Horses in grassland, take two

[Perihelion]

Some of you may remember this from a long time ago. I recently found it on my computer and have been trying to finish it, but I'm going to hate myself when I try to sprite the grass, so I've been putting it off. Anyway, I would love some critique.

I think the narrative of the scene is kinda boring right now, so I'd welcome ideas on something to add to make it more interesting. Maybe something modern or sciency to contrast the otherwise rustic look of it. Hmmm.

 

[Venetia]

Honestly I don't know what could be done to improve the piece outside of just simply adding detail (like to the grass). But then that might take away from the subject (horsies/girl).

I feel like the horsies in the back are not following scaling quite right ... I mean, the mountains look really small (far away), but then the horsey in the very back, despite looking pretty close to them, is like 1/10th the size of the mountain -- IMO, push the horsies in the back closer to the foreground herd. It's possible they're on a hill or something I suppose but it doesn't look like it.

Also it feels like the sky is very empty (though that seems like the point). But maybe a bit of shading? (The sky IRL, when looking at it, is a gradient).

 

[Perihelion]

Yeah, good call on the perspective. I had a really hard time making them look horselike at that size, so they ended up a little too big. I'll either move them down or make them smaller.

I dunno, one thing I wanted to do was experiment with negative space, which is why the sky is mostly empty. I also thought it would look too busy if it was super-detailed. I might add in a simple gradient and see how it looks, though.

Thanks for the feedback! I think the main thing I'm struggling with right now is creating an interesting narrative for the piece. I think good art tells a story, but I don't know that this is particularly...evocative, I guess? I feel like it needs something but don't know what.

 

[bacon]

I like everything about the ground.

The horse the girl is riding has an awkward pose to it. It's not that it isn't a pose a horse would make when running, it just I would of expected a more dynamic pose for the focal point. Not only that, the horse looks more condensed and hunched looking, as opposed to some of the other horses in back.

The colors are very nice as always, although I'm not sure if I am a fan of the red on the main horse.

I agree with ven about how there is a lot of negative space. I get what you are trying to do with the simplicity, but for me it just isn't working. I think there needs to be just a bit more of scenery, props, etc. I also think that it's partly due to the color scheme being toned down (but still very nice)

I just re-read your first post after I typed this so sorry for parroting.
You should add a few more horses, maybe some birds?
Actual you should add like a sphere/dome shaped city in the sky? Something kind of reminiscent of ff13 cacoon