How To Draw A Blue Jay (Easy Step By Step Guide)
Although blue jays are really smart birds, what makes them so attractive is the fact that they actually aren’t blue in color. It’s actually a light trick that makes it seem like it’s blue.
These birds can even live for a long time where the oldest blue jay bird is known to have lived for more than 25 years. There are plenty of interesting facts that make this bird so attractive but its design is definitely one worth drawing.
So, if you’re here to learn how to draw a blue jay step by step with detailed instruction, I have the perfect guide for you.
This tutorial will show you exactly how to begin your drawing of a blue bird and color it to resemble the picture closely.
If you’re ready to get started, let’s take a quick look at our reference first.
Reference
For this drawing, here’s the blue jay that we will be attempting to draw.
It has a beautfiul set of feathers with lines that run down. It’s head is a mixture of different colors and shades that make it look like a pattern. It has a relatively short beak compared to other birds.
For this drawing, we’ll start by drawing the beak, moving onto the head, the feathers, and then the feat.
We will also include the wood that the bird is standing on just for extra details.
Steps For Drawing A Blue Jay Bird
Step 1
As mentioned, we’ll begin by drawing the beak of a blue jay. Draw a leaf shape as shown above and draw a line in the middle.
Step 2
From the top of the beak on the left point, draw a curved line coming out for the head and then draw a another pointed shape like this.
On the lower end of the beak, draw a line in an angle making sure it’s aligned with the line of the beak.
Step 3
Now connect this line to the top of the head by drawing a line like this. You’ll notice that it’s not a perfectly curved line but it does become wavy in certain places.
Step 4
Then next thing we should do is add details to the head to make it look like the actual bird. You can do this by drawing an almond shape for the eye and then filling the head with these lines.
Step 5
Head over to the top of the head again and draw this uneven line going down.
Step 6
Now it’s time to work on the actually body of the blue jay.
Begin by continuing the line you had just drawn in the previous step and then head over to the left side and draw a line that curves in and then curves out.
Try to leave a good distance in between these two lines.
Step 7
Continue extending these lines by drawing them further down but also making them narrow in towards each other. This part of the bird is going to be smaller than the rest of the body.
Step 8
You’ll then want to start drawing the tail of the bird. You can do this by drawing a set of lines but making one look like it’s resting on top of the other.
You’ll then want to add a bit more detail to the tail by drawing a few horizontal lines down these feathers..
Don’t forget to draw the line below that to indicate the other part of the blue jay’s body. On that line, draw two lines to indicate the starting of the feet.
Step 9
Go ahead and add these long lines for the bird’s feet. You can see one that is more angled than the other.
Step 10
Finish off your blue jay bird by drawing the rest of the feet as done over here.
As you can see, the second foot is slightly hidden by the first so be sure to add in this detail and your bird is almost complete (there’s still the feather details to add).
If you want to stop here, you absolutely can but if you want to make it look like this blue jay is standing on something, go ahead to the next step.
Step 11
To draw the wood piece that the blue jay is standing on, draw an uneven oval making sure to connect the feet lines to it.
Step 12
Draw two lines down that come into an angle on either side of that oval.
Step 13
The last step is to add in the feather details of the body. As you can see, there are a few curved shapes drawing in over here to make it look like the feathers.
There are also a few details added such as the horizontal lines to continue the pattern to make the bird resemble the reference.
Go ahead and add these details to make your blue jay drawing look complete and you’re done.
Step 14
Here’s what your blue jay will look like if you had to add a bit of color. I chose to go with a light shade of blue/purple while alternating between a few darker shades here and there.
With or without color, this bird drawing still looks gorgeous and I think you made an excellent choice in choosing to draw this bird along with us.
Pin This For Later
Conclusion
Drawing a blue jay was easier than I thought even though there is quite a bit of detail that is required. I would say the hardest thing about this drawing is getting the feathers right.
But overall I’m pleased with the way this drawing turned out. If there are other birds you would like to learn to draw, leave us a comment and let us know your options.
I hope you found this tutorial on how to draw a blue jay easy enough.
Before I let you go, I would love to recommend a few more drawing tutorials that you might find interesting as well:
