How to Draw Hair Better Than Anyone Else

When we think of hair we don't often associate it with structure or anatomy like the rest of the figure has. But to our surprise the hair does have structure and parts give it its flexibility, sheen and color. In this lesson you will discover critical insights that few teachers talk about that will influence the overall look of your portrait drawings when applied correctly.

The shape of the hair mass is key to getting a likeness and must be integrated with the silhouette of the head and mask of the face in a unified statement.

Discovery of the action and flow of the hair will turn the lights on helping you to create lifelike hair with dynamic movement.

To make hair look solid and maintain structure while keeping it flowing with life we'll need to add layers and overlaps to create depth.

This simple technique saves time while creating the overall big impression of form without fussing over textures and details It's like magic!

You need confidence in your pencil strokes to establish solid hair drawing. This lesson will guide you on how to approach this thoughtfully and practically.

In this section I take you through the block in stage. I'll find the longest dimension of both the height and width to establish proportion and get it placed well on the paper. Then I will look to establish the shape of the hair and face simultaneously. Then I'll analyze the flow of the hair overall to give it energy with dynamic lines.

The next step in the process will build structure into your hair and give you a clear roadmap to add value to. Things can get a bit messy when adding value but you won't get lost if you've got the map established.

This phase is like magic. You will be able to create a sense of volume quickly and easily with this technique by considering the light direction and it's influence on the forms of the hair.

Now that a solid foundation has been laid I will start to add textures and details mostly in the half tones and on the light side of the hair. I'll keep my statement more simple on the shadow side with less details and textures along with more fuzzy edges.

To finish up I will pull out fine highlights and dial in my values and edges bring the drawing to a conclusion.

In this drawing demo I will introduce the tools I use and break down the structure of the overlaps in this lock of hair. I will start with laying down a tone to work out of and get a light line block in established.

I will continue to refine the block in and add middle and dark values.I'll build o the light and shadow and conjure an illusion of depth. I will then add strands of hair, texture, stray hairs and finish it off.