I like the first one because it feels more balanced to me and seems to meet all your goals better. I also think that the structures around the cat mimic them in terms of height and color (visual weight), so it's visually engaging for me. The one on the bottom appears as if the cat is about to fall over compared to the first one

This a follow-up to a post I shared a little bit ago, but I want to make sure there are no competing contrasts. So, I'm posting the values of what I added so far. The theme is that both characters are under water. I want to keep the overall look of the characters: the woman's darker skin and the bird's two-tones. My goal, however, is to make sure that the viewer looks at the woman first. Am I succeeding? Am I on the right track? If anyone has input on areas I can improve, I'm open to suggestions

@TessaW I plan to add a lot of texture there actually! Snake skin

I'm sharing some flat color compositions because I'm trying to decide which color palette to use. I want the main focus to be the woman in the image, but both she and the bird have high-contrast palettes. I don't want the eye to be confused with competing, high-contrast areas. But at the same time, I don't wait to change the colors of the bird nor the skin tone of the woman.

Should I play around with hues and atmospheric perspective? I want to keep an underwater theme with the color scheme, but I'm thinking I'll have to change the palette completely. If anyone has some input, it's more than welcome

@nyrrylcadiz Thanks for saying so. And you're right! It's definitely about my interests. I'm learning that over the last year, I've been forcing myself to render in a way that I didn't like as much; all for the sake of "practice". While habitual study is good, I realize I shouldn't pressure myself too much and go with what motivates me the most. Graphic coloring is definitely something that appeals to me, so I'm going to incorporate that more in my future works.

@thiskatecreates Thank you! I like the first one too. I'm happy with how natural the characters turned out. I really appreciate the feedback

@aaron-pierce It's funny you mention "too symmetrical". One of my focuses this year was working with "invisible lines": horizon line and center of gravity. Judging by the feedback I've been getting, I'm getting the hang of those two. My next challenge is to use composition lines to bring out focal points. Thanks so much for your feedback!

@juliepeelart Oh, wow! I didn't realize all the juxtaposition I've been doing. This helps a lot. Thanks for pointing these out!

Can anyone tell me what you like about the following? Weird question, but I'm trying to figure out what my style is. I look at my artworks so often, that I don't think I'm noticing it much. I'd like for any feedback to be things I keep in mind while I work moving forward. No critiques, please. If you like something specific about each of these, or notice a pattern, I'd like to know what exactly--could be anything: color, line weight, posture, eyes, etc....

@robgale Thanks for this advice! The consistency of the feedback I've been getting confirms where I need to tweak my approach: establishing focus lol Everyone's confused when looking at this, and confirmed my gut feeling to scrap this initially. I'm gonna re-do this illustration at some point and apply your suggestions. They really help a lot.