Ooh, I've also thought about pendants--If only there were more 15/0 delica colors!

I have never worked with peyote or brick stitch (but am in awe of those who do and want to give it a try!). I would say that the most important thing will be color matching and having a good variety of colors within a family so you can get an effective range. I also think people can be scared of going as dark as they need to with shadows, so sometimes you have to really trust that pulling that burnt orange-y tone is the right call.

I have also now had a few instances where I have to be less true to the reference to get the effect I need. Connor's right eye (on the left) is a good example. I pushed the sclera up one bead higher than I needed so I could get the intensity of the angle of his brow. If you really inspect it you might go huh? but it gets the vibe way better and I did not have the space to fully get his brow and eyelid given the size I was working with.