With all the hype about The Hunger Games recently, hair braids have been popping up all over the place. It's getting to be so popular it's almost getting boring! So why not try a different Hunger Games inspired style! Drawing Seneca Crane's beard is simple and easy and can be done with things you find around your house!

Step 1: What You Will Need

Washable markers: I recommend using Crayola. You can find them anywhere, they are easy to wash off, and they are non-toxic. You can also use face paint or other make up products, but if you want to use things you have around your house, I recommend regular markers. DO NOT USE SHARPIES OR OTHER PERMANENT MARKERS! Not only will you have a beard on your face for awhile, but if can irritate the skin on your face. You can use either the brown or the black marker, depending on what you what color you want your beard to look like.
Mirror/ friend to help you: You need to be able to see what you are doing or you could end up with one scary looking beard. A friend to draw it for you would also be pretty nice, but sometimes it's fun to surprise people with a crazy antic.
Reference picture: I actually use two. A frontal view to understand the big picture and a side view to understand the intricacy of the beard itself. These pictures are fairly easy to find; Google "Seneca Crane Beard" and both come up on the FIRST ROW OF RESULTS!

Step 2: Outline It

When you first start drawing the beard, it is really helpful to outline it with dots. Since the dots are so small, if you go out of line or want to re-do something, it's really easy to work around it. You can even just lick your thumb or finger and wipe away a single dot. I recommend that you use a marker that is lighter than the color you are intending on using for the final project. Also, this gives you a way to check to see if you are symmetrical. You can draw as many or as few dots as you please.

Step 3: Connect the Dots

You are going to do exactly that; connect the dots. No more, no less. This is probably the easiest step. All that needs to be done is make one smooth connection of your outline from the previous step.

This doesn't have to be perfect; this is just to finalize that you are symmetrical! As you can tell, I didn't do it perfectly, but I was able to get rid of the stray dots afterwards.

Step 4: Fill It In

Just color in the lines you created in the previous step. This seems like the easiest step but it can be almost as difficult as the previous. You have to make it look solid; not like someone colored it in with marker streaks. You can see some in my drawing because of the weird lighting in the room and the extreme closeup.

Also, this is the point when your markers start to act difficult. You've been using it so much that some of the natural oils from your face could have gotten on the marker and it doesn't seem to want to work. DON'T WORRY! All you have to do is grab a piece of paper and scribble on it until the oils from the marker are gone. While that often works, sometimes it can make the oils permanently ingrained into the marker. I suggest you also run it under some cool water, as well.

Step 5: Clean Up

Now you've had your fun: walked around with the beard, seen the movie with the beard, trick-or-treated with the beard, sat in the corner and "stroked" the beard, ect. You'll be happy to know that the clean up process is the easiest of all.

Simply take a washcloth and run hot water on it, put a little soap on it, and wash. You don't need to scrub. If the beard smudges all over your face and seems to make a bigger mess than you started with, this is normal. Simply rinse the washcloth in the warm water until the marker comes out (it should come out fairly easy) and wipe your face again. It's really quite simple. DO NOT USE COLD WATER. DO NOT USE PAPER TOWELS/TOILET PAPER/TISSUES/OTHER SUBSTITUTES. These things can irritate your face because you will have to scrub too hard. MAKE SURE THE WATER IS HOT. Not so hot that you scald yourself, but warm enough so that your pores feel happy. DO NOT USE SKIN CARE PRODUCTS DURING REMOVAL. Regular soap will do. Hand soap or a bar of soap should be fine.

Finally, rinse the marker off of the washcloth. Remember to use hot water and it should come off without a problem.

I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE MAJOR THANKS TO MY MODEL, EMILY! THANKS FOR THE HELP, SWEETIE *gives Emily virtual hug*