How to Draw Hair Step by Step

How to draw hair is not a simple question, because people have different hair types, structures, and hairstyles. For example, one person may have “thin hair,” which means that it lacks volume and is not very layered. But hair can also be very curly and textured, which means it will have much more volume. All of this affects the drawing process. In this article, we will examine these nuances in more detail—how hair grows, the various types, and provide a pipeline for drawing several types of hair.

How to draw hair and how hair grows?

To start drawing hair, it is important to first understand how it grows—this will help you prepare the foundation for your drawing. You need to understand the different hair growth lines and how hair spreads across the surface of the head.

Hair growth line

The hair growth line on the sides of the head is similar in all people — it resembles steps. The appearance of the line may be slightly distorted if you change the perspective or angle, but its shape remains relatively unchanged.

For example, in the illustration, the girl has a hairline on the side. Here you can see that very “ladder.” But if we look from the front without this red line for reference, the shape will not be so obvious—it’s all about the angle.

The upper hairline is more varied, but in most cases, it looks like a normal horizontal line. However, there are people whose hairline resembles the lower edge of a peak or the upper part of a heart.

The specifics of hair distribution on the head

Gravity affects hair: if it grows on the sides of the head, the hairs at the roots will bend downward.

The hair is deformed at the root and goes down.

However, the situation is different at the top of the head—gravity also acts on the hair there, but due to the lack of slope, the hair at the root moves upward, then bends and falls downward. Therefore, the hair in this area has more volume.

Remember—it all comes down to what hairstyle you give your character. Some people style their hair in such a way that the top has almost no volume and simply lies flat against the head, curving right at the roots.

How to draw hair easy (option 1)

Step 1

The first step in drawing hair in this case is to create a vertically elongated oval for the girl!

Step 2

Next, we draw our girl’s shoulders!

Step 3

At this stage, if desired, we draw the outline of the face: the eyes, eyebrows, lips, and nose!

Step 4

It is important at this stage to draw the hairline, as a lot will depend on it!

Step 5

Here, we simply draw the first curls of hair in a straight and curved shape!

Step 6

In the same way, we draw the next curls of hair on the same side of the face!

Step 7

We begin drawing from the opposite side of the hair curls and gradually erase the hairline!

Step 8

Next, we create a couple more curls on the opposite side of the face!

Step 9

And we finish drawing the curls on the right side of the face!

How to draw hair girl (option 2)

Step 1

Take a pencil and start drawing the girl’s hair. Tobegin with, distribute the general masses, that is, we will draw her from behind. Firstdraw one oval, then a smaller circle, so that the hair from the headgoes into a bun.

Step 2

Draw the hair that comes out from under the strand that we are putting into a bun.

Step 3

And a strand in the foreground.

Step 4

Gradually draw in the strands. The main one will be the one closest to us.

Step 5

We wrap the strand.

Step 6

The main task in hair is to outline the general volumes, that is, the general masses first, and then draw each part in more detail.

Step 7

Hair is difficult to draw because it has so many details, so many strands, so many hairs, and everything needs to be drawn. You have to put in a lot of effort here; drawing hair is quite a lengthy process.
We distribute the three main strands.

Step 8

Further on, they will be thinner.

Step 9

We mark out thin strands and work on the secondary parts of the hair.

Step 10

A twisted, wavy strand falls down.

Step 11

The next one is next to it like a streamer.

Step 12

We drew the front, and behind it a small piece.

Step 13

Front again – a piece behind it.

Step 14

Twist the bundle itself and draw small protruding strands.

Step 15

That’s basically the whole drawing.
Now we need to start shading it all in. We’ll shade according to the shape of the hair, following the trajectory of the strands.

Step 16

Let’s take the central strand; each stroke is separate and clear.

Step 17

We leave highlights on the hair, which means we need to create highlights, light, and shadow and shade them according to their shape, i.e., in the direction of hair growth.

Step 18

This is how we comb through a strand of hair.

Step 19

Somewhere we make a darker part, you can darken them a little bit right away to give an idea of the volume on the hair. We don’t shade the light, we leave it white.

Step 20

In this way, we shade all the hair, that is, we follow the direction and lines that we have drawn. We make some areas darker and some lighter.

Step 21

Try not to smudge your strokes so that they are clear, because each stroke is like each hair, and in hair it is very important to try to make strokes.

Step 22

Well, and be sure to leave light and shadows, because if there are no glare, these bright stripes, then the shadows will also look insufficient, dark against this background, and there will be no volume.

Step 23

Be sure to shade according to the shape, i.e., if a strand curves downward, shade it that way; if it curves upward, shade it in that direction. Each stroke emphasizes the shape, helps us create volume and make the hair more realistic, and highlights the shape of the head and the direction of the hair.

Step 24

After shading all the hair, immediately notice that we have light, we have shadows, and we already have some volume.

Step 25

Now we can put away the HB pencil and take a softer pencil, in my case a B pencil. We begin to move from top to bottom with the B pencil, working on what we already have in this case.
Now, with a soft pencil (sharpen it if it is not sharp enough), we begin to improve the hair, refining it.

Step 26

Where there is shadow, we darken it, that is, the main essence of realistic drawing is contrast: there is shadow, there is light.

Step 27

The more we draw and work on it, the more realistic the hair will look.

Step 28

Using the same B pencil, we add strokes to give our hair depth and extra volume.

Step 29

Here we have a strand, behind which it will be dark, meaning there will be a shadow here. We immediately blend it all in.

Step 30

We want to achieve a glossy effect on the hair. We can roughly mark where the light stripe will be, which we will leave untouched. At this stage, we also carefully work on the edges, draw everything in, create a clear border, shade it, and leave a highlight.

Step 31

The strand above is lighter, and under this light strand, you definitely need to create a darker shadow that gradually fades into light.

Step 32

We leave the strip alone, we don’t touch it.

Step 33

We also make the next strand darker; it is in the background.

Step 34

We proceed in the same way for the rest of the drawing. All strokes are made according to the shape, i.e., we do not break the shape with the pencil.

Step 35

The inside is darker, the outside is lighter.

Step 36

Finish off all the remaining hair.

Step 37

So, I’m almost done with my hair.

Step 38

Carefully clean everything with an eraser.

Step 39

Sharpen the pencil and move on to the final touches. Intensify the shadows and smooth out the edges.

Step 40

It is advisable not to touch the hair anymore so as not to smudge it. Make the edge more neat. Add hairs, darker strokes, especially where they are smudged.

Step 41

Work thoroughly on the strand that is closest to you.

Step 42

Those that are further away should not be emphasized too much; always remember about space. Space creates perspective, perspective (aerial perspective) creates volume, and where there is volume, there is realism. Everything is interconnected.