I like them both, but the first one has more charm indeed.
A proportional divider is designed to constrain the artist to what's in front of her. Just like the grid method, it's a copy tool to project a sketch of reality to the canvas, as close as possible.
This may not fit the intended art piece. A childrens' theme lives from everything being out of whack and in the brightest colors. That's piece #1. The poor "child" in piece #2 was told to strictly "stay within the lines" and thus hampered by that.
So your feeling is absolutely right. As with everything, the trick is knowing the right tool for the job. Leonardo da Vinci invented the proportional divider. He was a scientist first. Picasso, however, threw his in the trash after the first week of art school. Both were masters of their art. So there is hope for all of us ;-)
A big hug - F
The proportional divider is a nifty tool, thank you for the tip. I'm more than certain that it'll come in handy down the line on my learning curve, trying out different methods and styles. I'm looking forward to continuous growth and experimentation, but for now I'm exploring a bit more of this .. freedom from perfection. :)
Thank you for your support. It is invaluable especially at the very beginning of one's journey.
Have an awesome day! ^^
Hugs&Coffee,
~Josie~