How to Describe Realistic Pilus for Portraits

The number ane thing you lot need to remember about drawing realistic pilus: don't become caught upward in all those private strands. As with so many aspects of drawing, less is more, and overworking any area can detract from the rest of the prototype. Instead, you lot want to use value and shape to define your bailiwick's hair. Here's how.

Skillful to Know: We used charcoal in this tutorial, only the method can be replicated in any medium.

Drawing Hair

Level: Easy

What You Need

  • Pencil
  • Charcoal or conté crayon
  • Charcoal pencil
  • Eraser

    • Instructions

    1. Brainstorm With the Head

    Earlier you draw hair, y'all take to accept something to depict it on. Start by lightly drawing your subject's head without any hair, and detailing the facial features. Even if your discipline has big hair (maybe some curls?) it's important to know where the head lies underneath, every bit this determines how the hair falls.

    It'southward as well useful to betoken the shape of the hairline at this stage and bear witness the location of the ear, fifty-fifty if the pilus will cover information technology.

    2. Outline the Shape

    Using a low-cal pencil, draw the outline of the hair's shape. Yous can depict lines to indicate the management of the hair likewise, merely be careful non to get carried away — this should be basic.

    Pro Tip: Pilus doesn't always autumn away from the meridian of the head. In the photo above, the woman's hair at the front of her hairline is pulled back backside the ear and droops plenty that the hair between the ear and top of the forehead is curtained. Observe your subject carefully to replicate how their hair falls.

    3. Shade

    Using a darker cartoon tool, such equally a conté crayon or charcoal, begin laying the darkest values in the pilus. Use the edge of your cartoon tool and lay the values in blocks.

    4. Add Fine Values

    Finer and narrower areas of value can be laid down using a charcoal pencil. Go along some areas light, to serve as highlights, and follow the contours of the head.

    Pro Tip: It's non necessary to betoken every hair. Some strands will cross over others, and some may have unlike highlights if they project out or don't follow the shape of the head. (For example, the group of strands behind the woman's ear.) It's OK to let some darker lines to cross the highlights, but not all.

    By focusing on shape and value, you tin describe realistic hair every time.