Some recent practice I did

So I have been trying to practice some new designs lately and sometimes get carried away. Tonight I had the house to myself and spent the entire time painting and then dressing up for a photo shoot - I think I have problems. Anyway, what do you think? I did the dragon thingy free hand and no photos or ideas to work with but I don't hate it, just a work in progress. Melinda helped me make a ton of split cakes so I am having fun with those.

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I added some bling to this and it really made a huge difference!

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I think next time I will make a chin, I look like no chin and lots of neck!

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This is for the contest but it was soooo hard, don't think I will ever do anything like this again!

I really like the scales on the dragon! I think the nose would look a little more 3D if you curved the lines up instead of having them attach to the lip line, but I think it looks awesome! The boys will LOVE it! I'm sure the peace face took forever doing it on yourself, especially with all that detail on the hand The crown is pretty too

i agree with the comment on curving the nose up instead of attaching it. otherwise its absolutely terrific! the dragon face is pretty wicked in itself!! I love the crown and bling to. beautiful!
Im not a fan of graffiti, but the work is good. the shades are fantastic.

I think I'm going to have to try the dragon again and see if that will work, perhaps making the mouth smaller too!

NICE PHOTOS. HOW DO YOU GET THE BLACK BACKGROUND IN YOUR PHOTOS?

I do a black fabric behind me, its crushed velvet and really absorbs the light instead of reflecting it. You also have to stand about 2.5 feet in front of the fabric to help with distorting the background. I took these at night with a Canon 20D with 24-70 f/2.8 L lens and an external flash set to bounce off the ceiling (vaulted ceiling) with a white reflector to help the bounce, no other lights in the room. (sorry, a little technical). I do photography as well so I get kind of particular on things:) Let me know if you have other questions.

I really like the dragon - the way you've done the eyes and the top of the head, especially and the hilighting on the tongue...

Hmmm... it sounds so finicky the way I analyze what I like... sorry about that... but I really do like it and try to understand why I do... and it comes out like that...Oops! I'd better work on that 'writing with my train of thought' thing.. like that...(did it again )

Helena, thanks - I appreciate the details!

Thank you everyone, I will post some new ones after trying some again with all these great tips!

Great job! Great monster. Just freehand, with no example? Really?
I admire the way you painted the fingers. It is so hard to paint fingers/hands, and on a face it is even harder!
ALso like the mask.
Thanks for sharing.

So here is my amended Dragon. Way better in my opinion but a little different. Also, my inspiration image - Matchbox toy from my son - turns out we don't have ANY dragon toys! I don't know though, the lime green is kind of creeping me out. Although I added some other details that were nice - should I shade the teeth next time? Can you tell this dragon has a snout? Whatever, I guess I nit pick - a bit!

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EXCELLENT!!!!

LOVE IT!

I love the way you did the mouth on the dragon. teeth have always been a weak point for me.

the second dragon is great! I like all the detail of it! You are very talented... the side of the neck how did you paint yourself like that? Odd angles to look in the mirror and paint. I suck at painting myself the angles and mirror mess me up a lot.

I like the tip about the velvet too in the background. I have a black wallpapered bathroom I use as my studio..LOL It has a glare though so the velvet tip is excellent... never thought of that! Thanks!!

Great Job!!!

I too am horrible when it comes to painting myself. I have only done it a couple of times, less than 10, but it looks like it may be the only way I get to practice. lol... So I am completely jealous that you are so good at it!!!

As soon as the kids go back to school I am going to be practicing a ton more. And I can hardly wait... lol... (just loosing my sanity a bit,)

I just wanted to add that maybe to get the dimension in the photo that you want to tilt your head up a bit, instead of down. Just a suggestion. I take tons of pics and if its my kids, I treat it like a photo shoot, kinda even play it up um like Austin Powers, lol.... they start having fun with it, I get better pics, and more to choose from. And because we are in the digital age we don't have to worry about wasting film... Which is why I was drawn to it. I absolutely love playing around with it. Because if you don't end up liking any of them you can always delete them.

Again Awesome Job!!!

Um, yeah, we took a ton of photos. My hubby was home so he helped out. Otherwise I have a lot of trouble with focus. And I love to paint myself, I actually don't mind it and the mirror doesn't really mess me up - like regular makeup. Although the words in the mirror was a pain, I had to hold the words hand written on paper in the mirror to be able to write it backwards. The edges can be hard but I kinda just guess. The scales on the neck was way cooler in person, I think I will have to do this one to hand out cards sometime:) Thanks for all the fantastic comments, you all are so sweet!

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Absolutely fantastic. You did a fabulous job!! keep sharing, I love looking at your work.

Lorrin,
Great designs!