How To Draw And Color Realistic Hair

When it comes to creating realistic portraits and figures, knowing techniques for drawing hair — including unlike lengths, styles and texture — is essential. If yous're a beginner, this may seem similar a daunting challenge, peculiarly since this task tin can take longer than any other part of a drawing.

Photo by Getty Images | Drawing Hair in Graphite and Colored Pencil for Beginners | Lee Hammond, Artists Network — Photo courtesy of Getty Images

However, information technology doesn't have to be difficult. Below, artist Lee Hammond, breaks downwardly fundamental tips for cartoon hair in both graphite and colored pencil! Pulled directly from her new book, Lee Hammond's All New Big Volume of Drawing , these realistic drawing techniques will have you drawing hair similar a pro in no time. Savour!

Drawing Pilus | Graphite

Below are a few segment drawings that show different types of hairstyles and textures. Doing small studies such as these tin give you lot good practice with various techniques.

Selina Quintanilla Perez by Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network — *Selina Quintanilla Perez* by Lee Hammond, graphite on smooth bristol.

And before we get started, here are some essential tips for cartoon hair:

The pencil strokes ever replicate the hair'southward direction and the length.
The color of the hair is determined past how dark or how calorie-free your pencil lines are.
A band of low-cal is created in the hair anytime there is a curved surface area. You will see it in curls and around the circumference of the caput.
Highlights are always seen on rounded or protruding areas.
Blend the paper to a greyness tone before you lift highlights. This makes them await similar they are on the outer surface.

Curly Hair

This study shows how curls form tubular shapes similar to a cylinder. Wherever the curls beetle the most, the highlight shows.

The pencil lines create the texture of the hair, following the management the hair is going. The highlights are lifted with the same type of quick stroke. You can tell this is dark hair past the depth of the tones.

Curly Hair | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

Frizzy or Permed Hair

This study shows what frizzy or permed hair looks similar. The curls are less distinct here because of the randomness of the hair direction and the overlapping of hair strands.

The pencil strokes are more than blended out because of the frizzier texture of the hair. This pilus appears much lighter than the previous instance.

Frizzy Hair | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

Layered Hair

In layered hair, V shapes are created — which also occurs when cartoon animal fur, feathers and bloom petals. These V shapes are where things overlap and recede, and the deep V of darkness gives the illusion of depth.

Band of Light

This is an instance of the bands of lite — areas where the hair is curved, such as in bangs and around the head. It is the most obvious with long, shine pilus.

Drawing Demo | Straight and Curly Pilus

There are many dissimilar types of hairstyles and textures. These quick exercises below will requite you some practice with some of the most common styles.

Each type requires a unlike arroyo. The texture and color are dependent on the type of pencil stroke used and the pressure level applied.

Materials y'all'll need:

Cartoon paper
Kneaded eraser
Mechanical graphite pencil
Stump or tortillion

Straight Hair

i. Lay in the Shape

Start your drawing by laying in the overall shape of the hairstyle with a pencil.

Straight Hair Demo, Step 1 | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

ii. Utilize the Darks

Adjacent, utilize nighttime pencil strokes to create the illusion of length. Find the bands of light. This is where the hair shows curves.

Straight Hair Demo, Step 2 | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

3. Blend, Reapply Darks and Lift

And then, blend the drawing with a stump or tortillion. Reapply the nighttime areas using firm quick strokes. Elevator the bands of lite with a kneaded eraser.

Straight Hair Demo, Step 3 | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

Curly pilus

1. Lay in the Shape

Beginning, describe the overall shape of the hairstyle. Then, use long, curved pencil strokes to create the shapes of the curls.

Curly Hair Demo, Step 1 | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

2. Build upward the Hair Strands

Use more curved lines to build the hair strands and dark areas of overlap.

Curly Hair Demo, Step 2 | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

iii. Alloy and Elevator

Blend the cartoon to a gray tone. Use a kneaded eraser to lift the bands of light out of each curl.

Curly Hair Demo, Step 3 | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

Drawing Demo | Hair in Colored Pencil

Calculation colour to the mix can bring your drawings of people to life, merely information technology tin also make the drawing process even more complex. Information technology's important to notation that drawing, peculiarly portraits, is non something you tin learn in a twenty-four hour period. Drawing people accurately takes a solid understanding of anatomy and a lot of practice. So be prepared to do a lot of piece of work earlier diving in and trying to draw the favorite people in your life.

And, as noted previously, drawing pilus correctly is a large part of being able to draw more realistic people. At present that nosotros have a quick lesson on cartoon hair in graphite nether our belt, permit'due south acquire a few tips for drawing pilus with colored pencil.

Portrait by Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network — Portrait by Lee Hammond, colored pencil

The full-color portrait, above, shows how reflective color can be. If you lot await closely, y'all tin can see the subtle blueish tones reflecting onto the skin and hair of the bailiwick. I dearest drawing hair and all of the waves and colors being reflected throughout it.

Before we get started with a few mini demonstrations, let'southward take a wait at the close-upwardly images of the portrait, which prove different hair types and how they are drawn. By viewing them up close, you can see how critical the pencil strokes are to creating texture.

Burnishing for Long Waves

The curves and waves of the hair were done with long, curved pencil strokes. Information technology required many layers. The blue and orange tones were added on height with a glassy approach.

Band of Light

This shows the band of light, where the hair creates a tubular shape. This occurs when long hair follows a curve, and the protruding areas gather light. You will run across this band in curls where the hair bends as well.

Drawing Demo | Long and Short Hair

There are endless styles, textures and colors when it comes to drawing hair, then it would be incommunicable to cover them all. Simply it is important to know how to draw equally many unlike types equally possible if you want to excel at portraiture.

These quick exercises will give you some practise with two common types of hair: long and wavy pilus, and curt and curly pilus.

Materials you'll need:

Paper (regular surface bristol)
Colored pencils: Dark Umber, Light Umber, Peach, Terracotta
Kneaded eraser
Mechanical graphite pencil

Long, Wavy Hair

1. Draw the Shapes

To begin, lightly describe the shapes of the hair with a mechanical pencil. And so, go over it with some Night Umber to separate the layers of the hair.

Long Wavy Hair Demo, Step 1 | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

ii. Create the Hair Strands

Next, add together Light Umber to the hair, and then deepen the night areas with Dark Umber. Exit the highlight exposed. Utilize a very sharp pencil point and long, quick pencil strokes to create the appearance of hair strands.

Long Wavy Hair Demo, Step 2 | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

3. Deepen and Darken

After you draw the hair strands, use Terra cotta to give it a blood-red shine. Then, deepen the recessed areas with Night Umber. Leave a band of low-cal in the protruding areas then the pilus looks curved and wavy.

Long Wavy Hair Demo, Step 3 | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

Short, Curly Hair

1. Draw the Shapes and Start the Skin Tone

Lightly draw the shapes of the hairline, ear and overall shape of the hair with mechanical pencil. Then, lay in Peach to start the skin tone. When drawing very brusk hair, take the pare tone up into the hair area.

Short Curly Hair Demo, Step 1 | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

2. Build Upward the Hair

Utilise small-scale, round strokes to the pilus surface area with Terracotta. Use a low-cal touch, taking it out into the skin expanse to create a hairline.

Short Curly Hair Demo, Step 2 | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

three. Go on Layering

Layer the hair with Dark Umber over Terra Cotta. Keep information technology lighter on the outside edge where the low-cal comes through as well as where it grows out of the hairline. Fill in the center area deepest and thickest.

Short Curly Hair Demo, Step 3 | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

From short to long and curly, drawing hair with these tips will make your drawings more realistic and accurate. Practice drawing unlike textures, colors and lengths to perfect your hair drawings. Then, combine facial features with your drawings to create realistic portraiture! Drawing hair is the first footstep to creating stunning and accurate portrait and figure drawings. Agreement how hair is drawn and behaves may even aid yous draw animals! The possibilities are endless with Lee Hammond's essential tips for drawing hair.

Learn more than almost portraiture and hair drawing with a video workshop, here. Or, check out Lee Hammond'southward work for more than inspiration and cartoon tips.