Which thumbnail style should I use going forward? (Which will influence how I make vids, of course.)

[mossy juniper]

So, I've mentioned on this server previously that I wanted to use my own "art" going forward on my channel. This is opposed to using images from the Internet (with credit, of course). However, I realized that I don't know if I can properly thumbnail these sorts of "more cartoony" videos. I made a mockup to show what it'd look like, and... it pales in comparison to what I used to make (which can be seen here by the cheetah thumbnail used for my last video). So, the reason I bring all this up is to ask: What do you think? Should I go forward with the "cartoony art" approach, or should I return to using images from the web, namely public domain and Creative Commons when possible? I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts any of you may have! Thank you. (Also, yes, I know a penguin is not a mammal, but as I said, this is just a mockup, and so I used the "art" I already had on my computer.)

To add on, I'm not necessarily asking if you think this specific thumbnail works, just if this style of thumbnail could have potential. Thanks again!

[gritty juniper]

2nd one grabs my eyes way more but if you want to indicate the cartoony style then the 1st one is the move

my eyes dont know where to go on the first one, you should ideally just have one or two subjects in the frame along with maybe a little text to get your point across

people read left to right so a lot of the time my strategy is to put the most attention grabbing thing on the right side of my thumbnail and the supporting things on the left