I don't do a lot of children's portraits, but these are from today. These are from my personal collection (to some people, they will be over processed but I like the artistic look so... ehh). Enjoy.
The girl in the chair isn't looking at the camera - I'd much prefer if she was. It might have been nice to try without the glasses, too, to avoid the glare. It has an interesting Alice-in-Wonderland look to it, though. The one with the two children, honestly, they look rather....uh....dead...to me. It's kind of creepy. Sorry. The last one is really cute. I like how it's much more natural than the others - both the expression, the pose, and the setting. He looks like he's having fun, which is what being a kid is all about.
I know what you mean about the cartoonish feel... The little girl on the couch has 3 main things going on. The bottom layer has exaggerated saturation. I copied that layer and fresco'ed it then turned down the opacity to around 30% and then I erased the fresco around her face and top of the dress. The "Alice" look was intentional however... no use of "medicinal mushrooms" were used in its creation.
I like that last one you just posted also - you could have told me it was from decades ago and I'd never have known the difference. I like the look it has.
