How To Draw Strands Of Hair

When it comes to creating realistic portraits and figures, knowing techniques for drawing hair — including unlike lengths, styles and texture — is essential. If you're a beginner, this may seem like a daunting challenge, especially 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, it doesn't have to be difficult. Below, creative person Lee Hammond, breaks down fundamental tips for cartoon pilus in both graphite and colored pencil! Pulled direct from her new book, Lee Hammond's All New Large Book of Cartoon , these realistic cartoon techniques volition accept you cartoon hair like a pro in no time. Enjoy!

Drawing Hair | Graphite

Below are a few segment drawings that show dissimilar types of hairstyles and textures. Doing small studies such as these can give y'all good do with diverse 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 shine bristol.

And before we become started, here are some essential tips for drawing hair:

The pencil strokes always replicate the hair's direction and the length.
The colour of the hair is determined by how dark or how lite your pencil lines are.
A band of light is created in the hair anytime at that place is a curved expanse. You will see it in curls and around the circumference of the head.
Highlights are always seen on rounded or protruding areas.
Blend the paper to a gray tone before you elevator highlights. This makes them expect like they are on the outer surface.

Curly Hair

This study shows how curls form tubular shapes similar to a cylinder. Wherever the curls protrude the nigh, 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. Yous can tell this is dark hair by 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 like. The curls are less distinct here because of the randomness of the pilus direction and the overlapping of pilus strands.

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

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

Layered Pilus

In layered hair, V shapes are created — which besides occurs when drawing fauna fur, feathers and flower petals. These V shapes are where things overlap and recede, and the deep V of darkness gives the illusion of depth.

Ring of Lite

This is an case of the bands of light — areas where the hair is curved, such as in bangs and around the head. Information technology is the nearly obvious with long, smooth pilus.

Band of Light in Hair | Lee Hammond | Drawing Hair for Beginners in Graphite and Colored Pencil | Artists Network

Cartoon Demo | Straight and Curly Hair

There are many unlike types of hairstyles and textures. These quick exercises below will give you some practise with some of the most mutual styles.

Each blazon requires a different approach. The texture and color are dependent on the type of pencil stroke used and the force per unit area applied.

Materials you'll need:

Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Mechanical graphite pencil
Stump or tortillion

Directly Hair

1. Lay in the Shape

Start your cartoon past 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

2. Utilise the Darks

Next, utilize nighttime pencil strokes to create the illusion of length. Notice the bands of lite. 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

three. Blend, Reapply Darks and Lift

Then, blend the drawing with a stump or tortillion. Reapply the dark areas using house quick strokes. Lift the bands of light with a kneaded eraser.

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

Curly hair

1. Lay in the Shape

Kickoff, draw 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 upwardly the Pilus Strands

Use more than 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

three. Blend and Lift

Blend the drawing to a gray tone. Use a kneaded eraser to elevator 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

Adding color to the mix can bring your drawings of people to life, merely it can besides make the drawing process fifty-fifty more circuitous. It's important to note that drawing, particularly portraits, is not something y'all can larn in a day. Drawing people accurately takes a solid agreement of anatomy and a lot of do. Then be prepared to do a lot of work before diving in and trying to describe the favorite people in your life.

And, every bit noted previously, drawing pilus correctly is a large part of being able to describe more realistic people. Now that we have a quick lesson on drawing pilus in graphite under our chugalug, allow'southward learn a few tips for cartoon hair 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, in a higher place, shows how reflective color can be. If y'all look closely, yous can run across the subtle blueish tones reflecting onto the skin and hair of the subject. I love drawing hair and all of the waves and colors existence reflected throughout it.

Before we get started with a few mini demonstrations, let's take a look at the close-upwards images of the portrait, which evidence dissimilar hair types and how they are drawn. By viewing them upward close, you can encounter 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 orangish tones were added on top with a burnished arroyo.

Ring of Light

This shows the band of low-cal, where the hair creates a tubular shape. This occurs when long hair follows a curve, and the protruding areas gather low-cal. Y'all volition run across this band in curls where the pilus bends besides.

Drawing Demo | Long and Short Pilus

There are endless styles, textures and colors when it comes to cartoon hair, so it would be impossible to cover them all. But it is of import to know how to describe as many different types equally possible if you want to excel at portraiture.

These quick exercises volition give you some practice with two common types of hair: long and wavy hair, and short and curly hair.

Materials you'll need:

Newspaper (regular surface bristol)
Colored pencils: Dark Umber, Lite Umber, Peach, Terra Cotta
Kneaded eraser
Mechanical graphite pencil

Long, Wavy Pilus

one. Depict the Shapes

To begin, lightly draw the shapes of the pilus with a mechanical pencil. And then, become over it with some Nighttime Umber to carve up the layers of the hair.

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

2. Create the Hair Strands

Next, add Light Umber to the hair, and and so deepen the dark areas with Dark Umber. Go out the highlight exposed. Use a very sharp pencil point and long, quick pencil strokes to create the advent of pilus strands.

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

iii. Deepen and Darken

After you lot depict the pilus strands, use Terra Cotta to requite information technology a crimson smoothen. Then, deepen the recessed areas with Dark Umber. Leave a ring of calorie-free in the protruding areas so the hair 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

one. Draw the Shapes and Beginning the Pare 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 pare tone. When drawing very short hair, take the skin 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 Up the Hair

Apply small, circular strokes to the hair area with Terra Cotta. Utilise a calorie-free touch, taking information technology out into the skin surface area to create a hairline.

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

3. Keep Layering

Layer the hair with Dark Umber over Terra Cotta. Go along it lighter on the outside edge where the light comes through as well equally 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 curt to long and curly, drawing hair with these tips will make your drawings more than realistic and accurate. Exercise cartoon different textures, colors and lengths to perfect your hair drawings. And then, combine facial features with your drawings to create realistic portraiture! Cartoon hair is the get-go step to creating stunning and authentic portrait and figure drawings. Understanding how pilus is drawn and behaves may even help you depict animals! The possibilities are endless with Lee Hammond'due south essential tips for cartoon hair.

Acquire more nearly portraiture and hair drawing with a video workshop, here. Or, bank check out Lee Hammond's work for more inspiration and drawing tips.