Hi Revvo,
I'm not really into visual novels, but in your example I see two good images, just in slightly different styles, and I honestly can't say which one is an improvement (personally, I slightly prefer the first one).
So... if what drives you is a desire for recognition or a commercial success, then maybe it would make more sense to focus on marketing what you already have instead of redrawing art that is already good. But I can clearly see the passion in your work. And if you enjoy it and it’s your hobby rather than your full-time job, then in my opinion your time is not wasted. You’re learning new techniques, exploring what works and what doesn’t. You do what you like and I think that’s fantastic.
But look around. There have been more than 600 games published here in just the last 24 hours and most likely no one will ever fully reward the hundreds (sometimes thousands) of hours we put into these games. But that’s kind of our path… and our course. We’re indie game developers, and we do this because we enjoy it. And if you enjoyed those 2-3 hours, then you have my respect.