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Bird Ward is a freelance illustrator in Cincinnati who designs Audubon’s 2022 Let’s Go Birding Together collection. Their work focuses on the natural world—not just birds, but also plants, fungi, and mammals. In addition to commercial illustration and graphic design, they are currently working with their partner on Camp Mustelid, a project dedicated to outdoor life. They especially love forest animals, camping, and, of course, birds—just like we all do. We recently spoke with Bird about their work and where they find inspiration. You can do it watch the full interview here. A curated version of that interview, edited for length and clarity, is included below.
How did you get started in illustration?
I’ve been drawing since I could pick up a pencil, but I got into illustration specifically when I was in college. I went to SVA (ed note: School of Visual Arts in New York City) specifically to study cartooning, but while I was there, I just fell more and more into the idea of creating single pieces that speak for themselves.
What got you interested in the natural world and birds?
MMy parents took me to nature centers all the time when I was growing up. We visited the Greenwich Audubon Nature Center in Connecticut, and I’ve worked at two other nature centers over the years. So that’s a really big influence on getting into wildlife. But otherwise, I’ve always just had that as a natural inclination in nature. For birds specifically, I have a professor at SVA named Mike Feller who is also the chief naturalist for the New York City Parks and Recreation Natural Resources Group. I saw that he was offering a class on bird evolution and I thought, “Oh, that’s great. I like birds. I like evolution.” And it ended up opening my eyes to the world of birding.
Where do you find inspiration?
My biggest inspiration, of course, is nature itself. But I was also really inspired by other artists. A lot of my friends are doing great wildlife work, like Jamie Green or Lee Ellison. And I also really like the work of Wyatt Grant and Brett Stenson. I’m also a big fan of the older field guides because I feel like they always draw the birds in an interesting way. The further you go, the less it’s like, “Well, it’s definitely not exact.” It’s fun to see how they interpret the bird without a lot of reference photos.
Can we talk about the process?
Bird: It’s a little different for each project. I start doing a lot of sketches based on the idea, and I get a lot of ugly sketches and things that aren’t very good. I also like to do them both on paper and digitally because I find I get different results from each. On paper, things will be more messy and raw, and I feel like I get better ideas that way. [With the Let’s Go Birding Together design], I did some sketches on paper, and once I felt like I had a good idea of what I was feeling, I moved to digital where things could be cleaner. Once I had the sketches, I showed them to the Audubon team, and then they helped me narrow down which ones they liked best and [provided feedback] like, “Oh, what if you put these two together?” Working with the client is a great way to get more ideas. From there I went with their advice and I chose a few versions to clean up, and then the Audubon team showed those back to their team. And then we narrowed it down until we got the right artwork and the right feel that they were looking for.
What are you doing now?
Bird: So right now I’m working on our Camp Mustelid collection—I guess you could call it for fall. We’re doing some sweater designs and some new hats and stuff, but I’m also doing a shirt design for Hawk Watch, which I’m really excited about.
What do you hope your viewers get from your art?
Bird: Thinking about having a big impact stresses me out, so I have a small goal in my art: I just want to inspire people to go out and explore the nature around them. Go out and find your favorite bird! Find your favorite animal! And I’ve had a few people say to me, “Oh, I’ve never heard of this animal you drew before.” And that makes me so happy because it’s like, “Oh my God, you know, about an animal because of me. Very good!”
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