I'm gonna tell you why your earlier work looks better than your later piece OP.
While your anatomy is off in the earlier piece and not so much so in the later one, there's a lot more imagination going in the 1st piece. There's an energy and inspiration there that's missing in your later piece. The first one is involved, the colors are bright, and there's a lot of imagination going on. Way more consideration for the composition. I don't know if you were rushing, but your new piece showcases one of the biggest problems with /ic/.
Anatomy is important and all, but so is the rest of the piece. You can't just focus on it as if it will make or break your work. There's other things called composition, color, and etc. You have to worry about those things as well. As we see in your work...it makes a BIG difference. Most people will forgive fudged anatomy depending on how well everything else works. It's happened for years. I know that those who study anatomy will notice the mistakes immediately though. Like, I went to a gallery with my friend who is big on anatomy and started to criticize someone's work immediately. Yet, I told them that I could forgive it, because everything else works with it. Also, the judges agreed which is why it's up there.
Just remember to keep practicing, searching for inspiration, and to look at the bigger picture as well.
