
Brian, another treasure from your travels... You show good effort with your pencils; the light source is perfectly defined. I love the shadow of the lantern detail, so tiny. Well done

There you go again Patricia, a beautiful rendition. As with Brian, your light source is very well defined, an important factor in creating depth. I suspect the Sheriff is out on his lunch break, that is why his horse is not tied to the post.
As far as white over dark/black, your best bet is working the negative space around them, just as Brian suggested.
Maria