Dawn of the day

firstly, let me say that this is extremely beautiful, and it really shows your improvement over a considerably short amount of time. absolutely well done! now, i'm gonna tackle a few key points of this picture to give you my opinions on what you do nicely and on what could use a little bit of work.

subject: more importantly, the anatomy of Shally there. what can i say, i think it's perfect. you've really gotten skilled lion/feline anatomy and originality when it comes to posing your subjects in your artwork. i really like the view in this piece especially - i'm a sucker for back shots like this, but they can be quite a challenge. and yet, you've one so well! especially on the face which, again, can be difficult when facing at that angle. super great job, there's not much that i can really critique on. while there are some proportions that might not be 100% anatomically correct, i personally don't think they'd be an issue because it fits with your style, and it works all together. in other words, it dont look bad, it looks GREAT! i do, however, have some comments to make on the shading, but i'll adress that when i talk about the shading as a whole.

background: backgrounds are a challenge for me, too, so while i might not be able to make many suggestions, i can at least tell you what i see and what i think. firstly, the green fields in the back. i like the grass that you added around where the patch of grass begins, but with how clearly they stand out, i think you need more. when you do grass blades like that, it's important to use layers and layers of grass, not just a singular line if that makes sense. it really sticks out when you have a smoothly blurred and blended background. i recommend adding more grass blades behind, growing smaller and smaller as they move further in the distance. it gives more depth and texture to the image.

also, backgrounds will grow brighter and 'less detailed' the further away it is. especially when you've got the sun rise in the picture. it looks like there's a *bit* of lighting, but you definitely should add a lot more. experiment with different shades of green when drawing your grass, making them become lighter and, in this case, 'yellower' the closer they get to the horizon/sun. look at some references ( here's one i found really quickly: funmozar.com/wp-content/upload… ) and practice on it, i'm sure you'll get the hang of it!

sky wise, i like the coloring you chose, the pinks and oranges look really soft and aesthetically pleasing. however, i think the bits of blue at the sies stick out too much; the blue of the sky wouldn't come out from the bottom of the horizon after the sun or, at least, it wouldn't be that prominent when the sun is still so low in the sky. i'd suggest removing them, or at least moving them to the top of the sky rather than the bottom, keeping them at the edges where they are, and perhaps making them a purple shade that blends in well with what you've got. again, that reference picture i posted could give you a good idea of what the sky could look like.

now, the ground beneath Shally. the colors are nice and they tie in well with the rest of the picture, but my main critique with it is the path leading away. it looks too, for lack of a better word, 'flat' and not as 3D as a path going into the distance should look. what i'd do is make the path swirl a bit to the side instead of making it straight ahead, as that is an easy way to add depth and flow to the image. here's what i mean- i.gyazo.com/529da22755f4baebbe…
also, i recommend making the 'entrance' of it wider.
lastly (and this is totally up to you), perhaps you could add some bits of grass in the dirt, just for some variation. grass growing through the cracks, for instance. here's kind of an example of what i mean fav.me/d71g168 it just adds a bit more life to the picture!

as for the trees, the only thing i can recommend is adding more trees that aren't just on the horizon line. again, it'd add more depth. if your intention is to make it seem like the trees are in a specific area far away, that's fine, but you can still add some below the horizon line that are still far away!

lighting/shading: i think the lighting in this picture is very nice, its smooth and blended and it keeps the picture looking soft and pretty. however, given the intended drastic lighting (the position of the sun / sunrises in general) i think the shading should be much darker. namely, on Shally and around Shally's feet. she'd be casting a dark shadow from her position. and not just general shading beneath her, but an actual, sharp shadow defined by her own shape. there isn't much to show in your picture expect around the feet and a bit of the tail. on Shally herself, she should have some darker shading as, due to where she is in comparison to the sun, she'd be nearly silhouetted. for artistic sake, she doesn't have to be completely darkened, but at least significantly darker than she already is. additionally, around where the sun is on her, perhaps add a biiiit more light to really add some glow to the picture!
here's a good example of darker shading and bright light when it comes to being against a sun in the background fav.me/d7h5ivq
one last thing! the colors of the sky, Shally, and the dirt ground all go very nicely together, but the grass sticks out significantly since it's a completely different color. try changing the green up a bit so that it's yellower, or at least a green color that's closely matched to the rest of the image. a good way to 'color correct' your image is, once it's finally complete, make another layer of orange or something and play with the settings. set to overlay, or luminosity, or any of the options in your program that make the colors tie in well together. also, it doesn't have to just be orange; play with blue or purple or something else to give it just a bit more prettiness! be careful with the settings though; you don't want something too crazy colored or too bright. this is just a suggestion to get your image to blend in nicely with itself.

PHEW THATS A LOT OF TYPING
overall, i love this picture, and it's certainly amazing as it is! i hope that my critique gave you a bit more insight on the sort of backgrounds you're going for, and i cant wait to see what you come up with next!