How to Draw Hummingbird — Free Practice Sheets

A hummingbird is mostly a few strong shapes: a long thin beak, a rounded head, a small compact body, a short tail, and two wings held in different positions. This page walks you through tracing the reference outline, then drawing the contour independently, and finally comparing your work with the separate full reference sheet. The goal is to notice the bird's proportions and identifying features, not to match every pixel.

Start With the Beak and Head

Begin with the long thin beak pointing right, then attach the rounded head at its base. This anchor sets the bird's direction and scale before you add anything else. Keep the beak straight and narrow; a thick or curved beak changes the bird's character. The head should read as a small circle joined smoothly to the beak, not as a separate floating shape.

Once the head is placed, check that the beak length looks roughly equal to the head's width. That simple comparison keeps the proportions believable as you continue.

1. Draw the long thin beak pointing right.
2. Attach a rounded head at the beak's base.
3. Check that the beak is straight and narrow.

Build the Body and Tail

Add a compact oval body below and slightly behind the head, then a short tail extending from the lower rear. The body should feel small and dense, not stretched. The tail is short and simple, so avoid adding long streaming feathers unless your reference shows them.

Keep the body tilted so the bird reads as hovering or angled rather than standing upright. The head, body, and tail should form one connected silhouette with no gaps between them.

1. Draw a compact oval body below the head.
2. Add a short tail at the lower rear.
3. Connect head, body, and tail into one silhouette.

Place the Two Wings

Attach two spread wings with visible feather lines: one angled up behind the head and one extended to the left. The raised wing sits behind the head, so draw it first and let the head overlap it slightly. The extended wing reaches left and should be longer than the raised wing appears from this angle.

Add a few feather lines inside each wing rather than many small ones. A handful of lines suggesting feather direction is enough to make the wings readable.

1. Draw the raised wing angled up behind the head.
2. Draw the extended wing reaching to the left.
3. Add a few feather lines inside each wing.

Finish the Details and Compare

Add feather line details on the wings and body, plus a small tucked foot under the belly. Keep the foot tiny and close to the body. When you finish, compare your drawing with the separate full reference sheet and check the long thin straight beak pointing right, the two spread wings with visible feather lines, one raised and one extended left, the small compact body with short tail, and the tiny tucked feet.

Other drawings can be correct. Assess the visible features and proportions rather than pixel-perfect matching, and use the rubric below to guide your comparison.

1. Add feather lines on wings and body.
2. Draw a small tucked foot under the belly.
3. Compare your drawing with the full reference sheet.

Using the Grid and Partial Reference

When copying onto the blank grid, use matching grid intersections to place the beak tip, head, body, and wing tips. The grid helps you judge distance and angle, but the same feature checklist still applies. For the partial reference, complete the blank right-hand portion by continuing the beak, head, and extended wing from the visible left side, keeping the proportions consistent with what is already drawn.

1. Mark the beak tip, head, body, and wing tips at matching grid intersections.
2. Complete the blank portion by continuing the visible shapes.
3. Recheck the feature checklist before comparing.

Check your work

• The beak is long, thin, straight, and points right.
• The head is rounded and connects smoothly to the beak.
• The body is a compact oval with a short tail.
• Two spread wings are present, one raised behind the head and one extended left.
• Feather lines are visible on the wings and body.
• A small tucked foot appears under the belly.
• The overall proportions keep the bird small and dense.

Worked example

hummingbird: Trace the reference outline, then practise the contour independently. Compare with the separate full reference sheet.

Common mistakes

• Drawing the beak thick, short, or curved. Redraw the beak as a long, thin, straight line pointing right, roughly as long as the head is wide.
• Making the body large and stretched. Shrink the body to a compact oval and keep the tail short so the bird stays small and dense.
• Placing both wings on the same side or at the same angle. Angle one wing up behind the head and extend the other to the left, then add a few feather lines to each.

Questions and answers