Thanks for the post pistachio, glad you noticed the lack of single-pixel detail, it's how I prefer to do things. Not totally committed to matching the exact silhouette of the reference or anything. How do you feel about the neck shading on this one? The reference pelican seems to have a fairly flat-colored neck and I think this way better emulates the subtlety of it. I think I'm a little too out of my element to go ahead with the ocean background at this time, though considering this piece is a little older and I'm just now attempting to give the rock justice I may do the same for the water later on.
As for the rock:
Don't have a lot of experience with it- not sure if a better iteration is within my grasp. I think maybe the colors don't totally meld together. I'm content for now