getting the hang of it and the paintings will be so much easier for you.

Inspiration

I took a photo of a hummingbird and made a sketch of it. Then I transferred it to my paper.   You can see the other hummingbird I painted in the video on the left.  He is slightly different than the one we are painting today.

Head and Back

I start filling in with the green on his head and upper back.  You can paint these any size you like so use a brush that fits or you are comfy with to paint the area.

I run a line of green along the top edge of the wing and down his back, I make spiky strokes with the chisel edge of my brush to emulate feathers.


Embrace Variations

You see he has more green on his back than the hummer on the left.
Also the red on his face is in a different spot, that is how it is, look at photos of hummers, you will find all sort of markings on them so roll with it and try a few.

Throat

Add the Alizarin Crimson on his thorat. Just fill it in with gentle strokes.

Tummy

Paint his tummy area white, no worries on exactness as many of your on coming strokes will overlap the tummy.

Wings

Now on to his wings.  I double load grey and white onto my brush by dipping each corner in a color and blending it into my brush by stroking it back and forth on the palette until the color blend towards the center.

Leading with the white edge of the brush I flick strokes on loosely to create his feathers. (the video gives you a good idea of how I do that)


Tail

I use the same chisel edge strokes to with grey and white for his tail which is swooping forward instead of just facing down.

Building with Strokes

Overlap the grey strokes with green chisel strokes on both the tail and wings.


Shading

Shade along his body towards his back with the double load of gray and white, leading with the white edge.  You can use a liner if you need more control for the beak but paint it with black and so it comes to a point.

 

Push thru the Ugly Stage

There is always a point when things look messy, don’t get discouraged, the details make it come to life.   Just keep on going.

The Eye

Now add the eye. This can be the tricky part for me and can make or break your painting.  The eye is what gives it life
Start with a black dot a third of the way back from the beak.  With your liner brush, outline it with the thinnest line you can of white.


Now add a tough of highlight of white to the top of the black dot to give it a spark.


There you have your hummingbird.
Here is the video for the hummer on the left…

Happy Painting!

Supplies

For the hummingbird in this tutorial and in the video (it is a different hummingbird in the video) I used these colors:
DecoArt Americana:
Titanium White
Avocado Green
Neutral Gray (you can also just mix up a gray with your black and white if you wish)
Alizarin Crimson
Black
#8 Flat brush
Brush Basin
I am painting on my Canson Mixed Media paper.
Painting Book I am loving right now…Painting Butterflies and Blooms

How to Paint a Hummingbird, one stroke at a time in acrylics. Easy step by step tutorial with video.


2 Comments

« Let’s Paint a Snowman
Paint Texas Bluebonnets »

Comments

  1. Super Mom - No Cape! says

    January 21, 2018 at 9:50 am

    This is so beautiful! I love hummingbirds.

    Reply
  2. Mother of 3 says

    January 21, 2018 at 2:44 pm

    These are the cutest little hummingbirds! I love them. Pinned.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join me for all kinds of artful Fun!

Welcome to my Art Website. I dabble in all kinds of art and would be happy for you to join me. I create with Craft Acrylics, Artist Acrylics, Oils and Glass paint.

Free Rose on Glass e-Book

Sign up for free e-book

Thank you! Please be sure to confirm by clicking on the link sent to you via email.

Sign up for free e-book

Signup for our latest painting news!

Top Posts

  • How to Paint a Large Red Poppy
  • How to Paint Sunflowers for Beginners
  • Paint a Hummingbird
  • Paint Pretty Pink Roses
  • How to Paint Pansies on Glass
Follow on Instagram
pamelagroppe.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

I love it when you share my ideas and tutorials! Please just keep in mind that all images and text on this site are property of pamelagroppe.com, unless otherwise stated and regardless of whether photos are watermarked or not. Feel free to use one photo provided that the photo links back to my original post and a text link noting it is by pamelagroppe.com directly above or below photo. Please do not remove any watermarks, crop, or edit any of my images without first obtaining written permission from me. All free printables offered are for personal use only. Pinning is always welcome and appreciated! Thank you!

Copyright © 2018 · Divine theme by Restored 316