Thanks for the comments
The water does sparkle a bit - but maybe it could sparkle more? (Around the serpent, too). Maybe that'd liven the water a bit. Maybe the perspective needs to be changed. The serpent enters the water at an angle and I'm not sure I got it right. Thanks for the tips!
@AnMal ~ There is a complex answer to this question
Most of the drawings I've posted are illustrations of two books (one I've finished, another in progress), that are situated in the Roman era and Renaissance era respectively. It's part of a series about a hitchhiker telling a story to his driver. The context is not historical on purpose. I think it's more apparent on the structures than it is the character's costumes. The artwork is meant to reflect an altered reality. Whether it is that of the characters, the narrator telling the story, or the driver telling the story to -you- is a mystery left up to the reader.
Here's the same heroine in a different scene.
(bigger version)With "futuristic" buildings. The heroine is of the second book. The drawing below is from the first book. The buildings are different, but still impossibly large.
Maybe the costumes were more realistic from that first book. I can't seem to find the older threads where I've posted them to GC.
It just seemed more fun to do the artwork this way... call it a style choice I suppose.