Thanks Reo and thanks MR21 for your opinion.

Huge thanks to Arachne for taking the time to write that most helpful analysis and for the edit. I have already started working on making changes based on what you wrote and what you show in your edit.

I don't think it is allowed to change a challenge entry while the challenge is still running though, so I'll have to upload a v2 later (will make a WIP thread in the forums too).

I like the concept, and the execution isn't bad, but there are a bunch of mostly minor things that bother me. I think some color changes would help a lot.

I think the purples and the sand are much too saturated. Palette variation is not a bad thing, but right now it looks a bit too garish. I would replace the yellow on the tail with light gray and white so that it's easier to tell it apart from the sand. You can also use the lightest fur color instead of the purple dithering on the tail if you desaturate the purples. The brightest yellow could also be darker. I would use a darker gray on the fur and maybe give the darkest red on the fur a more yellow tint because of the yellow sand surrounding him.

I don't think the dithering on the metal works. It makes it look too grainy. The dithering on the sand dunes doesn't do much other than make them look hairy in a sense.

The green on the middle gun should be shaded with a solid color since they're flat surfaces.

Why is the shadow cast by the rat a checkerboard pattern while the shadows cast by the sand dunes are solid? The sand dunes and shading on the minigun suggest that the light is coming from the top left side, while the rat casts a shadow as if the light is coming from above.

The top of the image is a bit cramped while the bottom is just sand, so you can move everything down a bit.

I edited the colors to find something a bit more realistic. Even though it's not as interesting as your colors, you can see if you think some of this works better.

In my opinion, the colors on the fur are awful. Try something different. :]

I like the rest, though.

Exelent work!Love the fur!