I acquired a deer skull. It's beautiful, but delicate! I had to be careful with this one.

I was inspired by an ocean theme. For the first step, I played with blue and white paint, using gouache and acrylic.

I further emulated dramatic waves splashing up the sides of the skull.

A shimmer topcoat really made the blue and white of the ocean pop!

I decided to contrast the ocean with a sunset. Here comes the base coat!

Now for some darker orange and red.

And blending! I had to be SUPER careful when I got into the sinuses, since they are VERY delicate!

The contours of the skull really leant themselves well to the shaping of the waves. <3

Now the waves have gloss, and oooooh, they're gorgeous!

Final shots! The sunset got a shimmer topcoat, as well. Glossy!

The top view almost has a marine reptile vibe to me - what do you think?

Ahh, gorgeous!