Aesthetics The evolution of Dream Valley Rita mantitaur

I'm creating a Project Journal thread, rather than a face-up thread, because this girl is going to be a project. (and a half. Oof )
In an attempt to deal with procrastination from dealing with a crushing sense of perfectionism and a fear she'll end up like this

First face-up. Not sealed because it's horrible.
(it was my first face-up! Let it GO, Mal!)

I've started doing digital mock-ups first. I've been inspired to work on my DV Rita mantitaur, so starting that thread now.
I grabbed the black and white promotional photos from Dream Valley and imported them into Microsoft Paint 3D.

The evolution of Rita

They turned into a pixelated mess, but it was enough for me to work with.
My inspiration was the orchid mantis (little picture I grabbed from a Google search):

DV Rita mock-up

I was pretty proud of my first attempt, but still, I hesitated. Something was missing.

DV Rita mock-up

Orchid mantis(es?) have a little ring of green on them (so they look like flowers). I tried to add some green, plus the lines on her butt flower part.

The evolution of Rita

Still not entirely happy. She's got a green flap, and it seems jarring and out of place. Hmm....

Then, I read someone saying that they wish more face-up artists would try blushing with unusual colors - instead of browns and pinks, use blues or purples. This idea really resonated with me.

Now, I present to you a mock-up that I'm satisfied with and willing to try out:

The evolution of Rita

She's going to have reddish-brown blushing on her butt flower part, and I'm going to use shades of green to blush shadows on her body and face. Success! I am happy.

The canvas:

Dream Valley Rita
(isn't she deliciously creepy? I love my monsters)

Next steps:
Disassemble the doll (pray for me)
Wash and seal all parts
I'll probably start with the legs? I'm thinking I'll do a basic airbrush color spray and fill in with pastels.
The body and face will be sprayed with a light peach, and then blushed with green pastels (maybe a little brown to blend).

 

100%. The way this doll holds poses is DV super-tight stringing. If I move a part without pulling out the leg first, little snowflakes of chipped resin fall. I'm going to glue in some very thin silicone washers.
Thank you!