How to Draw Realistic Hair

Learn to draw realistic hair tutorials step by step

How to draw realistic hair in 4 steps

Are you struggling when it comes learn to draw hair? Drawing hair can be an intimidating task for those who are just learning how to draw. With the overwhelming amount of detail and commitment required, many people lose their patience and resort to a series of sloppy scribbles. To some of us, drawing hair can be a nightmare. But a change in your approach can help you leave those fears behind. Ready for realistic drawings?

how do you draw hair - In this tutorial, there are 4 simple steps for drawing realistic looking hair. The steps below can be used for drawing all sorts of hairstyles from short to long and straight to curly hair. So without any further ado, let’s jump right into the lesson! Here are 4 things you need to keep in mind when it comes how to draw hair easy: Volume, Flow, Value and Texture how to draw realistic hair in 4 simple steps .

Volume

It helps to make loose outlines of the skull before you start drawing hair. If you draw hair without the 3 dimensional shape of the human head in mind, it will lack volume and you risk chopping off a part of the skull. Hair hugs the head, but it isn’t plastered to it. For most people with long hair, you can expect at least 2 centimeters of “hair height” on top of their actual height and at least 2 centimeters on the sides as well.

Flow

In order to draw hair with flow, you need to be aware of the structure underneath. For long hairstyles in their resting state, the hair flows down, hugs the head and wraps around the shoulders. Somewhat like a liquid. You want to begin by sketching the basic structure of the hair and keep your strokes loose and simple.

Value - how to shade hair

A head of hair contains many shades, so before you start scribbling away, take some time to determine where the light source is coming from and how it will affect the tonal value of the hair shades. If you are working off a reference image where the lighting is too soft, posterize the image or turn up the contrast using a free image editing program such as gimp in order to exaggerate the 3 different shades – Making them much easier to identify. Once you have the lighting down, start drawing boundary lines between groups of hair that appear to be overlapping. Decide where you want the light to fall and then outline those areas using the shadow lining technique. Shade your way around the highlights. If you often find yourself getting lost in the details, this step will help you keep track of the overall lighting so you can be more confident when drawing the individual hairs.

Texture

An average human head contains around 150,000 strands of hair. Just the thought of this can be very discouraging. First, you don’t need to spend 90% of your time meticulously drawing your subject’s hair. In fact, this step can be done so quickly it might even become your favorite step. The key to adding texture is using confident, steady strokes and maintaining a consistent flow. Tip: You can produce long, continuous and smooth lines using an overhand grip on your pencil while harnessing the power of your elbow and shoulder instead of your fingers and wrist. Work on one part of the hair at a time, while following the general direction in which the strands flow. In dark areas, don’t be afraid to press hard. To bring out highlights, flatten your kneaded eraser and swipe it in the desired direction. The eraser will become too dirty after the first swipe, so fold it in and flatten after each stroke. You can add more or less detail depending on the level of realism you are trying to achieve.