Vignetti Yeti - looking for feedback in progress

[Valerie Light]

Well, I stressed about this, overworked it for a while, ignored it for a bit, and then maybe figured something out today.
It's looking like the light values are really blown out compared to what I see in Procreate on my ipad, so that definitely needs adjustment. (BTW the tiny image in the corner is a thumbnail of my yeti's house, and I want mood and color to coordinate between the two.)
My main question is, Is the image readable? What would help that? As always, I welcome any feedback!

[Asyas_illos]

I still feel like there is a lot going on. I think if you removed the shelves in the background it help it not feel so busy, and maybe dial down the saturation of the blues background? but this just my opinion. I really love your style I’m sure you can pull it off whatever decide to do!

[Melissa_Bailey]

@Valerie-Light you've got so much flair in this piece! Your yeti is really enthusiastic about her spaghetti!

As you're refining this spot, consider what you really need to tell the story. If you don't need an element for the story, edit it out. Do you need things hanging from the ceiling to tell the story? Do you need shelves? Do you need a window? Do you even need a circle background?

For me (and this is just one opinion), your piece would be stronger without these elements. They draw attention away from your happy yeti. The wafting aroma gets lost because it's competing for attention with the detail behind it. It even took me a minute to see the top-secret yeti spaghetti recipe, which is a fun little detail that should stay in.

If your yeti needs a background color to stand out because she's so light, consider a lighter background in an interesting, organic shape. Perhaps mimicking the movement of the aroma? That might add more dynamism to the composition.

So many ways you can go with this! Looking forward to seeing your finished entry!

[Valerie Light]

@Melissa-Bailey-0 @Asyas_illos
Thanks for the feedback! I am constantly battling the urge to make everything I draw really detailed and complicated. Honestly I love doing it, but working toward making more readable images is important to me, too. Simplifying just isn't instinctive for me yet.

I'm taking to heart what Lee, Jake, and Will said about this month's contest parameters- that storytelling details were key to doing this prompt successfully. And so I have this whole story in my head about this yeti who sets up her snow mountain in the suburbs, and is super excited to make friends with the new neighbors at the block party with her secret yeti spaghetti recipe. So I'm trying to describe the coziness of her snow house, how it's way above the neighbor's roofs, and how she loves cooking with all her yeti herbs & spices, etc, etc, as well as the words of the prompt itself.
Is the answer just that I should not try to describe so many things?

[Asyas_illos]

I did a quick rough draw over to show you what I see if you don’t mind? I don’t think it loses any of your story I know simplicity is hard! I just recently have had to learn to fight my detail urges to but I am starting to get the less is more vibe.

[Asyas_illos]

But I don’t want you to feel like I’m pushing you to change your image its YOUR image, just showing you what a different pair of eyes sees could help you make any decisions. Follow your instincts! Great work again I do love all your work!

[Valerie Light]

@Asyas_illos I really appreciate the draw over explanation. It's really helpful for me right now. I'll play with some edits in this vein! Thanks for taking the time to do that!

[Valerie Light]

@Melissa-Bailey-0 @Asyas_illos you were right. This is better, and a way more clear statement. Thank you for the guidance!
I might make the recipe bigger on the floor, and I've got some cleanup to do and textures to fix. Any other suggestions?

[Asyas_illos]

This looks sooo much more readable! Really great! @Valerie-Light

[Melissa_Bailey]

@Valerie-Light great edits! This is a much stronger image. Well done!