How to Draw Skin Texture: Realistic Drawing Tips

1. Introduction: Hi, my name is Matheus Macedo and I specialize in realistic drawing. Whenever I post my drawings on social media, one of the most common questions is, how do you draw skin texture? Well, the goal of this class is to answer this question once and for all. In this class, I'm going to show you how I draw different skin textures. In the first part of this class, I will talk about freckles, pores, and wrinkles. By doing these studies you'll have the chance to learn the secrets to learning with this experience and apply it to any drawing you make. In the second part, I'll introduce you to the application of the techniques presented in a project of greater complexity. You'll find out that this drawing requires a little more of patience and focused work, but that the principles and techniques are the same as those using the simpler studies of the first part of the class. I will also show you all the materials I recommend for a realistic graphic drawings and how to prepare a sketch with 100 percent of adversity. Are you ready to unveil the secrets of realistic drawing artists? Come sit with us and I will show you everything. See you in class. 2. Materials: [MUSIC] In this video, I will show you all the tools I use in this class. If you have them out that's great. But if you don't, you can watch this class anyway and use the tools you have. There are papers in different colors in the market, but I prefer those that are close to white. You choose the color according to your taste though. I prefer to work with smooth papers when it comes to its texture, I would recommend you use a paper with medium to high thickness. In my opinion, the chosen surface should weigh at least 150 grams per square meter. You don't need a surface larger than A4 size since all the drawings will be smaller than that. For this class, I chose Fabriano, Bristol paper. Some other really good papers are Fabriano for L Strathmore 300 series Bristol smooth, hahnemuhle and also G and Canson XL bristle. They are in different grades for graphic pencils and you don't need a complete set to take this class. In fact, I'm going to use only an HB, AB, A2B and a 4B. This is the Staedtler Mars LUMOgraph, which is the pencil I'm fond of. I use also 0.5 millimeter mechanical pencil with 3B or 4B, graphite. [MUSIC] When it comes to sharpening, you can use a common pencil sharpener or even use a utility knife for that. Personally, I use a hand-cranked sharpener, which is really handy. But maybe it's a little more expensive and more difficult to find depending on where you live. This is the Tombow MONO, 0.3 Millimeters stick eraser. I use a utility knife to chamfer the eraser and increase its accuracy. I use also a common stick eraser as well, especially for cleaning the background of my drawings. [MUSIC] The pencil eraser is excellent for rendering textures. These are blending stumps, also known as tortilon I have two in sizes, number 1 and number 3. Get a piece of toilet paper or tissue, fold in in triangles and three times to have more control over it and fold one of it's tips to be able to see what you're blending [MUSIC]. I also use brushes for blending. They are all flat and I trimmed some of them to have firmer brushes, which helps to make the graphite grip onto the paper and the others are more delicate and used for shading. [MUSIC] A soft, long-haired brush for cleaning your drawings is handy and it's better to use it than blowing the dust and the crumbs from the paper. It prevents you from speeding and ruining your drawing. Lastly, I will use a mask tape to fix the reference on the paper I'll use to draw. That's it. [MUSIC] 3. Freckles: Hey guys. Well, I suggest starting this series of skin texture studies with freckles because I believe they're easy to do. What we're going to see here also largely applies to the study of burrows skin. These first three studies will be done in squares. The square you're seeing here has 735 centimeter each side, just in case you want to draw the same square. It is neither too big nor too small. The first step is to make a base layer with the general values of this drawing. I'm using the big pencil initially. This first layer will take a good deal of time to be done. I suggest to do it slowly. In fact, I always recommend doing so. The first layer, the base layer, consists of a gradient who's dark part starts in the lower-left corner and who's light part is in the upper right corner. We're going to focus our first strokes on that left corner. I'm making lines a little looser at first. They're mostly done vertically and diagonally. This direction is more comfortable for me because I'm right-handed. If you're left-handed and want to flip the photo horizontally, you can do that, no problem. It is important that your strokes are not overly marked. We will use the tissue to blend the graphic later. But if the strokes are too strong, they will be visible at the end, so avoid putting too much force in your hand. The tissue, you will notice is rubbed in a direction perpendicular to the pencil strokes. That is, if the strokes are vertical, I rub the tissue horizontally. In practice, you see that I mostly make circular movements. Also, with the tissue, there is no need to put a lot of force in your hand. I'm overlaying graphic layers until I reach the shade I want. Now in the beginning, I use the B pencil more often. But later, I will get the 2B and 4B pencils as well. [MUSIC] At this stage, you can change pencils. I'm already using the 2B here. If you're going to just use the B, you'll get a good shading, but your drawing will be limited when it comes to gray values. It's no use putting force, each material has its limits. The process is still the same. I crossed the lines and then I rub the tissue to blend the graphite. [MUSIC] Here, I am already using the 4B. Notice how this pencil is more porous than the previous ones, which makes it darker and blends more easily. I also take care that the strokes finish thin and smooth. This will leave your drawing with a more refined result, which is good. It is this variation of tones that renders volume to your drawing, which is why this initial step is so important. [MUSIC] In addition to the tissue, we can use the brush tool. I'm using this one with the bristles cut, which helps to make the graphite to penetrate the pores of the paper. Then I go back with the 2B pencil of intermediate tone to work better this transition from dark to light, and then rub the tissue once more. [MUSIC] Now I'm going to start doing the freckles at last. This doesn't mean the skin is finished as I will retouch it later. But for now, the base layer is good. The way I draw the freckles is similar to the way I draw the skin. I start with a lighter pencil like the B, and then I switch to darker ones. I do this because each freckle has a variation of shade, some being lighter and others darker. With the B pencil, I make spots spread across the skin, all of them with irregular shapes. Avoid making mirror circles. Observe the shape of each of them. Also avoid drawing outlines on freckles. This is very important. They're nothing more and nothing less than stains. I'm making these spots more or less as it is in the reference. I say more or less because the goal here is not to make a perfect copy, but just to imitate the texture. Drawing textures is like this. We always seek to understand its structure, the logic behind it, but we hardly seek to copy each of its parts perfectly because it would take too much work. You will see that even so, the result is quite satisfactory. [MUSIC] With the B pencil, I'm going to make a more irregular layer for the skin because it still looks very straight, very clean and organized, which is still a bit official. I make light and small circular movements because once again, I don't want stronger marked lines. The effect is subtle, but I guarantee it's worth applying it. Then I use a soft brush to blend the graphite in the looser way, smoothing a bit the graphite's roughness. Now I get back to the freckles. After using the tissue or the brush, it is normal for the drawing to lose some of its definition. Now, I'm going to use a 2B pencil to redo the freckles, but only partially. I'm going to take advantage of the fact that they are quite blurred and enhance the darkness and sharpness off some of them. The drawing will have freckles with different tones, which gives a very interesting touch of realism. Most of the time, I'll not cover all the freckle, but only a part of it. [MUSIC] Here, adding some irregularities and smoothing it all with the brush. [MUSIC] Now I'm going to use this 0.5 millimeter mechanical pencil with 4B graphite lead to make the darkest freckles in the drawing, which are concentrated in the lower-left corner. The mechanical pencil is a good option because it's accurate and you don't have to keep sharpening, which happens with the 4B pencil. The 4B pencil will be useful to darken the skin a little more though. [MUSIC] Now one of my favorite steps, I'm going to use the pencil eraser to make the highlights. This type of eraser is not very accurate, but sometimes this is good because of the way it touches the paper surface. I'm not putting too much pressure on the hand. These things are delicate, so light gray stains will be created. I'm using a long bristle brush with it to clean the drawing from those eraser residues. Notice that I'm trying to bring out the effect I see in the reference photo. These light blemishes aren't exactly round as they go in different directions on the skin. Take a good look at the photo at this stage and try to understand the behavior of these blemishes. [MUSIC] For light blemishes to have varying shades, the brush is the perfect tool for this. I'm going to rub the brush lightly over them, especially the ones on the darker side of the drawing. From this point, the drawing is practically finished. I'm just making the finishing touches on it. [MUSIC] That's it, guys. This is the video on how to draw freckles and I hope you enjoyed it. See you in the next videos. [MUSIC] 4. Pores: In this video, we are going to study pores. For this, I would like to give you a quick explanation of how light behaves in a pore, which is essential for us to create the effect we want. The pore is a small concavity that exists in our skin, our home. We need to keep this in mind to understand where we'll see light and where we'll see shadow according to the light source. Here I'm drawing a single pore viewed very closely and with the light coming from top to bottom, right to left. I'm making this scheme set at 7.5 centimeters side square, making a base layer using the B pencil and the tissue to blend the graphite. There in the middle is the hole that characterizes the pore. Now if the light comes from top right and the skin is sinking, then the right side is going to be a shaded area. The opposite side on the other hand, will be projecting forward and so is exposed to light. Perhaps we can say in a general way, what is moving away tends to get darker. What is approaching tends to become clearer. In this quick drawing I'll try to show you how light behaves. [MUSIC] Here we have a skin section as if we were looking at it from the side. The light comes from above and the upper part of the skin where it's like an owning or a hat blocking the arrival of light. Here in this study we are going to draw part of a cheek with porous skin. As usual, I'm going to make a base layer using the B pencil. Remember to cross the vertical and diagonal strokes for a more uniform effect. Then rub the tissue to blend the graphite. Try to render volume in this drawing. It's like we're drawing part of a sphere because it's actually a rounded part of the face. Concentrate the strokes in the lower-left corner as the shadow is there. Don't forget to leave the lighter skin area that is in that corner. [MUSIC] Then I changed pencils as I'm going to intensify these shadows. I'm going to pick up the 2B pencil and right after the 4B, if possible, try to imitate the movement that I made with the pencil as it has a reason for being. I tried to do something that is both comfortable for me and that follows the movement of my subject. Then I use the tissue in the direction perpendicular to the pencil strokes. I also consider how to hold the pencil. For lighter strokes hold the pencil a little further back, holding it away from the tip. For more precise and the stronger strokes hold the pencil close to the tip. These two groups are useful depending on what you want to do. [MUSIC] This first part before diving into the details is very important. This step if done well, will give consistency to your drawing. Don't be afraid to darken your drawing as much as necessary. The 4B pencil is quite useful for this. After using it, it's easier to see if the mid tones needs to be adjusted. They're the hardest to spot and usually they are the last. In this drawing, I do the intermediate tones with the B and 2B. Now we finally start drawing the pores. I'm going to make several marks on the skin using the B pencil. Notice how the strategy here is different from what I use to make the freckles. The marks I'm drawing are a small oval spots. Furthermore, the distance between the pores is more or less regular. You may be able to see that there is a pattern here. It's different from the freckles which appear to be arranged more randomly across the skin. I also noticed that the pores follow the movement of the face, which is no surprise. [MUSIC] After this first layer of pores, I rub the tissue to fade the effect of these pores, leaving them weaker, less intense. I'm also going to use the blending stump to smudge most of the pores. This is just the first layer and it doesn't require much definition. [MUSIC] Here I'm making an adjustment in the transition from the dark part to the light part of the skin. I'm using the B pencil for this. With the same pencil, I will also add another layer of graphite, this time to render the skin more irregular. It will be rougher less straight, which makes it more realistic. The movement I'm making is of the small ovals, one on the top of the other and we find a light pencil. This creates some mess that helps make the drawing more real. Also here I'm going to make more strokes in the darker area. The area above on the right, as it's more lit, looks more regular, smoother and that's why I draw layers there. Then I use the short bristle brush to make the effect of this texture more diffused with the pencil strokes less apparent. [MUSIC] Now I'm going to deepen some of those pores with a second layer of graphite. At first, I'm still drawing with the 2B pencil using the sharpest part of the tip with a stronger stroke. Then I can still use the 4B pencil. Notice that I'm not treating all pores as the same. The pores closer to the upper-right corner are more eliminated so they look lighter. Many of these pores are not being reinforced. They will even become lighter. Then we can use the blending stamp on some of these pores too on both light and dark areas. Now it's time to use the eraser. Initially I chose the pencil eraser because it has a lighter touch, creating a light gray effect and because it also leaves more round marks. Now remember the scheme I showed you at the beginning of this video, so you'll know which side of the pore you use the eraser on. As the light comes from top to bottom, from right to left, I'm going to use the eraser on the opposite side of the pore, that is on the left side further down. The eraser effect for me, it's a magical thing. It's like the drawing comes to life from here. Of course I'm going to use the eraser more on the top right because of the light. This will complement the work we did on the first layer when we tried to give the drawing a rounded volume. [MUSIC] Then I use the bead of the tombow eraser to bring out thinner light effects on the skin. On this be sure to chamfer the eraser steep. [MUSIC] From here I will just make a few adjustments so that the drawing will look more like the reference. I took the 4B pencil because I thought I still needed to darken that corner of the cheek and needed to give this part of the drawing more depth. I'm also going to use the brush to decrease the brightness intensity in some parts of the drawing. This also makes these effects with the eraser more natural as these highlights are not exactly white but light gray. [MUSIC] Here we come to the end of another study guys. I hope you've learned something of value here. See you in the next videos. [MUSIC] 5. Wrinkles: Well guys, now in this video we are going to study the wrinkles. The first thing we should do here is the outline of our drawing. I chose to draw it freehand, but if you find it difficult, you can sketch using the grid method. Part of this, I have made available to you, the photo of this reference divided into smaller squares. Just draw the grid on your paper and transfer the traces from the photo to your drawing. However, if you want to draw the sketch like me, just follow the process I'm applying here. I split the signs of this square in half. Again, this is a 7.5 centimeters side square. Then in the upper left corner, I've split the distance in half again, which gives me a quarter on each side. I did this to have the edges of the photo as a reference so it could position the shapes of the figure, especially the eye. You can choose to simply draw the wrinkles without drawing the eye and the skin around it. As I wanted to make a nice drawing, I chose to draw everything that is in my reference. Draw this sketch lines with an HB or B pencil. When drawing wrinkles, be careful, avoid making lines that are too sharp. The truth is that wrinkles look like defined lines, but among its extension, this line will disappear and it'll look more like a stain. Later on it will be easier to understand this. This drawing will require a little more work because of its complexity. Don't brush. [MUSIC] Finish it with them initial sketch, I mark the darker lines I see in the photo. Part that I'm using the mechanical pencil with 4B graphite. These lines are concentrated in the eye area. Using the B pencil, I will also lightly mark these small wrinkles I see on the lower eyelid. [MUSIC] With the same B pencil, I will make the base layer of the skin. As usual, the strokes are parallel to each other as I've been trying to make it uniform. Then blend the graphite using the tissue in a direction perpendicular to the strokes. Using the same pencil, we can also mark the wrinkles, but creating strains, not lines. Another way to do this is with a blending stump with a tip dirty with graphite. I just don't use this technique very often because I find it a little difficult to control the tone of this stain, which needs to be a little lighter in this case. But it's another possibility, then you can use the tissue even if it undoes part of what you did earlier. [MUSIC] Here I am already reinforcing the wrinkles because as we darken the skin, the wrinkles may end up disappearing. Why not darken those wrinkles in the fat arms? Well, I don't like to do that because each wrinkle has varying shades of gray. if it's too dark at the beginning, the only way to lighting it is to use an eraser. I don't like that because the eraser makes a mess. I prefer to work with overlapping graphic layers. For this step, keep using the B pencil. As we go along, we can darken the drawing more and more. For this, use 2B and 4B pencils. [MUSIC] Here we already have the general values more or less established, so we can start focusing on the details. I'm going to use the mechanical pencil to deepen these wrinkles where they should be deepened. That is, in the area close to the eye. The stiff bristle brush will then help make the graphics stick to the paper and reduce the graininess. [MUSIC] Now, another layer of graphite, this time with the 2B pencil advancing a little further. This is already texture drawing. In this case, I make circular movements at even say, ovals, which is how I'm interpreting what I see in the photo. Now, the appearance will be a little more irregular and less artificial. Also here, I'll use the brush later. [MUSIC] For lightest thing, I'll use lighter pencils. I'm going to use age HB and B pencils around this drawing because these reference is light for the most part. It's only really darker in the eye and at the beginning of the wrinkles, or the rest of the drawing is lighter. I make light stains using the HB and B pencils without applying too much pressure on my hand. This is a lighter and more delicate work. Because of the softness of this layer, later, I'll blend the graphic using a brush with longer and software bristles. I change materials as needed. Once you have a good understanding of what each of the graphic grades does, you'll be more confident about changing pencils. Also, the brushes have different functions. The firmer ones being more used on darker areas and the softer ones used on larger on lighter areas. [MUSIC] With the skin almost finished, I decided to draw the eye. With the B pencil, I made some strokes and defined some shadow points that are here. Definitions were made with successive layers. Instead of using the tissue, I chose to use the brush to blend the graphite because this area is small. If I use the tissue, I would have made a mess around here and still lose the strokes I made for this smaller wrinkles. The brush is certainly the best option to use here. Then we can use the longer bristle brush to spread the graphite over the eye, as it will also have a gray layer as a base. The highlights we will do with the eraser later. In successive layers, change pencils until you get this area well-defined. I use the B and 2B pencils mainly. After that, we can start adding highlights using the pencil eraser. It is important that it's well sharpened so that you can make finer details. Tombow stick eraser can also be used here. I also do the eyelashes in more than one layer. I draw their shape first using a lighter pencil like the B, and then do a second layer with the mechanical pencil with 4B be graphic lead. When using the pencil on the eyelashes, make sure it is sharpened. Lashes always end with a very thin tip. Pay attention to that. I have a class just on how to draw eyes, where it can go deeper into this topic that I like so much, which is drawing eyes. Don't forget to watch it if you're interested. [MUSIC] The iris and pupil are done with 4B graphite. There is not much of a secret here. Apply the blending stump to spread the graphite and not let the iris become too defined. The iris always has diffused, blurred edges. [MUSIC] The white of the eye actually has various shades of gray. I use the B pencil to draw these stains. I add some details and then blend it using the brush. With the stick eraser, I drew the highlights that I see here. The tombow eraser is better than the pencil eraser in this case, because it manages to make a highlight closer to white, and that's what I'm looking for here. From here I turned my attention to the skin. This is an excellent skin texture study because it is light, which requires more accuracy from the artists. From now on I did most of the work with the HB pencil, which is lighter. For this skin to be well done, you have to have a little patience because I don't know how this step can be done quickly. I went to take the opportunity to give you a tip that may be obvious. You don't have to do this drawing all at once. I did this drawing in two mornings not rushing. It helped me a lot because when I got to the stage, it wasn't tired on the following day. On the contrary, I was enjoying the process. I put a song to listen to and just let it flow. I think it took me almost an hour to finish the skin, but the time spent doesn't matter. It's even better not worry about it. Don't be anxious to finish because it will get in your way. If you're in a hurry to finish and post on social media, for example, you may not notice some things that could be improved. Often there is more and easy things to fix, but we don't notice them when we are in a hurry. I hope this piece of advice is useful to you. To finish it off and drew some graphic layers using the HB pencil mainly. I blended it in a later with a soft brush. I added some highlights using the pencil eraser. At the end, I soften the highlights of B with the same brush. [MUSIC] If you want to draw those thin hairs trends that we see here, I use the HB pencil for that. I hope you enjoyed this video as well. I believe these tips can help you improve your drawings even more. See you in the next videos. See you later. [MUSIC] 6. Intro to Final Project: Now that we've done some simple skin texture studies, now I'm going to show you a case where draw skin texture when drawing a hand. As I believe this drawing is a little more complex, you may find it difficult for a beginner. However, it would be nice if you try to draw this hand with me because you have nothing to lose. Anyway, you'll see the process is simple. Come with me and you'll see I'm not lying. 7. Tracing transfer method: Now we are going to do a relatively complex drawing, which is a drawing of a hand. The sketch of this drawing, of course, can be done freehand, but is not the focus of our class. For that reason, I'm going to teach you a method to draw a sketch with 100 percent of accuracy. To apply this method, you will need the paper on which you are going to draw, the printed reference photo, and a sheet of common print paper. [MUSIC] Take the common paper. We are going to fill this paper out with graphite, which will then be transferred to the surface where we are going to draw. Use the darkest great pencil you have, be it for B, 6B, 8B, whatever you have. I'm going to use a 6B pencil here which is cheaper one, as this method uses up a lot of pencil and it doesn't have to be a high-quality pencil, it can be the cheapest one you have. With it, we are going to fill this sheet out by making broad and loose strokes. You can use the pencil lying it down, touching the side of the lead onto the paper, this allows you to fill the paper out faster. There is no need to fill out the entire paper. I'll leave the edges of mine blank, so I can manipulate it without getting my hands dirty. Make strokes following one direction, and then spread this graphic using the tissue. [MUSIC] Once you're done, repeat the process to darken more the surface. I usually make the layers by tracing the pencil in another direction to achieve more uniformity in the covering. That's it using the pencil, and then blend the graphic using the tissue. [MUSIC] We've reached the point where the surface is already well filled, now we will proceed to transfer the outline of the reference to the surface on which the drawing will be done. [MUSIC] Now, take the printed reference photo and the paper where the drawing will be done. With a masking or a painter's tape, we will fix the reference photo on the drawing paper. I usually use two piece of tape to prevent the reference from moving in relation to the drawing surface when we are tracing. Drawing's done in landscape orientation, as it is the case here, I put the masking tape on the left side. For our portrait orientation drawings, I fix it on top. In both cases, I fix the tape in these places because that makes it more comfortable for me to lift the reference and look at a drawing while I'm transferring the outline. If you are left-handed, you may prefer to attach the tape to the right side of a drawing in landscape orientation. [MUSIC] Now take the sheet with graphite, turn down the side we've filled out, and place it between the reference photo and the paper we are going to draw on. That's it. Now we can transfer the outline from the reference. For this step, you can use any pencil, pen, or even an embossing tool. I like to use the regular ballpoint pen. Of course, it can be of any color and I usually use the red one I have at home. The advantages of the ballpoint pen are that it is firm because it has a metal tip and its ink allows me to see where I have already traced, so I wouldn't use a black pen for that. When I transfer the outline using the pencil, the method worked, but sometimes I use the pencil several times in the same place, because I wasn't sure if I had the right trace in that part. Even though you can lift the photo and look at the drawing, the process is easier with a red, blue, or any other color pen, in my opinion. This is how we transfer the lines to prepare the sketch. This is not the only method used to prepare an accurate sketch. Another widely used method is the grid method, which you may have already seen around. It is also a valid method and has the advantage of not requiring you to print the reference. On the other hand, I find the grid method more difficult and I don't really like it. If you want to give it a try, I show the grid method in my class on how to draw waterdrops. Head over to this class to learn more about it. When transferring these lines, mark as much information as you can. Not just the outline of the fingers and palm, also mark the details of the wrinkles, the marks of the hand, and even where the shadows are located, because all this will help us when we go to make the shading and the texture of the skin. [MUSIC] At the end of the process, you should have the result more or less similar to what I had. If you follow this step-by-step correctly, there is no way to miss this step. If you are sure you've traced everything you can, we can separate the paper sheets and start shading. 8. The hand: thumb and palm: [MUSIC] Now let's start shading this hand. First, I'd like to make some general markings, especially shadows and some wrinkles. I'm using the B pencil to reinforce the traces I consider more important to have as a reference. As you may have already noticed, as we spread the graphite using a brochure tissue the lighter strokes tend to zip here and that is why I am now darkening some parts of the sketch. [MUSIC] Now, I'm going to focus on the thumb. I suggest you forget about the rest of the drawing for a moment and do the best possible job on this finger as it's summarizes the process that will be applied through out the rest of a hand. After redoing the wrinkles with the B pencil, I'm going to use the 4B pencil. The goal here is going to be to set the darkest values we've seen this area of the drawing. Next, we use the graphite of the darkest area to delicately darken the lighter area. The first step then is to make this shadow we see on this finger using the 4B pencil through successive layers of graphite. Then rub the brush to pore part of that graphite to the rest of the finger. Let's repeat the step until we've successfully darkened the thumb. There is no need to apply force here. If you do, your drawing will show ugly pencil marks that will make our drawing rustic. The number of times you will need to use the pencil depends on the paper surface you're using. As I'm using very smooth paper, it will take me a little longer to darken the drawing as I want. If I wanted to darken it faster, I could've used a more textured paper. On the other hand, I would lose a little in terms of definition and possibilities of working on small details. That's why I always work with smooth papers. Why didn't I use a tissue to blend the graphite but the brush? I chose the brush because this area of the drawing is small, and I would smudge the area outside the finger a lot. The brush also gives me better control of the process and I'm going to use it throughout this drawing. Moving forward, I'm using the 2B pencil to make the intermediate tones. Throughout this drawing, I'll use pencils B and 2B for the mid tones as usual. It is good that the transition from dark to light is smooth. Pay attention to the direction of the strokes I'm doing. All drawings will be drawn this way. I believe that tracing this direction helps to simulate the texture of the fingers. This is a direction the wrinkles are following as well. Here, I took the 0.5 minion mechanical pencil with fabric graphite to darken more the shadow, especially in the lower area which is darker. The mechanical pencil with fabric graphite lead can darken more than the 4B pencil. Combine the two materials if you have them to get slight variations in tone in the darkest areas of the drawing. That's what you see me doing here. In addition to drawing finger by fingers separately, I also like to focus on each part of the fingers separately. It helps me give you a sense of progress. If you think too much about the whole drawing, you might be intimidated by how long it's going to take. My tip for any long activity you are doing is to focus on those smaller steps one at a time. Once again, I'm using the B pencil, but this time I'm filling this area in a more irregular way, trying to make the spots I seen the photo. Yes, we are drawing the texture. Here, darkening the wrinkles a bit. You can use the BR2 B pencil for this. Be careful that these lines are very thin, especially at the end of them. Now, with tumbles stick eraser, I'm going to highlight the light lines I see in the reference photo. To make these lines very thin, sharpen the eraser using a utility knife. When the shading is advanced, use the eraser to define the borders and then clean your drawing. There is no way to prevent the graphite from spreading out of your drawing so this step needs to be followed. At the end, I rub the brush over the eraser marks so they don't get too intense. The graphite powder will reduce down brightness. Now that we have the thumb down, let's move on to the palm. For now, I'm just going to do a part of it. The one connected to the thumb. Then I draw the other fingers. I'm doing this to keep drawing from left to right just so I don't mess up what I have drawn before. The first step as usual, is to redo the traces that I think are important to have as a reference. I used the BR2B pencil for this. I also marked the shadow areas. Here, I'm already using the 4B pencil to shade the darker areas. Soon after I use the brush to start the shading of the lighter areas and to reduce the rough appearance of the graphite. Once again, I'm combining the pencil with the mechanical pencil. In areas that are dark but a little lighter, I stand to shade it with the 2B pencil because the 4B maybe too dark there. As you can see, I try to shade each area little by little so that I can control the shades value. As I had been doing before, before darkening the entire area, I marked some lines more strongly so as not to lose them during the shading. [MUSIC] Then when you feel confident, use the 4B to intensify the shadows. In the lighter areas, be careful not to mark the wrinkles in an exaggerated way. They will be lighter because they are lit. Use a lighter pencil like the B or even HB. Then blend the graphite with the brush. Let's watch the process which repeats itself from here on out. [MUSIC]. If you want to be detail-oriented, invest in those small spots and the variation in re-code values. This step makes our finishing more refined. But I recognize that it's more difficult, that it requires more gear. Carry out these details only if you feel comfortable. [MUSIC] 9. The hand: fingers: [MUSIC] Now I'm going to focus on drawing the other fingers of the hand. You will notice that they are all made the same way. What we will change is the tone of each finger. Depending on the area, they may or may not be lighter. After delimiting the transition from one finger to the other using the pencil, we can start the shading. The process is the same as the one used to draw the thumb. First, I'm going to outline the area of the most intense shadow using the 4B pencil. Notice, once again, the direction of the strokes I am doing. This is very important. Soon after, I use a lighter pencil like the B to gently mark the wrinkles. With the same pencil, I will cover the lighter area with lightness, then I'll blend the graphite with the brush, taking care that the pencil marks are not visible. The sequence I'm following to do each step for this finger is not definitive. I mean you don't have to follow the same sequence. You can focus on the darkest shadow first, or you can focus on the lightest values before and then move on to the shadow. The truth is that I prefer to do both things at the same time because that way I'm already making the necessary adjustments, little by little, depending on how each part is turning out. Here, I'm already working on the transition between the shadow and the light part, and I take the opportunity to add some spots here and there with the B pencil or the HB pencil. [MUSIC] Returning to the 4B pencil and the mechanical pencil with far big graphite lead, I'm intensifying these shadows more, always comparing the drawing with the reference photo. [MUSIC] I'm moving forward little by little. This transition is done with the 2B pencil most of the time. When I get to the other side of the finger, I switch to the B pencil. Later, I apply the brush to smooth the texture. Now, it's time to add fingerprint. For that, I'm going to use this stick eraser with the chamfer tape, and I'll try to mimic what I see in the reference. Try to follow its logic, if you want a more realistic result. Then, it's a case of using the B pencil to add intermediate tones between the marks and then using the brush to decrease the brightness intensity of these marks. From area to area of the finger, I go on. From here, I won't have much more to add, so let's watch the process. [MUSIC] You will often see me using the 4B pencil and the mechanical pencil in the same place. This is because the lead of my mechanical pencil is darker that the 4B graphite pencil, so I try to take advantage of that too. Over time, you'll get the hang of it as the process repeats itself, which gives us a great chance to practice the shading technique. [MUSIC] Notice that in some areas, the work with the erasers more delicate. As with the pencil, sometimes we will use the eraser in a lighter way without putting force. Try varying your hand pressure as needed. Before moving on to the next finger, I'm going to erase those lines outside the borders. It's important to clean the area around each finger once you're done. [MUSIC] After the index finger, let's draw the middle finger. As I said, the process will repeat itself on each finger, so you already know what to do. For that reason, I'm going to show you the process of the next fingers quicker. That doesn't mean guys that these fingers were done quickly. As I draw relatively slowly, this drawing as a whole took a considerable amount of time, so don't be in a hurry. [MUSIC] Here, at the end of the process of drawing the middle finger, I noticed some marks going in different directions from what I had been observing up until now. That's why it's important to observe the reference carefully. It may contain details that the most inattentive eyes will not notice. [MUSIC] Here on the ring finger, guess what? We're going to follow the same steps. I marked the darkest shadows with the 4B pencil and mechanical pencil. I used the 2B on B pencils for the transition to the lighter areas, wrinkles, and stains, then I make lighter marks with the stick eraser or the pencil eraser. Between one step and another, I use the brush to smooth out the grainy texture. Occasionally, I also use the blending stump to create blemishes on the skin. [MUSIC] Thus, from area to area, the fingers of the hand are done. Although I draw a portion of the finger at a time, it's important that you don't lose track of the whole. When you are close to finishing the drawing, it will be easier to see if we should make any adjustments to the drawing. [MUSIC] 10. The hand: palm: From here I will go back to drawing the palm. We are entering the final stretch of this drawing. The truth is guys, the process is the same from here to end. What changes is the shape of the spots and the details we've seen in each area of the drawing. [MUSIC] What is most challenging here in my opinion, is being able to perceive the tonal variations that exist within micro zones. Let me put it another way. I find it challenging for you to notice and be able to reproduce the different light tones that exist within and brighter area. The same goes for dark areas. There is the area of the hand that is dark, but within it, there are variations of dark tones. I consider this skill a little more advanced. If you're a beginner, don't be frustrated if you can't get the single level of detail that I'm reproducing here. The secret to getting these details is always starting with a lighter tone that the one you're seeing. If you think the darkest shade requires the 4B pencil, start with the 2B. Only then you use the 4B. With the 4B, you won't do everything you see as dark, but only the darkest tones within the shadow area. Some less dark areas will have been done with just 2B which you have be enough. In any case, notice how the process is the same as that I used to draw the other parts of the hand. I started by the limiting the areas of more intense shadow with the BR2 B pencil. Little by little, we can deepen these shadows with the 4B pencil and the mechanical pencil. In the brightest areas I used the B pencil or even the HB for the light spots. To blending stump also helps us to make these things. [MUSIC] To make the base layer of the skin often spreading the graphite with the brush is enough. You can also use the toilet paper if you want. [MUSIC] For the transitions between dark and light areas work with pencils of intermediate tones, which are pencils B and 2B. I use the brush and the blending stump a lot in these areas too, to smooth out the tunnel transitions. Last but not least the pencil eraser and the stick eraser, or the tools needed to make the highlights that we find along this hand. These details make all the difference to the final product. If you want sharper, clear detail, use this thicker eraser. If you want to create light spots with little definition, the eraser pencil is a better option, let's wash then. [MUSIC] I like to use the blending stump to make stains without leaving a pencil mark. Just pay attention to how dirty the tip is or not. If it's too dark, maybe there's stump we'll dark in your drawing more than you'd like. In this cases, rub the dirty tip of the stump on a sandpaper to remove the graphics from the tip. [MUSIC] This is the area where I made the most delicate stains. I mainly use the HB and B pencils to draw the skin marks, and that was always with a light hand. It is important that each of these wrinkles starts in the ends of thin. This is apparent seen in all wrinkles. When we rub the tissue, the blending stump and the brush, these wrinkles will lose a later definition, they will fade. This is actually fine for the effect I want to create. Then if I find it necessary, I just need to use the same pencil again to reduce some lines. On the left side of the screen, we can see the light from the lamp bouncing off a dark area of the drawing. That is an inherent characteristic of graphic guys. This shine would not appear if this drawing we're done with charcoal for example, There's not another problem for me, each material has its own characteristics. However, if you want to lessen that graphics shine and at the same time protect your drawing as you keep it, apply a matte finish, fixing spray when it's finished and you are sure you won't change anything in your drawing anymore. I do this with all my drawings before, I put it in, in a folder or in a frame. [MUSIC] That's it, we have reached the stage where we can better understand what adjustments we need to make so that the different parts of the drawing are coherent with each other. In some places you may have to darken more, in others, you may need to use an eraser to lighting a stain. To get an even better understanding of your own drawing, I had three tips. The first is that you take a break and come back later to look at your drawing carefully. This allows you to reset your eyes. That is your vision will be less influenced by the perceptions you had while drawing, and you'll be able to look at your drawing in a more critical way. The second tip is that you observe your drawing from afar. This way you'll have a better idea of the whole without worrying too much about these details. In my opinion, general values are more important than details because the farmer is the first thing we've seen a drawing. The third tip finally, is to look at your drawing during the day, near a window or outdoors because natural light shows us details that we often cannot see with artificial light. We come to the end of another class guys. I hope you enjoyed at least watching this lesson, if possible, that a challenge yourself to do this drawing. It took me 12 hours to finish his drawing. Yes, it is a more or less barriers study. However, I promised that the result of your effort is very rewarding. Thanks for watching this video and I see you in the next class. Bye. [MUSIC] 11. Conclusion: Here we are, at the end of our class. [MUSIC] I hope you've learned a lot from our studies. Don't forget to share the drawings you've done. I will also ask you to leave a review for this class. It will help me a lot to grow, and reach many other students and lovers of realistic drawing. Thank you very much and I hope to see you soon. Bye. [MUSIC]