I am a beginner when it comes to drawing. i am trying to do a drawing for my wife. it is of the sesame street character "Elmo". I have been able to the the contour outline completed i am able to get most of the sketch completed, however I am having trouble trying to get the material added to his face and body. Its almost like a fur. If anyone could suggest a technique to add realistic material to it i would greatly appreciate it .

Could you tell us what medium you are using i.e.(Graphite, color pencil, charcoal, paint.. ) and if you have a link to the refernece photo you are using that would also be helpfull. Also maybe a picture of your drawing in it's current state if you can.

I am using Graphite the reference picture I have is one that my wife received as a gift.

Well I am not versed in pencil technique but I would use my kneaded eraser and blening stump to make fur. Greeneys did a wolf drawing resently and explains how to do the fur. Just scroll down in the general forum looking for the wolf thread. It would not be as detialed a the wolf but I think the technique could be aplied for this. I found a small photo of Sr Elmo and made it black and white to show how he realy looks. Only a couple of shades to deal with like this.
Hope this give you some ideas.
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Fur for stuffed animals is different than animal fur of course. Its more 'tufty' but the same principle applies when drawing it. Here's a drawing I did of a couple of teddy bears that will give you an idea of how I did the texture and shading on it. I hope it helps.

If you post the drawing you have done so far, we can provide more help.

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