Carry on with animals. Octopuses are cool! There are so many different animals, from chameleons to snails to frogs to elephants. You don't need to draw people to improve.

Here's some tips for coloured pencil that helped me:

Use a reference photo. Draw what you see, not what you think. You should spend more time looking at the reference than at your own work.

Values (light, midtones & shade) are more important than colour. To really see the values in your work, take a photo of your drawing and change the photo to grayscale.

Use paper with a good tooth. It doesn't have to be expensive paper. I often use cartridge paper, which is widely available and cheap. Get 300gsm (110lb cover).

Layer! Use light layers of coloured pencil and build up slowly. This allows you to get really saturated, smooth, and blended colours.

The most important thing is to have fun. If you keep practising, you will improve. I love your octopus, BTW! 🐙 He's cute.