Painting facial hair/stubble tips & techniques
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galactiboy
OT Preferist
I've only ever done stubble... but what I do is get my skin tones how I want them to look. Once that's done I will take medium sized stiff bristled brush and dab it into pretty watered down black paint. I will get most of the paint off of the brush and then gently stiple the paint on to the beard area.
After that dries I will take the lightest skin tone paint I've used (the top coat) and do a light application over the beard area to soften it and help it blend into the rest of the face.
Some examples:
And with beards, hair lines and eyebrows it's a good idea to use a bit of the top coat color to blend the edges of the hair. There is always a bit of skin that is visible through the edge of a hair line, so blending the edge helps simulate that:
After that dries I will take the lightest skin tone paint I've used (the top coat) and do a light application over the beard area to soften it and help it blend into the rest of the face.
Some examples:
And with beards, hair lines and eyebrows it's a good idea to use a bit of the top coat color to blend the edges of the hair. There is always a bit of skin that is visible through the edge of a hair line, so blending the edge helps simulate that:
I just did some stubble for my own Ash, and just did a wash (a silver "armor" color) that I let sit for a few seconds to set in just a bit, then wiped the excess away. But I think GB's attempt looks better/more subtle. I may revisit this.
As for beards, I plan on doing one soon for Rocco's Dude and, as with his hair, planned on painting it a slightly darker tone to enhance shadows, then dry brush a slightly lighter tone on top. It seems like this has worked for folks in the past to make for more realistic looking hair. Any experience with this GB?
As for beards, I plan on doing one soon for Rocco's Dude and, as with his hair, planned on painting it a slightly darker tone to enhance shadows, then dry brush a slightly lighter tone on top. It seems like this has worked for folks in the past to make for more realistic looking hair. Any experience with this GB?
robbiethepainter
Super Freak
I mask off everything but the area I want bearded, and then with the lowest pressure I can spray, mist it on. Low pressure with distance on an airbrush means dots.
I'm very new to all this, so forgive any obvious questions, but what kind of paint do you use with an airbrush? Do you have recommendations for good ones to use?
robbiethepainter
Super Freak
Any paint can be used in an airbrush as long as its thin enough to shoot and that you have a good cleaner to cut the binder. The hardest part about working with an airbrush is making sure you clean it well after its use. Its such a finite tool that any left over can ruin it.
I personally only use acrylic because of my limited ventilation and ease of clean up. And I mean pretty much any acrylic from craft paint to higher end artist acrylic. It all depends on what I'm want to to do. Craft paint is cheap and comes in a lot of color choices. When its diluted it dries matte. Mainly because the acrylic binder is diluted which is what gives it the sheen. Higher end acrylics have more binder and better pigment but can retain the sheen. If you need strong, vivid colors artist acrylics are your best bet.
I personally only use acrylic because of my limited ventilation and ease of clean up. And I mean pretty much any acrylic from craft paint to higher end artist acrylic. It all depends on what I'm want to to do. Craft paint is cheap and comes in a lot of color choices. When its diluted it dries matte. Mainly because the acrylic binder is diluted which is what gives it the sheen. Higher end acrylics have more binder and better pigment but can retain the sheen. If you need strong, vivid colors artist acrylics are your best bet.
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