Random drawing with a bird

So if you follow me you might know of my beloved roommate who is also cockatiel... I like to find as many opportunities/reasons as I can to draw him

Anyway, this was intended to be a quickish and fun sketch to mess about with styling and colour.

1 - using a thickish brush, Kyle's Guache Go Go brush at 40px, I sketch out a rough body shape.

2 - When im happy with the approximate shape I begin refining the main areas of detail.... I don't worry too much as i often go back with colour and refine in the later steps.

3 - I continue refining, I typically down the opacity on the bottom layers replacing them with refined and opaque layers.....

4 - colour palettes are still something I am working on, creating eye popping and attractive palettes.... i tend to go for subtle tones which tends to leave my illustrations lacking a pop factor.

5 - I finalise my illustration by deepening the tones, increasing contrast and adding some flair to the background.... and adding freckles because they are cute!

a critique of my own work ;\

• Her lips don't seem to match the illustrative style of the rest of the image....perhaps their form is to prominent or outlined?
• I should explore shading, perhaps do studies form real life, to make the image pop.
• Background is boring?

I hope everyone is having a lovely day!