big problem with dragons.help please

suh-weet!

Awesome dragon! Love the fine lines for scales.

That's just gorgeous! I love the fine lines & scales! Thanks for sharing!

Okay, a little hesitant to post as I'm really struggling with my dragon and not happy with it - but if nothing I've learned from everyone here there is no shame in challenging yourself. So here 'tis after a fair bit of hair pulling and discarded attempts over the last week.

Despite my newbieness I do like one thing - and that's the inspiration to use a pouncer blotter around the eyes to create that horny ridge effect. I know most folks here could do it better justice! But I love how it will help speed the design as I work to simplify and speed it up for practical application.

Used the DFX Jungle Cake colors so nice and vivid.
White and purple are Snazaroo, black is Paradise and gold in eyes is DFX from Tiger Lily cake.

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Great job!!!

I don't know why you don't like it. I think it looks great. Like it way better than my dragon mask. Love the colors too! Great job!

Thank you jbax and tanya- LOL - I guess I don't like it as I see all the imperfections and while I seemed when I first started out I could draw nice outlines, it seems lately I've gone all spastic and can't control the brush. I think I need to do about 10 minutes of confidence building before I sit down "yes, I can...yes, I can..." Remember the Little Engine That Could? GRIN.

I love love love the vivid colors but don't think I'll be working too much with the DFX at least initially. What others say about it being waxy and hard to blend as a base is true. I'm hoping the paradise will give me a happy medium of blendability and color. Save the DFX for highlight and spot work. Just thinking out loud. The fact that I'm beginning to recognize the different feels of the paints as I work with it is heartening

I think it looks great! I love the eyes! DFX blends well if you load the colors next to each other on the sponge. Now I want to play with my mop and see if I can copy that technique! They don't blend easily with a brush. I use mostly dfx w/ my dragon. Thanks for sharing!

Psalm - you are so right. I got my best results doing that - it was very different than Snaz which has been forgiving if I am using one color on the sponge at a time - and then trying to blend. I also went back and watched Silly Heather's video on a boy dragon. Ah, got the horn technique now. That should improve my next version! My outlines practicing looked better after that - but filling in the white over the green (all I have is snaz)...no go. I hope that the dfx white, when I get that. Although, you know - using yellow makes for lime green when it activates the dark green underneath and I thought that's not so bad. I don't think a boy would complain if the horns were a different color than white...hah! What am I saying? I'm the aunt who brings my nephew "good" chocolates which they proceed to spit out because it's not Hersheys - LOL! What do I know about little boys - grin!

I'll make the horns all sorts of different colors & then do the teeth white. I like to use a filbert brush for horns. I start at the bottom of the horn & hold the brush flat. I then twist the brush as I pull it towards the tip of the horn. It makes quick horns & teeth. I wish I knew how to video. It'd be easier to show.

Psalm - Thank you thank you thank you for that tip! I just pulled out my paints and tried that. You are right - it gives the fatness I was missing from using a round brush and still gives that rounded look coming out from the skin. Looks like it's going to take some practice though to end that twist right. I hadn't figured out how to use my chisel brush yet so this makes me very happy.

OH - here's a trick I found. My mom is an artist and talked me into buying what is called a script brush. It is very long and thin. I found it awkward to use BUT I found one very excellent use for it. Bar none it makes great realistic whiskers by pushing in the point and then dragging with a little flick at the end. It makes a much better little dimple and thin whisker than my round brushes.

this is what i came up with, what do you think?????

Hi Linda - the photo posting is tricky. You have to use the icon that lets you upload and image, then when it's uploaded copy the image url you want to use - whether it's thumbnail or to size - and then go back and use the icon that lets you paste in the url for the image. A little convoluted but I want to seeeeeee! :-)

Pixie,
(you are being too hard on yourself!)
Awesome Dragon......!!!
I LOVE it, I may just steal it! HAHA!~

Thanks Linda A (blushing) - check out the pouncer thread I started if you haven't - there's a member who posted a pic of a dragon she did with them and I think she really got that 3D effect I was visualizing. Going to keep practicing.

I must admit - even though I won't be using the dfx on the kiddies (or just for a bit of highlight now and again) - you just can't ignore the pop factor of those colors can you?

I was trying out some dragon full faces on my kids last night...

Omg I LOVVEEE the purple one!!

Gina, those are great dragons! I have a hard time painting the eyes on eyes w/ squirmy kids. I need to give it a try someday.

Pixie, thanks for the script tip. I need to give it a try as my wiskers always end up too fat. I like using the script for whispy swirls & twirls off of flowers.

Wow... we're getting a lot of Linda's on here

Oh I love both of them - on the green one the nose is perfect. I so struggled with the nose - I am going to have to try that when I do my next version. And the eyes on the purple just pop out at you! What did you use for the scales?

I posted this on the pouncer site but thought I would post it here as well. It's a really quick and easy dragon face. I used a round dotter sponge, or pouncer, and loaded it with yellow first, then rolled the edge of it in blue, then rolled just the bottom edge in black whick gives it automatic depth. I dotted around the eyes and around the mouth, down the nose and across the lips. Orange on the eyelids, add pupils. Outline in black, add the horns and teeth and you are done! I was inspired by Anna at jestpaint.com (or clash the clown) to try this out!

Gina I love your scale effect! Awesome dragons!

And Pixie yours looks great too!

That's the one!!! Thanks for sharing your technique on the pouncer - I hadn't thought about how to load it to get the effect - doh! Going to try that asap.

Peach, I do the same loading technique for my 3D jewelry.

Yes! I love using a pouncer for pearls or other round gemstones, too! I usually only double load them though, like white with blue along the bottom edge for pearls...do you do something different?