So while working on this I had the thought “I should redraw this in pencil, for comparison’s sake.” If I hadn’t been at work surrounded by coworkers, I might have slapped myself for ignoring the point of this exercise.
I kind of lost the mental thread with the feathers, and in a perfect world I might have done more with the muzzle, but it was getting muddy as it was, but it’s good for my second attempt. I’m satisfied.