this is a really cool and interestingly conceptualized illustration. there is an intriguing amount of threat but also insecurity communicated in the posture of both the human and the merperson, and you capture the tension of this moment well with the expression on the merperson's face. the balance of elements in the piece is also good here, using directionality and perspective to amplify the story that you're trying to tell. with regard to potential things that might be improved, i would suggest varying the values around the merperson a bit more. in the draw-over, i’ve placed a black saturation layer on top of the original illustration to show the individual values of the colors chosen; you can see that the background in the bottom area has values very similar to those of the merperson, making it more difficult for the character’s silhouette to stand out. one potential way that you could help differentiate the merperson’s character a little more from the background would be to use light to outline the contours of the characters’s features (and the contours of the hook) so that the silhouette reads even more clearly. this would make the pose stand out more starkly and reveal even more of the threat that you’ve very cleverly baked into the pose already. i hope this helps! like i said above, this is already a very cool illustration with a number of compelling stylistic decisions. great job! ❤ | Artwod Feedback