As someone who was in a similar position a few years ago here are my thoughts...

As much as I LOVE Illustrator, you can achieve the same kind of look and feel in Photoshop and it is easier more flexible. I used to only work in Illustrator, but I gradually got to the point where Illustrator could no longer do what I wanted. Here is one of my last pieces I did in Illustrator.

It took for ever to finish this! The piece made me rethink my entire illustration process and switch to Photoshop. Now if I want a vector look I just draw my shapes and use the transparent pixel lock.

Also, here is a video of an Illustrator who used a process similar to mine.
https://youtu.be/rbs1baaCAm0

To answer your questions.. It is possible to render in AI, but I do not think it is easy nor is it worth the hassle.

I hope all my rambling helps.

This totally works for me. I love everything about it. If this were my illustration I would leave it rough and scribbly. I might face the rabbit towards the fox...maybe looking down towards tracks, but besides that I think you're nailing it. Good work!

A couple things I might do if this were my piece...

1. Use the foot prints to convey some depth. As it is now I think the foot prints make it feel flat. They seem to only fill the foreground and middle ground. If they were to recede into the distance I think you get a really nice sense of depth and scale.

2. Consider altering the size of the microraptor. I'm not an expert, but I'm guessing a micro raptor is small. However, he feels pretty big because he is filling half the page. Maybe you reduce his size or perhaps add another animal or creature that the average viewer is familiar with to inform what size he is.

Take them or leave them..just one man's opinion. It looks good. Good luck!

I see have no chance of winning due to the overwhelming amount of AMAZING work submitted. Good work y'all and happy new year!

@Braden-Hallett winner winner chicken dinner!!!

I would suggest getting some photographic reference if you don't already have some. This is a great start, but there a few minor tweaks you might want to make. The baby's left hand looks a little off...I'm not sure why. Maybe its because the right hand looks so good. Also, the way the woman's hand almost perfectly lines up with the baby's head is distracting to me. I would show more of the hand if possible. Good work. Keep it up

I'm not really a sequential art expert, but my advice would be to make sure it is obvious the correct order of the text boxes. I had to read it a few times before it clicked. That being said I think this is a cool take on the prompt and I love the transition between the three facial expressions. You could do a lot of cool things with color and lighting throughout that transition. Good luck!

Wow! Good stuff everyone. Here's my entry...the premise is a botanist girl brings her dog back as a hybrid dog/plant. Good luck everyone!

I haven't entered the monthly contest in a while, but here goes....good luck everyone!

@Paula-Morgan Looking at your work you don’t look lost to me. You definitely have a unique style which is HUGE. The one thing I notice is that there is less story telling in your work than your dream portfolio. I think adding some minimal background or accessories to suggest more of a narrative to your pieces would help it feel less sparse. Keep it up!