I need opinions on this one...

Ok, so I posted this picture on my facebook and asked if there was anything I should change about it, just to make sure that I shouldn't change the colours on the shell or something. And I had two people tell me that I couldn't even tell it was a turtle!! So now I'm all flustered... I'll ask your opinions on this one because I think he's cute.

What??? That is definitely a turtle. It looks a lot like the one from Finding Nemo. I like it.

People ask me all the time " what's that supposed to be? Some kind of butterfly." when it is obviously a BUTTERFLY. that is def a turtle, I love his cute face.

I didn't see the turtle and now that you've told me, I can't see it otherwise but I saw half mask and giraffe first glance. You might have to disguise the other eye by putting the shell over the eye lid and keeping the bottom flat. Then make the shell patterns more geometric so I don't see giraffe spots.

It really is a darling design but something is making it not read "turtle"

D.

I agree that the turtle shell should come down over the other eye flat. Its also the color choice of brown and yellow. Lime green and yellow might be better. otherwise he is extremely cute!!!
squirt is the lil turtle from Nemo. he has a flower on his back. CRUSH is the daddy turtle. =0)

the problem with going over the other eye is that any design on the shell will be completely destroyed by them opening and closing their eyes. Maybe I'll do it again with sponging the brown and putting in the little yellow lines on top instead of the other way around.... I've seen designs in a google search that go down the cheek instead of over the forehead, but the turtle then looks squashed and the angle of its neck is all wrong.

I looked at the picture before I read what you wrote and I knew what it was right away. Looks just like the cool turtle in Nemo. Maybe these people dont have imaginations

ok... after a few tries that I really didn't like... is this better?

close up on the shell

close up on the face

YEAH!!! I loves it even more in its cuteness!! who knew switching the color would be so effective?

such a sweet design! My lil 3 yr old squealed and loved it to. she called it squirt as well. lol "its squirt! mommy! Lookit! Squirt!"

I knew what it was right away! I like the colors switched but i thought the spotted shell was cuter! For the record my 7 yr old and 13 yr old both knew is was a turtle and thought I was crazy for even asking!

From someone who has painted a gazillion turtles on rocks... The geometric pattern reads "turtle" now, but I think you still should make the underside of the shell flat. You can extend down past the eyebrow to make it flat and it won't lose the effect you're going for of the one eye being the turtle's eye. Also, if you extended lower portion of it's face just a bit you could exaggerate the mouth more and make it appear to smile more...

But I do think it's a darling turtle and for you in coming up with it!!!!

Me: "Honey, what has this woman painted on her face?"
My 7 y.o: "A little turtle"
Me:"Aha..."
My 7 y.o.: "Why, is there a trap or anything like that?"
Me: "No, but some people just couldn't see the turtle"
My lovely 7 y.o.:" Oooh, they may be blind...?"

I asked both my husband (who cannot tell anything I paint) and my 11yr old dtr. They could both tell it was a turtle.

I agree with Miss Ronnie if you bring the shell down just a tad past the eyebrow might be better. However I think it's C-U-T-E!!!!!

Might make the front flipper a little smaller.

thank you guys... I do prefer the "spots" on the shell and this takes a little longer, but if it reads better as a turtle, whatever.

I tried bringing the shell down around the eye on my daughter and it looked so wrong to me to have one eye as part of the design and the other eye just sitting in the middle of the shell like you're supposed to ignore it. A child with lighter eyebrows than my nasty ones would be easier to make the bottom of the shell more flat, it's just hard to paint around my stupid eyebrows.

I couldn't see the turtle at first but I can now that you said it, I really love it though! So cute!

Jeez people, she asked for opinions and we get called blind and having no imagination if we speak up. I like the second one much better because of the geometric. It seems like it would be easier to put brown over the yellow though.

You probably already did, but did you try the flipper on the nose to give it more 3-D? Probably got lost in the foreshortening...I'll have to try a version tonight. It's really cute.

D.

Perry... check out the cute little sea turtle just posted today by Kleophea in the Belly Painting category....

I'm so sorry, Denise, it wasn't my intention to offend you or anyone. Just seemed funny that someone couldn't see what it was obvious to me (and my son). But it shouldn't be so easy to recognize because you wasn't the only one. Anyway, sorry again.
(Btw It's a really cute design but I agree with painting the flipper a little smaller)

Perry-
What if you used a stencil on the shell? I really this is such a cute design, do you mind if I try it some day?

you are more than welcome to try anything I do, I know I'm not the first person to paint a turtle like this (I just haven't found pictures like it). I thought I had come up with my flying unicorn design completely on my own and around the same time, everyone else (including in some books) started painting the same thing! It's the nature of our business that we all come up with similar ideas just from the evolution of the art.

I don't have any stencils, unfortunately, so I can't try that one.

My 9 year old without being told picked it as a turtle within 1 second - for the record though she liked the first shell slightly better due to the more turtle like shape on the what do you call them rigy bits/Lumps??? hope you get what I mean.

Perry, eyeliner might also help make the eye a little more recognizable. Like the design BTW.

I get what you're saying about the eye in the middle if the shell, designs using the eye creep me out for some reason!--shudder-- Ummm, but not this one, THIS one is great!