How to Draw A Cartoon Parrot filled with subtle colors

Learning to draw a cartoon parrot can be a fun thing to try. This intelligent bird is well known for being able to mimic human speech. Who hasn't seen a movie with a parrot standing on a pirate's shoulders while repeating everything this one is saying?

They might not be able to say all the things you can hear in movies, but they are intelligent enough to associate simple words and create meaningful sentences. That's quite fascinating coming from such a small animal. Let's see how we can draw a parrot quickly and easily using the lesson found below.

Starting with the head and beak

First, you can start by sketching a simple neck using an irregular shape. Notice how the top and the bottom are sharp and pointed. For the beak, you can start by drawing a small rectangle near the head. Then, sketch a triangular shape to illustrate the tip of the beak. Once you are done, you can proceed with the next step.

Adding more shapes to form the body

Below the head, you can sketch another large rectangle to represent the body. This one can be slightly larger than the head. Under the top of the beak, you can draw the second part below using a small rectangle. Great! This cartoon parrot is already recognizable.

Completing our guideline using more rectangles

Let's continue building a template for this parrot by adding more rectangles below the body. First, create a wing from a long and thin rectangle. Feet are made from additional small rectangles. One last rectangle (still long and thin) is required to form the tail.

Polishing the silhouette of the animal using smooth lines

We can now use long curved lines to polish the silhouette of the character. Indeed, all previous shapes were created to help us work on proportions and the posture of the subject.

You can start by drawing the head as shown below. Near the bottom of the head, small triangles made from curved lines can be added. For the beak, more long curved lines are used.

Working on the body, the tail and the wing

It's now time to work on the bottom part of the animal. You still need to use long curved lines to create this part of the subject. Make sure that the tip of the wing and the tail are pointed. Another pattern made from broken line is added near the neck.

Drawing the eye and the feet

Inside the head, sketch a large circle to form the eye of the cartoon parrot. The pupil is made from a small dot. Next, sketch the feet using small curved lines. A branch made from irregular lines is also added below the feet.

creating simple patterns inside the cartoon parrot

Using mostly thin lines, you can draw simple patterns inside the character. These patterns will be used to add various colors to the creature. You can draw a patch around the eye and small lines inside the wing and the tail. Nice! It's time to proceed with colors!

adding plain colors to the character

Parrots are usually colorful and filled with bright colors. However, they can also be filled with just a few subtle colors like our subject below. For this lesson, the animal is mostly filled with a light blue color. The body and patches on the wing and tail are colored in beige. For the beak and the feet, a subtle orange color is used.

working with gradients to complete this lesson

One simple way to create more depth and volume inside a drawing is to use gradients. Notice how most body parts are now darker near the bottom and brighter on top. If you don't have access to a vector application, this effect can easily be done manually too.

I hope you had fun with this cute animal. More adorable cartoon parrots can be drawn below. Enjoy these additional resources and don't forget to practice often. :)