The Lion Sleeps Tonight

If anyone knew my daughter, they would know that this image is a perfect depiction of her, and her fierce personality. But, it is also a representation of her love for all animals. We are lucky enough to live on a farm with cows and horses that we can visit daily, but we also have cats and a dog that she just loves to cuddle with. Thus the inspiration behind this image.

A brief backstory on my daughter...For those who had a chance to read my "circus" post, you know that she loves to jump and climb on anything she can reach. She's 2, and gives the expression "terrible twos" a whole new meaning. When she gets angry or frustrated, she often times "roars" to express herself (It's cute now, but I'm hoping she grows out of it before she is school-aged). So, I decided this was the perfect opportunity to try and combine her loving personality with her feistiness.

So, I grabbed my camera and sat her on the couch with one of her favorite stuffed animals. I then asked her to give the animal a hug, which didn't work out so well the first 100 times around, considering she's 2, so I added a little bribery into the mix (lollipops for the win) and was able to snap the image below.

Next I found a great stock image of a sleeping lion that she fit into perfectly. Once I placed her on the lion, I converted the image to black and white, added a touch of sepia, and began painting on some strong shadows to emphasise their faces.

In the end, I got some strong backlash from one person saying that I was insane to allow my daughter to do this. Naturally, I told them not to worry since the lion slept through the whole thing. Insane or not, I love how this turned out. Thanks for reading!

Credit for the direct stock link can be found below:

https://pixabay.com/en/lion-animal-king-of-the-beasts-1812316/