My smudge attempt - What do you think?

[Liaquila]

Hy Everybody !
First time posting here, but I read this forum a lot and having being learn so much with you !
Critics are welcome. Just want to improve. Done in Photoshop becouse I can't handle Painter...

http://liaquila.smugmug.com/photos/227600138-L.jpg

[Cassidy]

Overall I like it, but the little boy looks a little bit tiger-esq with the stripes running onto his forehead

[DannyRaphael]

Hello and welcome. Glad you decided to jump into the pool and congrats on your first showing.

I'd say for your first smudge you've got a lot to be proud of -- you definitely did a WHOLE LOT better on your first one than I did. This is not an easy technique regardless of which program one uses.

Is your method based on a specific tutorial (or two)?

A suggestion for next time would be to consider eliminating the background, in this case, the curtains. Although they are good candidates for smudging, in this case to me they are a little distracting. Perhaps boost the saturation of non-skin colors and add a little digital texture to add to the painterly look. Here's a quick hack to give you something to chew on.

May you find many, many hours of enjoyment as you continue to grow.

[palms1]

Very well done Liaquila keep it up

Palms

[Liaquila]

Thank you ! I realy appreciate your comments.

Cassidy - You are right he's looking a litle "wild" in his foreground. I'll think I'll work a little more on his skin.

Dany - I didn't think to remove the background untill now! You did a good job to show me that sometimes the background. I'm essentially a amateur photographer and sometimes the best I can do with my Canon is to blur the background, but in digital art I have to expand my horizons ! :o)

And Palms - thanks for the encouragement !