I was thinking nature today, and I wanted to try another way of drawing water, so I went looking for mallards.

I think the duck came out pretty well - I was fretting about all the little feathers and what that was going to look like, but I feel like patience paid off there.

For the water, I wanted to use a dark green along with the blue to indicate areas that were reflecting light versus areas in the shadows of a ripple in the surface of the water. I really don't think it worked at all for that. Instead it looks like Mr. Mallard is swimming through a bunch of algae, which I guess is all right - but it's not what I was aiming for. I think next time I will use blue and just make the shadowed areas darker and the lit areas brighter. 

Thanks!