Hannibal Lecter Miniature Portrait on Plaster Cameo

I like to paint miniature portraits. Here is an example of one, Hannibal Lecter. He's always popular. This cameo is 1.25" across and 2" long. I really go through the liner brushes doing these, but they are kind of fun.

Here is the finished work as it looks listed in my Etsy store. You can read more about it, or buy it Here at My Good Babushka.

More Miniature Painting

I moved to a different miniature here, Dr. Lecter, but you can see I had a dark sketch, then I put highlights on, usually white and a little ocher or a touch of crimson, so it is not plain white.
After that, it is a bit of a free for all. I just add little bits of color as they appear to me. This painting seemed to have a lot of warm colors, so I put in warm colors and then moderated them with cooler shadows. I try to get all the features in the right place, which sometimes takes more than one try. Sometimes I'll move the eyes up and down a few times before they finally land in the right place. The last thing you do is put the excellent little shines in the eyes, and on the metal cage across the mouth- voila.