AH,
You're doing great. If you want to do this long term it is helpful to cut yourself some slack in the early stages. This stuff is hard to do. You'll pick it up quickly enough. The choil on the Santoku is your call. I don't think it looks bad. Do what your heart tells you. The paring knife looks pretty good. Keep in mind how the different knives are used. The paring knife isn't used so much for chopping tasks so the straight section isn't as useful as it is on larger knives. Perhaps try a version that has a nice gentle curvature all the way from the heel to the tip. Maybe try the same thing with the spine as well. For the paring knife take a look at an option of making the front of the handle, forward of the swell, a bit narrower. That would give you a larger visual separation between the handle and blade sections as well as providing a bit more protection for the fingers.
Every day there are one or two more people starting their knifemaking journey. It is the right of every one of them to do their best. There are no rules about who can try. The ones that will do the best however are those who have more than a passing curiosity about knives. Have a love for knives. Be a student of knives. Be a student of form and function. Have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. And try to draw more on paper. There is a connection between your mind's intent and your eyes and hands. When your hand is drawing a line and your eyes see that line happening, your mind will tell you pretty quickly if the line is right or not. Even if you don't draw well the interaction still happens. You may have to make more corrections but your designs will be more intuitive and feel more natural. The more you draw, the better you will be at it. If you can get the drawing pretty close to where you want it then you can bring it into the computer and clean up the lines with whatever tools you have at your disposal.
