In this video I walk you through my full process for painting a Northern Flicker in watercolour—from the first sketch all the way to the finished background. I’m doing this one as part of a small bird series I’m hoping to eventually get printed as cards, so I’m thinking about clean shapes, readable values, and colours that still feel natural but pop a bit on paper. I start with the sketch (0:00–5:05), focusing on getting the proportions and key landmarks in place before I commit to paint. Then I move into the main painting (5:05–21:56), building the bird up in layers and using a limited set of colours: Neutral Tint, Yellow Ochre, Pyrrol Scarlet, Sap Green, Raw Umber, and Cadmium Orange Hue. After the bird is established, I finish things off with the background (21:56–26:35) to help the subject stand out and feel more complete. If you’re looking for a straightforward bird tutorial you can follow along with, this one shows the whole workflow in a simple, practical way.