Hi again!
I'm wondering what you mean by "octopus parts"; the sea green tendrils are stylized, uh... ribbons, I suppose. In other words, its meant to be part of his getup.
I generally do colored outlines, though sometimes they're so close to the color I'm filling with that they aren't effective as such. This is probably the best (worst?) example of that, unfortunately. And, as always, my contrast and shading are in need of some help.
Oh, and the sextant was added per the instruction of the client, so I really have nothing to say about that. :D He wanted "an astronomer in a fancy coat and hat with a sextant". And the blue critter itself is not of my design, for the record. I just came up with the outfit.
Well, this one is maybe the most promising of all those fascinating creatures, and also the less readable... :(
You have no less than 6, maybe 7, color ramps!
For instance, do the 'fox' and 'octopus' parts belong to the same creature, or are they 2 distinct guys? I guess they're one, but then there shouldn't be an abrupt color transition.
Also, needs a lot more contrast, better shading. And a difficult choice to make: outlines or no outlines? With low contrast as it is, it looks undecided so far.
Btw, a sextant is more a mariner's tool than an astronomer's... would be ok if he's the royal fleet astronomer!
Could use darker outlines on the greyish parts and the sextant. Nice colour palette anyway.