hmm, thanks for the feedback! I'll try and work on making my AA less blurry next time :P

Your AA is rather bluring the picture..

if you look at Pandas pieces, he doesn't put 3-4 rows of lighter colors around the outline

I made a edit on the neck/chin part which I think has the biggest issue, and you would easily notice the difference

here's the edit: i.imgur.com/HFpIxhG.png

It's really good for your first time btw !

 Pandas AA was more defined. Work on that a bit more, but besides that the colors and composition is good despite the deformities.

 ah, so that's the problem. prolly because I used too many different ref. pictures for each part (i.e the ears, snout, eye, etc).

I shall try and fix this >:3

 In my reference picture (one of them), there was a shadow beneath the lip. thanks for the criticism and feedback though :D

I'm still new to this; I assume by 'white space' you mean the blank b/g?

To be honest, it seems like each part is from a different angle or perspective.

The snout is too large compared to the rest of the head.

The colors are great, and it is pretty good AA too.

Using white space in art is a tried and true design choice that almost always works well. It does so here. I also see deformities in the overall lioness but its artsy, interesting and reads ok. The only thing I find off is the curve of the whisker pad and the end of the lip. This I always see as one single line.

 I don't see the empty space as a problem, it's sort of just how I decided to lay out the lion...

Which part looks deformed, and yes, I used multiple references...

The muzzle looks really deformed. Did you use a reference?

You also have a ton of empty space that really doesn't serve any purpose. Maybe if it was background, but it's just a solid color. Just crop the frame to the face.