I know i'd promised to shut up on this, but even Tisha is keeping the whale question alive, so here I go. And keep in mind that this is all being said in a constructive spirit, because I'm a fan of this project and I'd like to see it quenched.
As I see it, if you are going to work whales into your map, you need to decide what the purpose is:
• If it is your intention to make realistic looking whales that could actually be frolicking in the ocean, the entire look has to be realistic: real water, real splashes, photo of real whales.
• If it is your intention to add a playful yet thematic artistic element, then make the whales playful and artistic: colors drawn from the palette of the map, cartoonish image of whales with big smiles and large expressive eyes, jumping playfully as whales do.
Right now the whales express neither of the above - they are neither realistic nor playful. It looks like you googled "orca" and found some images and copy/pasted them on top of your map, with no thought as to whether or not they work with the rest of the map.
