How to Add Stubble to a Face in Photoshop

In this Photoshop tutorial we will learn how to add stubble to a face using nothing but Photoshop tools and filters.


Final Image

How to Add Stubble to a Face final result


Tutorial Details

  • Program: Photoshop CS4 +
  • Estimated Completion Time: 15 minutes
  • Difficulty: Beginner

Resources


Step 1

Open the image “Boy”.

How to Add Stubble to a Face 1


Step 2

Select the Crop tool (C) and crop the image as shown below.

How to Add Stubble to a Face 2


Step 3

Create a new layer (Ctrl + Shit + Alt + N) and fill it with black ( press D to set default colors and press Alt + backspace to fill with foreground color).

How to Add Stubble to a Face 3


Step 4

Add some noise by going to Filter > Noise > Add Noise.

How to Add Stubble to a Face 4


Step 5

Now add 0.4 Gaussian Blur to the noise layer by going to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

How to Add Stubble to a Face 5


Step 6

Let’s apply some radial blur to the noise layer. Go to Filter > Blur > Radial Blur and apply 10 Zoom blur.

How to Add Stubble to a Face 6


Step 7

Add a layer mask to the noise layer (Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All). Choose a soft white brush and in the layer mask paint over the areas of the face where you want the stubble to show.

How to Add Stubble to a Face 7


Step 8

Create a Curves Adjustment layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves) with the settings shown below in order to get rid of the middle tones of the noise layer. Clip the curves layer to the noise layer (simply hold Alt and click between the two layers).

How to Add Stubble to a Face 8


Step 9

Create another Curves Adjustment layer and clip it to the previous Curves Adjustment layer. Use the settings shown below to increase the contrast of the stubble.

How to Add Stubble to a Face 9


Step 10

Sample a color from the face of the boy (#a86b63) by having the Brush tool selected and Alt-clicking somewhere on the image.

Create a new layer and press Alt+ backspace to fill the layer with that color. Now clip this layer to the two curves layers below and change the blending mode to Soft Light.

How to Add Stubble to a Face 10


And We’re Done!

And we finished our tutorial. I hope you enjoyed it and learned some useful tips and tricks.

How to Add Stubble to a Face final result

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