This tutorial shows how to draw female hair with three different hairstyle variations including natural looking, straight and curly hair. Each style includes step by step drawing examples and explanations.
If you are going to be follows this tutorial it’s best to do so using pencil and paper.
Be sure to start drawing with very light lines as you will need to erase parts of it in some of the steps. Light lines will also make it much easier to correct mistakes. The lines in the examples have been made slightly darker just so that they are easier to see.
Also please note that regardless of which hairstyle you want to draw it’s recommended that you read over the instructions for the first example as it provides the most detailed explanations. The other styles have shortened instructions to avoid repetition.
How to Draw Natural Looking Hair Step by Step
This first example shows how to draw fairly natural looking hair that’s not too messy but at the same time does not look like it’s been neatly combed.
Step 1 – Draw the Head
Begin the drawing by first outlining the entire shape of the head (including the ears). Doing so will help you better estimate the volume of the hair. It can also help you avoid making mistakes.
Step 2 – Draw the Hairline
Some distance form the top of the head draw the hairline. This is again to help avoid any potential mistakes like having openings between the various hair clumps that go too far up the head.
Step 3 – Draw the Outline of the Hair
Over top of the drawing of the head add an outline of the main shape/shapes of the hair. At this stage don’t worry about getting every small hair clump but instead focus on it’s overall volume and large shapes that define the hairstyle.
Medium length hair as in this example will tend to”hug” the face. Meaning that it will curve towards the china s it goes down.
To avoid your drawing getting overly clutter erase the parts of the head covered by the hair after you are done. You can also erase the hairline.
Step 4 – Add Some Details
Gradually add in the smaller folds and clumps of the hair to better define it’s shape. You can erase parts of the outline from the previous step where needed.
Step 5 – Finish the Line Drawing
You should eventually have a line drawing with a good amount of details similar to the example above.
Step 6 – Begin Shading
All of the examples in this tutorial will use fairly generic lighting with no particularly strong one directional light source.
The main goal of this step is to apply an initial layer of shading that will define the light, medium and dark areas of the hair.
Try and make the shading strokes in a way where they flow along the different hair clumps and folds. Also try and keep your strokes somewhat visible (don’t blend them too much) to create an effect of individual hairs as you shade.
Be careful not to press too hard on the pencil as you will want to gradually darken your shading to avoid mistakes such as making the mid tone areas (light grey) too dark in relation to the shadows.
Step 7 – Intensify the Shading
Refine the shading by creating smoother gradients between the mid tone, light and “in shadow” areas of the hair. You can also make the shadow areas slightly darker.
Step 8 – Finish the Hair Drawing
Gradually darken the overall drawing until you create a good balance between the various areas of the hair. Be sure to keep the strokes in the light and mid tone ares visible by leaving some distance between them.
Once done you can make some quick pencil strokes on the tips of the various hair clumps to give an appearance of individual hairs. Do this by first pressingly harder on the pencil and then quickly pulling it away from the paper. These can help give the hair a softer and more natural look.
How to Draw Straight Hair Step by Step
This example is of straight neatly combed hair.
Step 1 – Draw the Head
Same as the previous example begin by making an outline drawing of the head.
Step 2 – Draw the Hairline
Again add in the hairline over top of the head drawing.
Step 3 – Draw the Outline of the Hair
Similar to the first example begin by drawing the main shape of the hair with the largest details over top of the head/hairline.
As it’s again medium length hair you can draw it somewhat wrapping around the shape of the head but less so than the previous example.
Erase the parts of the head (including the hairline) that are hidden by the hair once you are done drawing it’s basic shape.
Step 4 – Add Some Details
Add in some more of the details such as the larger splits and folds.
Step 5 – Finish the Line Drawing
Finish the line drawing by adding the smallest set of details.
Step 6 – Begin Shading
Similar to the first hairstyle begin by applying an initial series of strokes that will define the light, medium and dark areas of the hair. Again be sure to make these in a way where they flow along the shape of the hair. As this hairstyle is much more symmetrical then the first one it will tend to have much smoother transitions between these areas than the first example.
Step 7 – Intensify the Shading
Slowly darken the drawing by applying more layers of overlapping strokes. Be sure to leave some space between them to create an effect of individual hairs. Although unlike the previous example you can make them slightly less apparent to give the hair a smoother and neater look.
Step 8 – Finish the Straight Hair Drawing
Finish the drawing by further darkening and smoothing out the overall shading.
How to Draw Curly Hair Step by Step
This last example is of medium long curly hair. It’s also probably the most complex.
Step 1 – Draw the Head
Same as the other example begin by drawing an outline of the entire shape of the head.
Step 2 – Draw the Hairline
Onto the head add the hairline.
Step 3 – Draw the Outline of the Hair
Over top of the drawing of the head and hairline outline the main shape/shapes of the hair.
In this particular example that may be a little bit more difficult due to the various folds curly hair tends to have. To make things easier you can use construction lines as shown in the above example to sort of “frame” these shapes.
Erase the hairline and parts of the head covered by the hair once done.
Step 4 – Add Some Details
Inside the construction frame from the previous step begin drawing in some of the more organic shapes and folds of the hair. You can erase the construction lines as you go through them.
Step 5 – Finish the Line Drawing
Add in the smallest sets of hair splits, folds and clumps to finish the line drawing.
Step 6 – Begin Shading
Once again as in the two previous examples apply an initial layer of strokes the define the light, medium and dark areas of the hair.
Due to it’s various curves and folds curly hair will tend to have a much more random distribution of these.
Step 7 – Intensify the Shading
Add more layers of strokes over top of the first one to smooth out the gradients and darken the overall shading. Again be sure to leave some distance between the strokes to give an effect of individual hairs.
Step 8 – Finish the Curly Hair Drawing
Keep applying more layers of strokes smoothing out the gradients and further darkening the overall shading until you finish the drawing. You can also draw some fairly dark wavy lines into the shading to further emphasize the various hair strands that tend to be more visible in curly hair.
Conclusion
The examples in this tutorial can give you a good basic idea of how to draw some common hair types. If you want to try drawing another hairstyle you can still apply the same steps/principals used in these tutorial. First defining the main shape of the hair and then refine your drawing by adding the smaller details. Afterwards you can gradually shade the line drawing in several lairs of strokes.
For example of drawing male hair see:
How to Draw Male Hair Step by Step
For the proportions of a female face see:
How to Draw a Female Face Step by Step Tutorial
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