Rather than draw the macaw, I decided to draw a family member … for most of my childhood, we had an African Grey parrot named Ramses. He was kind of a pain sometimes, but could also be very sweet. And he cursed like a sailor (which he learned from my mom). 

Making suggestions of feathers, instead of rendering every single one (which I’ve done in the past) was liberating, and I’m happy with the way it looks.