Drow Vs. Mindflayer

I started this as an entry to a contest over at Artorder. It was for a book cover, and I think not fully understanding the design challenges for book covers threw off my mojo..

It took me literally over 8 hours( and more) to settle on a concept.. And then I got to painting, but realized I didn't like the layout.. I felt I was flying blind so I scrapped it..

I'd like to revisit it, but I would start completely new..

I definitely have a morgue of pantings gone wrong, but it's been sometime since I had one I couldn't complete. Usually I make sure the composition is sound, and from there I can make it work.. For this one, I think the composition isn't working, so I couldn't put my heart to finish it.