In an interview with David Sibley at the Borzoi Reader, Sibley describes his technique he uses when illustrating birds. "I start with a mental image or a field sketch and work on the shape of the bird. I usually just do one sketch but sometimes two or three before I’m happy with the proportions and the pose, then I put the sketch into a special projector I have (called an Artograph RT210—my indispensable studio tool). The projector allows me to project an image onto a sheet of paper and to adjust the size to get the position right, so I can project multiple sketches of a bird in different poses and correct the sizes as I arrange them on the finished plate. Or project one sketch with good proportions and change the posture as I trace the projected image at different spots on the plate—stretch the neck up, raise the tail, change the legs, etc. I usually make a very rough outline sketch on the plate and work on the details in the painting. I find that as long as the outline is accurate, I can fill in the details as I go and develop a good illustration. If the outline is wrong, there is no fixing it in the painting."

"In painting I use opaque watercolors, or gouache, and work in mostly transparent layers until I reach the desired color and texture. . .”