I like that you seem to be thinking about how things are constructed in space and how they should be lit.
It's not completely possible to discern between lit skin and glowing goo(though I would guess the ears are just lit). It seems like that dragon(?) just ate a mouthful of lava from of a pit that's underneath.
The backlight doesn't completely make sense...some parts are more lit from the left and others more from the right. But I guess that's a minor problem if you chose a convincing color palette and construct things well through textures.

I should also mention that the throat is pretty awkward. I know you wanted you bend the throat(neck) so that he looks up, but it end up looking like the head sits on the back of his neck. Illustration: http://i.imgur.com/6CCsf.jpg
Also the eye could use some more definition...that's where a ton of people look, especially when it glows golden.

I'm not sure if you were going for this so I mention it, the dragon looks like it's made of wax. Not that there's anything wrong with that but I assume you maybe wanted it to look more like reptile skin with scales.

To spice up the composition I generally think it's good to make background, middle ground and foreground interact with each other/connect them.

Keep it up, I dig your general approach. The bokeh effect around the little droplets is neat too.

/critique