Hi, I am new! I have some pics for helpful critiques :)

Hi, I just started 2 weeks ago and I am LOVING LOVING LOVING it! My girls (4 and 5) are already getting tired of getting painted, so I think it will be my face under the gun soon. Luckily I have nice sized thighs to work on too... good there is a benefit to that Yesterday some of my girls' neighborhood friends walked into my ouse without ringing the doorbell and lo and behold there I was in my panties, writing teardrops on my thighs,... ha ha, we were all very amused.

So far I am using mostly Wolfe and DX, but I have a few tiny Snazs (Snaz red!) and I have some Ben Nye Lumieres, and a few rainbow cakes (I plan to make some of my own soon). I just want to thank you all - I have spent 3 full days reading and learning from you all, and I feel as though I know some of you well already!

Well, here are photos for you to see, I won't show you my first few days worth of photos (maybe later for a laugh!), but these are from the past few days. I borrowed heavily from photos from you all for inspiration, because my own creative juices are not yet flowing. I would really love some feedback on what to improve.... I know there is *lots* of room for improvement, but as a newbie sometimes it is hard figure out *where*. Thanks!

Regards, Barbie in PA (York area)

ps: I am using Firefox and I just cannot get the pics to load... I will post this and then try IE to post the pics :O)

Actually for this one the purple is dollar store eyeshadow... I didn't have all my colors in yet!!!

I am sorry I have to do these one at a time... somehow I cannot put them all in one post. (I am blonde, LOL).

The mouth is far too wide on this, eh? I was trying out the Lumiere powders. But I did not have any glitter (well some dollar store gold mica, but that is all). I think I need a smoothie blender? I used a sponge...

Third one... my daughter was so pleased... this one I added my own embellishments too... a little!

Last one... baby peacock. Lumiere again, with Wolfe black and white, and (too much) gold glitz. I need some regular glitter (ir. white on the way!). But how will make the glitter stick - the Lumieres are a powder?!

I think you're doing pretty well for just starting out.

I'll comment on the cat though... by putting ears on it, you're losing valuable forehead room to put stripes. I'd also make the muzzle quite a bit smaller and the lines under the eyes make the kitty look tired or sad.

your crown is lovely

Off to a very smart start, great job!

I have two comments, but first WOW for only two weeks! You'll be one to watch.

Don't bother with wiskers on cats, bunnies ect. IMHO, this just makes the design messy. The muzzle is all that is needed.

Also, practice a 5 pointed star like crazy. Always start all lines from the middle and go out and the thinner the better. The detail makes a huge impact if done well.

-Metina

I agree. WOW for 2 weeks. The linework on that butterfly is awesome.

they look great!...

Great pointers, thank you! I never thought of starting the stars in the middle, but it makes sense that you would want all the thinner parts on the outside. And I agree about the lines under the eyes - I was wondering why my normally perky 5 year old looked like a tired kitty! Oh and I see what you mean about the whiskers making it look messier - never would have thought that, but absolutely right.

Thank you so much for the input thus far, I really appreciate it!

Off to practice some stars on my leg
Barbie\\

ps: quick thank you to Shannon. My brush strokes improved greatly with my new #4 Kolinsky pointed round sable... it was a bit miraculous, even!

Barbie, you are off to a really good start!!
If you ever need constructive feedback on a photo, there is a thread called constructive feedback, just post a pic and everyone will be throwing pointers at ya! There are already suggestions on butterflys, tigers/cats and many other things.
Oh and WELCOME TO THE GREATEST FORUM ON EARTH!!!

great stuff for only 2 weeks!! My lines looked like crap for a lonnnngggg time. U rock!

Wow! You're off to a great start! FYI on the glitter, if you're taking photos, don't use it till after the pic. Glitter comes up on the camara looking like your design is drippy & wet.
To answer the Q on glitter... I use a lot of powders & to get glitter to stick I'll use a small amount of lip gloss or dampen my finger before applying the glitter.

Wow, so much better then I'm doing...lol. I hardly have any time to practice, and all my daughter wants is cats.