As a digital artist, drawing hair can often be quite a challenge. If you take the wrong approach, the hair can end up looking stiff like a helmet, or the colors might turn out muddy. In this article, we’re going to break down how to easily understand hair structure, master the 4 basic hair strand shapes, and look at two different coloring methods: quick vs. detailed.
VIDEO TUTORIAL
The Secret to Understanding Hair Volume
Before diving into individual strands, the absolute key to making hair look natural is understanding how it wraps around the head.
Use the Hairline as a Guide: Always establish a hairline first to mark the boundaries of where the hair grows.
Leave Some Gap for Volume: Never draw the hair flat against the skull line. Always leave a bit of space so your character's hair looks voluminous and natural.
To help visualize the layering and flow of the hair, using a 3D model. I make a 3D visualization for curtain bang hairstyle with chibi character, you can download it in asset if you feel need one.
The 4 Basic Hair Shapes You Need to Master
To keep things simple when drawing various hairstyles, you can break down any hair strand into these 4 fundamental shapes:
A. Spiky Shape (Triangular)
First, let's talk about the spiky hairstyle. You could say the hair shape is kind of like grass. You can practice making it by drawing triangle shapes with sharp angles.
Characteristics: Sharp angles, triangular, that look a bit like grass.
Best Used For: Short, simple hairstyles like a Buzz Cut.
B. Rectangular Shape (Flat Ends)
Next is the rectangular shape. This hair shape has flat ends, which gives it a neat and clean look. A great example of a hairstyle that uses this shape is the hime-cut. You can practice this by drawing rectangle shapes, but make sure to add a little variation of sharp tips at the bottom ends so it actually looks like a haircut.
Characteristics: Features completely flat ends, giving off a clean and neat aesthetic.
Best Used For: Iconic, blunt styles like a Hime-Cut.
C. C-Shape (Crescent)
Next, let’s talk about another shape: the C-shape. It’s called a C-shape because it looks just like the letter C or a crescent moon. You can practice drawing this by making lines that resemble the letter C. Unlike the previous shape, the ends of the hair here will look sharp.
Characteristics: Curves gracefully like the letter C or a crescent moon, finishing with sharp, tapered ends.
Best Used For: Drawing bangs for styles like a Middle Part.
D. S-Shape (Wavy)
Next, we have the S-shape, where the hair looks just like the letter S and is perfect for drawing wavy hairstyles. You can practice drawing this type by sketching an S-shape and giving it some thickness, while also playing around with the ends to make it look more like real hair.
Characteristics: Features a dynamic double-curve to capture thick, wavy hair that puffs out.
Best Used For: Trendy, textured styles like a Wolf Cut.
Two Coloring Methods: Quick vs. Detailed
A. The Quick Method (Cell Shading Style)
This is perfect for weekly webtoons or comics where efficiency is key. Stick to warm tones for both the base color and shading. Apply shading with crisp, sharp edges without blending them out. Finish it off with a quick white airbrush where the hair meets the face and add classic anime-style highlights.
B. The Detailed Method (Webtoon cover/illustration)
This is the more detailed version which perfect for webtoon covers or standalone illustrations that require extra effort. From the shading stage above, add bound lighting with cooler tone inside the shadow areas. Use a warm yellow for the main lighting highlights. Change the line art color to a shade slightly darker than the main hair shadow to blend it in. Add tiny stray hair strands to give the volume a detailed, organic feel.
That’s for today article, if you want to see the step-by-step drawing process in action along with the 3D Blender visualizations? Check out the full video tutorial right here:
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