sniff, snort, achoo... me too :]

think you did fine on these sheila... i like the movement!!

can't help you with operating the speed & action, chelle gave you some good tips on that but don't worry about retaining... the more you do & experiment with your settings the more you'll learn & it'll become 2nd nature

to add interest (imo) :], i'd crop the left & a bit off the bottom of the first one, so you're setting up a diagonal dialog tween the duck & the rocks

& in the 2nd, a bit off the right, almost forming a square... so his wings are opening up to the space on the left...

i don't see anything wrong with cropping... but the problem will be when you print & matt something outside the norm dimensions, you'll find it'll need to be trimmed & the matt custom :]