Pony Vriska looks so innocent...this is a dangerous thing...
I'm looking forward to see what you fill the sketchbook with! Keep us posted.
Hmm, an experiment I'd suggest is to try doing things opposite the way you're used to - start by building up a background and then set some characters to inhabit it. I don't know if it'll help with scene setup per se, but it might be good practice with things you're less familiar with.
I'm glad to see you're sticking with the drawing challenge! Keep up the good work! Also, the hands look fairly solid, which is impressive - most people struggle with hands until they practice a lot.
My own drawing stuff for today:
Spoiler
This is probably my most ambitious pony project so far. Not only am I playing with a bit of perspective, but I even have a background, and I intend to color this (well, not this picture exactly, but the cleaned version that's hopefully forthcoming). I'm probably just going to start like I said earlier, with relatively flat, show-based stuff before I move on to more complex shading.
This is also part of what I hope will become a finished secret project/gift of sorts, so I have motivation to finish, just not the time...
Additionally, the next drawing challenge will probably be up sometime this weekend, before I leave town for a conference. I may be scarce this next week, but I'll take my sketchbook with me.