Duck Stamp

What guided my artwork was the Duck Stamp Competition. We choose a species of duck from a list and draw it realistically. The judges would then choose the winner. I chose the bufflehead duck because it stood out to me how at some angles you can see just black and white but at others, you can see that its head is a bunch of different colors. 

How I created my artwork is that I started by researching my duck. Finding an appropriate picture that showed off its unique characteristics. Then I began sketching this art piece with a 2H pencil. After, I grabbed oil pastels and did the water. I was having a hard time making the water layered and for it not to be see-through. Then I grabbed colored pencils and added other features, like the feet and head. 

In the beginning, when starting this artwork the final product was not at all what I was picturing. I'm not very pleased with the outcome. Some things I wish I did differently are that I wish that I made the duck sit in the water and travel from left to right, I wish I used a different idea on how to do the wings, and I wish I chose watercolor paint as my background. Overall, it was done to the best of my abilities,  but I wish that I went some different routs when planning out my art piece.