Very good work!!!

Whatever you do, don’t lose the highlighted edge of the large feathers, that add great volume information to the body… Have you ever used masking film? This seems like the ideal situation for it, as the pencil pigment removal can be very subtle, but not after “fixing” the colour with any solvent, though.

And don’t be afraid to mix other blues, so the basic blue doesn’t look flat. Of course always test the combinations on a scrap piece of the same paper. Blues can be glorious used that way…!

This is a beautiful first CP practice piece!! As Frida said, different blues will add depth. Here’s a trick I use to figure out exactly which ones: cut scraps of the same paper into small squares with a hole in the middle. Place the scrap over a place on your ref photo you are trying to match the color, the color you are trying to match showing through the hole. Then use different pencils to layer on your scrap piece, trying to get as close to the color showing through the hole as possible. Isolating areas in this way is tedious, but you would be surprised how many different ranges of color you will discover. Then make notes on which colors and which order you arrived at. I hope this helps, and happy coloring!! I can’t wait to see more, this bird I beautiful!!!

I guess that in the confusion with your references at the beginning I missed the fact this was your “first ever CP drawing”… My apologies. You are doing great, and the important thing is that you are open to feedback! :thumbsup:

To amplify on what Kathy recommends for selecting colours, this is what I learned along the way. I usually use a separate strip for each piece, and note the # of the pencils around the hole, which comes in handy for something else:

What better endorsement than Karen’s??? If you know your way around WC look for her work WIPs. A CP Animal Encyclopedia…