Character design

I think I go for iconic kind of cartoony shapes.But my work looks flat to me:no volume! Blame Preston Blair & Jack Hamm and their "how to books".I feel like I'm influenced by a lot of stuff from rendered 1800s cartoonists to Hanna Barberra animation. I needed my be to look like a middle aged man and took time to figure out if he needed arms and legs(he does!). With the female flower ( she got to be pretty non- descript) I guess with her Ive looked at the Disney Alice in Wonderland flower scene a lot.
The concept came about from watching a lot of old cartoons. I was watching an old Pink Panther short,when I kind of realized that these cartoons have a lot of references about the frustrations of being a middle aged man.Which who these cartoons where made by!The cartoon was about this character being drunk. I thought you don't see this stuff these days being drunk,smoking,wives with curlers in their hair holding rolling pins.....