Victoria's Flying Whale

First of all, that cloud is just wonderful to look at! It looks like a real cloud--perfectly fluffy, with just the right amount of shading that makes it look as soft as cotton. Sometimes I shade clouds too much, and they end up looking like they have been sculpted, rather than formed from delicate wisps of vapors all conglomerating into a giant cloud.

Anyway, your technique for color and rendering is quite good here. But this is a bit plain to look at. I think one reason is that the flying balloon is a bit bland. Since its primary color is blue, and most of the background is blue, it sort of blends it. The brown parts of the balloon also tends to mute the machine. In the future, to make something stand out more in an image, make sure that the subject will in some way contrast with everything else.

I hope this critique helps. <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Smile)"/>