Step 15: Go over the final sketch lines with a pen, marker or any other type of permanent ink. Take your time and be careful when you ink to avoid any accidents. After inking, get rid of every pencil mark with an eraser for a cleaner drawing.

Final Step: Color your mallard drawing! Use yellow as the base for the duck's bill with a bit of black at the tip. Blend in some yellow-orange on the beak. Add a bit more black to the right edge of the beak. Blend red and brown for the iris but don't overlap the tiny glare circle. Use black for the sides of the bird's eye.

Draw a line on the mallard's neck using dark green. Color the sides of the head dark green but leave the middle blank. Color lightly at first and gradually build up to the level of darkness that you like. Use yellow-green for the middle section so that the duck's head appears iridescent. Add a bit of blue too. Continue to add dark green and even some black to the sides to emphasize the shine in the middle.

Using brown, draw a line under the green section to create a white band. Then color the mallard's chest brown. Use a mixture of light brown, brown and dark brown for the chest. Start off lightly. Add some brown to the duck's wings too. Use a blend of browns for the bird's body too but make those colors lighter. The bottom edges of the duck's wings should be darker than the rest of the body. Leave the tail blank for now. It's a good idea to use reference as you color for a more accurate mallard duck. Color the tail dark brown with a bit of dark blue and black. Leave the feather sticking out blank.

To draw the mallard's reflection on the water's surface, use the same colors to draw the mirror image at the bottom. The reflection doesn't have to be perfect. Just draw the basic duck shape, upside-down and wavy, using the same colors as before. Using blue, go over all the colors to create a small section of water for the duck to float on.

Continue to gradually add more color to the water and blending it as you make it darker. Coloring can be time-consuming, so be patient and take breaks. The area of the water that's closest to the bird's body should be darkest. Use orange directly below the body on the right side for the foot that's underwater. Don't forget to pause the video after each step to draw at your own pace.

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