Ahaha, I was afraid of that. I was hoping there would be some magically worded piece of advice that would make everything click. Much like in Torstan's tutorials, he mentions drawing forest outlines in his style is reminiscent of a "cauliflower, or a child's drawing of a cloud". Forest detail as "short, curved dashes" and water ripples as "long, light curves".

Thanks though, I'll keep working at it.