@Matthew-Oberdier I agree with @Oana I think that the composition is nice, I love how dynamic the students are and how interesting the different components are. The mice are safe, so the teacher is relaxed, but i have a few questions understanding that this is a meeting about a mission to put a bell on the cat:
this is going to be a dangerous mission, what are the steps or at least how will he show the students the next step? and if it is a projector, how will that lighting affect the setting and the feel of the piece?
Why are the mice putting this plan together NOW at this moment in time? is it a new cat? a kitten they are worried about growing up to eat them in a few weeks? has the cat been around for a long time, and just recently been catching more mice than usual? did it have a bell before, but it came off? has the instructor or the students lost any family members to the cat? what qualifies these mice to be on this dangerous mission? what qualifies the teacher?
what size is the cat and how come we can see so much of it from so low? if it is far away, how will you show the distance?
sorry for all the questions, and surely all this information cant be contained in the image, but maybe it can be helpful for informing your development. I think your idea is really interesting and will keep getting cooler as you develop it.
some thoughts on the answers to the question:
--maybe the professor has a bunch of chewed on 2x4 cards that he has drawn on, with a little easel to put them on, the successive steps of the plan rest against the wall or are behind the current step on the easel
--if the cat has been around for a while, and this is a repeat bell installation, maybe the teacher was the last mouse to put the bell on successfully, but barely survived and is visibly scarred or injured? maybe he is holding the bell?
i'm sure there is a way to include some of the answers to these questions while still keeping the cartoon feel you have now, which is very nice-- keep up the good work!