Making hair and skin?!

[TheClericGod]

I really want to get into making artwork similar to the picture here images.elfwood.com/art/k/o/kozienko/dwarf_axeman.jpg (with the www in front)

So i started with some rough ideas, shapes and color and started messing around with some of the tools. I'm not that great of an artist and couldn't figure out an easier method of making the textures, I'm new to Photoshop.

Does anyone know some good tutorials and how to make pictures like this? I've looked very hard and seen a ton of stuff, but people are usually terrible about explaining how they're doing something or what tools they're using, plus, this picture is a lot cooler then any other I've seen.

Or can someone atleast link something on making realistic (or actually somewhat overly dramatic) skin and/or hair...

Or even better! If any of you talented people out there can MAKE a tutorial, that would be great!

Thanks for taking the time to read my post, I hope someone can help me out.

 

[X-force]

Simple, 4 things;

A - get a good tablet, again I repeat, good tablet
B - add a nice collection of hair brushes to your brushes palette
C - learn how to modify brushes
D - learn how to draw hair


When you look at the hair you're basically looking at simple strokes. Also notice how the edges of the hair fade out... that's why pressure sensitive tablet are so useful.

Also notice how the hair was drawn in layers, one for example has a lighter shade.

I really don't understand what you find so hard about this. Practice for a few days and you have it all under control. As you can see, the hair in the beard is slightly different, again...just a matter of picking a different brush.

 

[X-force]

Some hair brushes:

Download: Photoshop Brushes Series 36
Download: Custom Photoshop Brushes, Series 21


Example of using brushes:

Photoshop Painting Techniques: Hair and Fur