WOW! this is a wonderful image! I think it is something you could easily find in the pages of a picture book with just a bit more work. It is so dreamy and lovely! I think your values work really well here, try not to lose too many of those dark darks against the lights. For the bear piece, that is about all I could think of to improve it- just push some more darks into the piece and let some of the shapes merge, in order to bring more focus to your main character up there. I can't wait for the follow up on this piece!
I love the look of both of your pieces, it would be wonderful to see them both finished as they look so dreamy and magical! I particularly like the fact that they're both set at night, can't wait to see where you take them next 
the illustration with the bear is magic! I d love to see it colored.
Yeah! This is looking really cool I really like the mood you have going here. The first one with the bear is clearly taken a bit further, so it gets the vote, but I'd love to see the other one taken a bit further just to see where you would go with it.
This is in reference to the bear image, since that one is further along. If anything I would love to see you play with the light and shadow shapes more to see if there are ways you can push them further and unify them to create more interesting, bugger shapes. Basically just reiterating what @JeaneBean said here.
Very cool, looking forward to seeing how it comes out!
These illustrations are amazing! You’re skills are amazing! I really like the finish on image 1 but I would definitely like to see how image 2 will turn out as well. I also can’t wait until they’re in color but even in black and white, they’re still awesome. Great work!
They look so adorable and cool! I especially love the tiny bear in the pocket and the way you use lighting, empowering the magical atmosphere. This should be a series for sure! 
Thank you so much for everyone for the kind words and encouragements!
@Judy-Elizabeth-Wilson - The "story behind the piece" is a bit vague in my head. I have this floating concept in my head of kids being carried on the land of dreams and stories by their imaginary friends / toys / pets. I have many unspoken, unformed feelings about this and I'm just exploring the idea as I go on with the painting, so there is no set story yet.
@JeaneBean and @robgale Thank you for your thoughts. For touching the bear piece, I should get my screen calibrated first, cause there is a treshold of greys where I just cant see the difference, but then I get to see it on other screens and its totally weird... and then I get it printed and its all awfully dark... so it's a challenge I'm postponing a bit now, but I hope to get back to it someday and I think you are absolutely right in getting the shapes more under control and I shall play around with that a bit further at some point.
It's been a busy week, but I haven't been able to paint/draw up until today and even now, not so much time and attention could go into this, but I made some progress so I thought I'd share that with you all.
A few rounds of sketching to start figuring out what I want with the structure of things...
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I haven't been able to work on this (or anything really) lately, but today I allowed myself to paint with watercolor for the whole afternoon and then came a round of digital sketching, after which I decided that Now its time to finally make some progress with this as well..
So here's the next round of sketch. I'm slowly figuring out what kind of objects do I really want him to have on his 'boat'. I might give him a few more things later after I checked back on my value plans.
@feleri So cool to see the fleshed out sketch of your second painting. To be honest I want to see you finish them both. They feel like they are part of the same fun story to me!
Rob Gale
instagram: www.instagram.com/robgalestudio/
website: www.robgaleillustration.com
@robgale Thank you very much.
I consider the bear one finished actually. I know that with digital painting it's hard to have anything "finished" but for me that is done. Many have asked me to do a colored version and I'm not perfectly happy with some bits and pieces so maybe if I improve enough I'll give it another go, but for now it's done. I want to be able to match that in level and mood with other pieces first and if there ever comes a point when I feel like I could or should, I'll rework it. :))
@feleri Oh Gosh! Sorry, I think I misread something earlier on, for some reason I got the impression that you were deciding between these two, the bear and the turtle. Haha, now it makes more sense, because that one does seem like it's in so much more of a finished state. It's still fun seeing this one come along!
I am loving the progress on this piece! The mood is so sweet and the turtle has a lovely expression of striving forward! For some reason, it makes me feel like the kid should be named Terry Pratchett... I can't wait for the next update. Would you consider making the lamp a little brighter or casting a glow around more of the scene?
I love this one. I’m excited to see how you finish it.
It's been a busy week, but I haven't been able to paint/draw up until today and even now, not so much time and attention could go into this, but I made some progress so I thought I'd share that with you all.
A few rounds of sketching to start figuring out what I want with the structure of things...
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!
!
