Establishing a visual plane

Getting the reflection started in the foreground makes it a bit easier to establish the plane of the waters surface. In order for this drawing to work it's critical that this looks correct. Another consideration is making sure the bird appears to be above this plane. The distance between the birds claw and the beginning of the reflection helps develop this height from the surface. The bald eagle drawing can be seen here as well. I often work on two or more drawings at one time.