#having a lot of fun using the eraser tool to add texture to his beard and eyebrows too 🥰🥰

[lilbitofmac]

Man, it feels so fucking good to finally understand how RDJ's face work.

[dilfpassing]

HI

the werewolf rancher you posted on twitter!! very cool love him a lot!! how do you draw beards like that? lmfao i cannot ✊😔

fr ur art is very cool and this ghost guy looks funky also xoxo

haha, thank you! I like him too. this beard?

I'll explain it through some pictures and also through my thought process --- and I'll use the ghost guy to explain it too :)

so when I draw a beard I start with the shape, and I try to think about how the beard changes or accentuates the existing face shape. In this drawing, I want to make his face more angular, and bring out his chin. The shape extends from the temples down onto the jaw. It's also to remember that a beard has DIMENSION, it isn't just a flat shape, so I add some lines near the bottom to remind myself that its going to be turning in towards the neck there. You want to follow the shape of the jaw, it extends out through the beard.

Next, I do a rough color blocking-in, with a lighter shade on top and a darker shade on the bottom, which adds that dimension I was talking about earlier. I use the shape I blocked out as a guide.

Next, I erase the top guide lines and then I use my handy dandy blend tool. It will look weird at this point, but just ... trust the process. I use the all-purpose blending brush on photoshop for this, but any generic textured blending tool will work. I tend to stay away from the smooth ones because I like texture in my work.

I erase the top lines because, unless you've got REALLY thick beard hair and you've JUST come from a barber that likes doing solid, clean lines, beards have a gradient to them. (source: i have a beard)

Here comes the fun part.

First, I texture with the darkest colors, adding individual hairs using single brush strokes. I use a pencil tool for this (I actually use the pencil tool for all of my linework, too. I like texture)

And then I add the lighter colors on top! Since this beard is on someone who has grey streaks in his hair, I brought those grey hairs down into his facial hair. BUT: THE MOST IMPORTANT PART! I took the skin tone from AROUND the beard, and added single brush strokes of that at the top of the beard. What this does is create the idea of the skin underneath the beard AND helps texture that gradient, making it look both stylized and natural.

Another important thing to remember with beards is that the hair color varies WILDLY. Beard hair is coarse and textured and, unless the person has jet black hair, generally there is going to be some color variation in their beard. I have medium brown hair, and my facial hair is black at my temples and blonde on my chin - I think I have every possible natural color in there. But using that color variation will bring the beards you draw to life! Play around with it and find your style. It's really fun :)

(also, get into the ghost guy too. I swear hes fun!!!)