My first attempt

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Okay, so here is my first attempt. I'm still not clear on what the heck I'm actually doing.

My friend lost a dog unexpectedly, and I thought I would create a gift for her. What do you think of this painting? I know it's not the best and as detailed as it should be, but it's a start for me. I wanted the words spell his name...should the letters be smaller yet so that his name pops?

Any suggestions welcome. I intend to have the final picture printed on canvas for her.

Here is the original pic my friend gave me of Ranger:

And here is the painting I've done so far:

Does it look like him? I know his face looks a little bit more puffy, but that's as far as my skills go, LOL. We need another hangout!

Please, let me know your suggestions how to make the portrait special for my friend.

Thank you!

UPDATE: Is this better? I tried to paint in a little bit of the cheekbones. I'm not sure, but I think I liked the first drawing better even if his face was more puffy.

UPDATE 2: I should have posted the last version here so that you can compare it. I made the cheekbones less prominent and also resized the background so that I can have a canvas wrap printed without losing parts of the dog.

[Hazel & Chester Wayte]

I LOVE it. I wouldn't change a thing. I like the styles you chose for the lettering. I didn't know you painted. It is so nice. You are very talented!!

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Ha, I did not know I painted either!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Wow....I think you did an incredible job!

[Linda and "Toby"]

Hi Jarka! Sorry to be chiming in so late here. 

This is BEAUTIFUL! And I absolutely love how you added the letters on the side. Your friend is going be be sooo touched!!!

Since you asked about his face being a little bit more puffy, here's how to bring the depth back in.... 

Copy/paste the original face over the top of this painting.... resize it to match... put the original photo on the bottom layer... and then, using a layer mask with a (black) brush set on a low opacity (such as 20%) bring back in some of the details of the cheekbone. (Does that make sense?)

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Awesome, thank you. I will try that! Hope your family is doing well, Linda.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Make sure to keep a copy of what you've done, with layers intact, before trying anything. 

[Linda and "Toby"]

Thank you for asking. We've had several setbacks (oh my gosh, what a year it's been - geez) but my son is finally getting better so I am able to focus on work again.

Speaking of work, I'll be working at my computer all day, so if you'd like me to show you how to do this technique, we can do a quick Hangout. (It's really quite easy to do.)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Linda, I am so glad to hear your news and I hope things only continue to get better. Join us when you can, we miss you a lot.

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Hm, so I have the project in Photoshop with all the layers. I did what you said, but if I move the original picture to the very bottom, I can't see it at all. I had the background as the bottom layer originally.

Do I need to flatten the image and then put the original picture to the very bottom and do what you described?

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

It seemed to work after I flattened the image. I'll play with the painting a bit more as well to see if I can pain some of the cheekbone details.

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

It's perfect!  Don't change a thing...I know from experience when doing different crafts and projects, as I start to change things it can cause a mess and I should have left it alone!! 

And in this case...don't change a thing!!!! I love the way you spelled out his name...your friend will love it!!!

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Jarka, what a special gift for your friend and you did an amazing job on all of it!