How to draw a tattooed arm in 3 simple steps

We asked Spanish illustrator Paco Rico Torres how to paint a hairy, tattooed arm. Here’s what he had to say…

I paint the skin, trying to emphasise the veins, the shape of the bones and skin imperfections (the skin spots are on a separate Multiply layer, which is convenient for painting the hair later on). There isn’t too much detail on the arm because it’s going to be covered with hair.

Then I start to depict the hair, which involves me painting a greyish tone over the arm, and some brushstrokes to create the visual effect of hair pointing in one direction. Then I paint the hair outline on the arm and hand, and introduce some extra hair with thin brush strokes.

I add the tattoos on a Multiply layer over the hair, and paint over them using further layers to integrate them better with the skin (some extra hair, some extra lights, for instance). Finally, I mix some textures and paste them over the image on a low Opacity Overlay layer.