How to draw hair in pencil

More drawing papers, pencils, etc at the bottom of this page.


Drawing Papers

Drawing Pencils

Alvin Draft/Matic Pencil


Natural Chamois
(for blending skin tones)

Staedtler Mars Plastic Eraser (also known as a "Click Eraser")


Design Kneaded Rubber Eraser


Pencil Sharpeners

For any of the supplies listed here,
a source I recommend highly is Dick Blick Art Materials

I taught this to myself by experimenting. You can usually do this same technique for human hair or pet fur.

Start by using a heavy enough paper. Regular typing paper or the student grade drawing paper isn't very good for this - you want a Bristol paper, at least 2 ply, so it can hold up with the erasing technique that I will explain later. (Click here for more on drawing paper selection)

Looking at the photo or the person - look for the darkest areas of the hair. Try not to obsess over the fact that it's hair, if that intimidates you. Try to ignore that it's hair, and just work on focusing your eyes on what is dark and what parts are light. I draw in the darkest areas first, then use the side of the pencil to fill in the rest of it.
(This is the opposite technique of what you might have learned in a painting class, where artists need to work from light to dark most of the time.)

If you have trouble seeing the dark and light areas, then try turning your reference photo sideways or upside down. Look for shapes in the hair that are dark. Just copy those shapes. If you are drawing from a live model, they don't like being turned upside down or sideways, and there might be laws against it, so I don't recommend that. ;)

On top of that, draw in the lines - not too heavy, use flowing movements, following the lines of the hair in the reference photo (or the live sitting, whichever the case). Don't feel pressure to match every line exactly, you just want to get the feel and direction of the hairs going at this point. Resist the urge to 'save time' by just filling in in whatever direction you feel...when you fill in, the direction of your lines must go in the same direction of the hair shafts, not diagonally or horizontally. This seems silly to say, but I have seen it in a lot of artworks.

You want some of the actual hair strands to show, but you should not see every strand. Use a tissue (Kleenex type without lotion) to blend areas in which the lines seem to prominent. This will soften it nicely so it should look like hair. Keep working at it until it looks soft and touchable, like real hair or fur.

Use a kneaded rubber eraser to bring out the large areas that will appear the lightest. Don't go too rough with the eraser or the paper will get too rubbed. If you look closely at the person or the reference photograph, you will see there is a curved band of light on the hair - you want to portray this so the hair will look more realistic and the head shape will become apparent. Some artists call this the 'halo of light.'

Blend to soften, using facial tissue (the kind without lotion added), or chamois.

Then use a Pentel Clik Eraser (I either cut or break off the tip of it to create a fine edge of eraser I can use). Use this fine edge for the fine highlights in the hair, drawing down and away from the light area made with the kneaded rubber eraser previously.

I use the erasers in a similar fashion as I use the pencil...use soft flowing movements, don't be too straight or apply too much pressure...have a light touch. Draw with the eraser. Do a little bit at a time and be careful...it sometimes is so fun it's hard to stop - but a little bit goes a long way here.

After all this erasing, I spend time putting the hairs back in! If you notice the areas where you have erased, there will still be a hint of hair lines. Go over that (gently now, gently!) with mechanical pencil. Let a few 'stray' hairs fly...to add to realism. Think about it...how often is real hair perfect? You don't want it to look like helmet hair, you want it to look realistic.

Most importantly, keep working at this and don't give up!

Every artist will develop his or her own style, but these are just some ideas on how you can realistically draw hair using pencil.

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Drawing blond or silver hair is only slightly different from drawing other hair types. When I am drawing blond or silver hair, I just work a lot lighter.

Try using an H or an F pencil (harder graphite) sharpened to a very fine point. For the darker areas, try using a mechanical pencil. Keep it light, but remember to keep your contrasts of dark versus light areas.

I also like to shade very lightly around the outer edges of the hair, so there is a bit of contrast between the light hair. This is especially important when drawing on white paper, because you need to do something to create a difference between the paper and the person's head.

Try taking a darker pencil like a 4B, and rub it on a bit of scrap paper, then take some tissue or a chamois and rub into that graphite. Then in circular motion, shade in the background.

I've had several people looking for instruction on how to draw short hair.

All short hair is not the same. A baby's fine, wispy soft hair is very different from a grown man's short cut hair, so you need to keep what type of hair it is in mind when you draw. For example, a baby's scalp may possibly show through a baby's hair, because the hair is so thin, fine, and wispy.

Other than those difference, drawing short hair isn't much different from drawing longer hair. Draw what you see. Even short hair follows a direction.

Remember that the head isn't a flat surface - think of an egg and sphere shape. Hair grows in a circular pattern from the top of the head. Look for what direction the hair is flowing and try to replicate that.

Your lines will be shorter of course, but look for texture. Is the hair very slick, shiny? Or is the hair more coarse and dry? Make sure you use your erasers as outlined above to create highlights. You may find that the ClickEraser (stick type eraser) will create the best effects in short hair.

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Drawing hair is not all that difficult but it does take quite a bit of time to make the result to look real and natural. In fact, it usually takes two to three times longer to do the hair than it does to do the rest of the portrait. So, do not get frustrated and know that you will have to spend the time.

Here are some pointers to help you succeed at drawing the best hair possible:

Line Drawing
As always, the first step is to produce a line drawing that shows the overall shape of the hair and maps out some of the main value areas. At this stage, you should look at the hair as a shape and ignore all details such as strands. Do observe however how the hair flows, i.e., take note of the growth directions of the hair.

Values
Next, using the map you created on your line drawing, start laying in the major values, i.e., the major darks and lights. Make sure you always follow the growth direction of the hair. This is very important. Follow the flow.

Blending
At this stage, you can blend the darks out towards the lights. Then, reapply the darks and pull them into the light areas using a tortillon or a pencil (if there is not enough graphite on the paper). Work from the dark areas into the light areas. After that, use a pointed kneaded eraser as a drawing tool to pull the lights into the darks.

This process should be repeated several times until you reach the desired look of fullness.

Curls
If your subject has curls, you should treat each curl as a separate object with its own darks, lights, and highlights. At the same time, make sure that each curl fits into the overall layout of the hair. This means, for example, that a particular curl should flawlessly connect to its neighbors.

Shadows
Often the hair cast a few shadows onto the forehead. These cast shadows should always be rendered in the correct value. You will be surprised how much they contribute to the realistic appearance of the hair and the subject in general. They very much help to show the fullness and three-dimensionality of the hair.

Forehead
The forehead, like anything else, has a certain value. When the hair falls over the forehead, it is important to apply the same forehead value to the areas of the forehead that are visibly located under the hair. If you leave these areas white, you will loose a lot of realism.

Gray Hair
The illusion of gray or white hair is created through using pencil strokes sparingly and through more blending with a tortillon or a paper tissue. A soft and silky look can be created by using the kneaded eraser to lift out the appropriate highlights.

Much more can be said about the drawing of hair. This includes such subjects as hairstyles, men's versus women's hair, thin hair, hair color, etc. However, the above remarks will suffice to set you on the right path. Later, you can always consult an advanced work on hair drawing.

Remi Engels, Ph.D., is a pencil portrait artist and oil painter. Samples of Remi's pencil portraits and other articles can be found at Remi's Pencil Portraits.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Remi_Engels

A mustache or a beard usually has lots of fullness. Therefore, it must be built up in layers. As with all feature in a pencil portrait, you need to look at facial hair in terms of shapes and not just in terms of outlines. The values are also of critical importance especially in relation to the values of the neighboring skin.

Here are a few clues that will help you become an expert in drawing decent mustache, beards, sideburns, and other varieties of facial hair:

Values
Squint your eyes and take careful note of the overall value of the facial hair as compared to the surrounding skin. Is it lighter or darker or something in between? You should keep this overall average value in mind throughout the drawing process.

Also, check the extent of the mustache or beard. Is the entire upper lip covered by the mustache or is there a line of skin visible between the mustache and the mouth? In other words, get a good idea of the extent of the shapes involved. A drawing grid can be of great help with this.

Growth
It is imperative that you render the growth lines of the facial hair correctly. Take a minute and look for the overall directions of the hair growth. Get a feel for the flow of the hair. Where are the breaks in the flow? How does a local direction of hair growth fit into the overall pattern?

While you concentrate on drawing a local shape, always be aware of the overall shape you are drawing. All this is critically important to obtain a good likeness.

Layering
It is best to draw facial hair in layers, just like it grows in reality. This keeps your mustache or beard from looking flat or thin.

If necessary, you can put down one layer and use workable fixative before laying down the next layer.

Also, be aware of the underlying facial structure, otherwise the hair may look like it is pasted on. In other words, be aware of the peaks and valleys underneath the facial hair and note the how these structures are mirrored in the facial hair.

Kneaded Eraser
The kneaded eraser is ideal to render the lighter values in facial hair. Shape the kneaded eraser into a point and lightly "draw" lighter lines into the darker valued areas of the facial hair. Very realistic renditions can be obtained with this technique.

Close-up
Have a good look at a close-up of a mustache or some other facial hair. Notice how the hairs are ordered. Particularly, notice that some of the hairs are interwoven with others. It is important to reflect this in your drawing.

Note that generic-looking facial hair will make your drawing look artificial. Each individual has his or her own unique hair growth patterns. It becomes necessary to study these patterns, i.e., shape, fullness or thinness, values, growth patterns, underlying structure, etc. As always, practice makes perfect. Also remember, drawing hair must be done with a light, flowing touch, maybe using an F or HB pencil.

Remi Engels, Ph.D., is a pencil portrait artist and oil painter. Samples of Remi's pencil portraits and other articles can be found at Remi's Pencil Portraits.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Remi_Engels

Copyright 2007-2008 Darla Dixon
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