Hedgehog Character Designs

The children's story I have created for my Final Major Project is centered around a Hedgehog looking for a place to hibernate...

Here are some initial sketches for the Hedgehog character.

I've used both pen and acrylic to produce monochrome and colour studies to evaluate which medium is most successful at portraying the type of style and presence I want to achieve in my illustrations.

I want to keep a naturalistic look to the characters, just softening certain features to add a cuteness which appeals to younger readers - i.e using small beady eyes, a rounded nose, padded feet...