Cue the Fans: Drawing Hair

Beaumonth via Compfight cc

For the first hair style that I did, this was the video that I used. I realize that the author of the video coloured the hair pink, but I just tried to copy those same value changes with lead. I did not do that as well as I would have liked, but I believe I faired fairly well considering it was my first crack at drawing hair. It is a little cartoon-lookish but it was a start, nonetheless.

For the second hair style that I did (aka 80’s rocker), I used this online resource. So far for my MLP, I haven’t used many resources from Deviant Art but good resources such as this are making me reconsider that. In addition, Deviant Art is a sort of online community where aspiring drawers like me can get together and share their work; therefore, I’m definitely going to check out this website more. Resources such as the one listed above are a valuable addition to video sources like the ones found on Youtube as the more variety of resources you get, the better you will get at whatever skill you are trying to develop. Both videos and images have their pros and cons and so trying out both these types of resources is beneficial for honing any skill.

For the third hairstyle listed in the video, I used this youtube video. What I liked the best about this video was that it really emphasized that you need to create different values in your hair, as all hair has natural highlights. Therefore, you can’t just draw every individual strand; instead, you need to look at it as a chunk of hair that looks different than the rest of your hair. Drawing hair this way is more time consuming but, in the end, it looks much more authentic and realistic.

For the fourth hairstyle (the “child’s hair”) I used this resource as a guide. I did switch up a couple of things in my drawing, but I used the steps listed in this website as a base. Perhaps what I struggled the most with in regards to drawing hair this week was putting the light reflection in the hair. Everyone’s hair is shiny and reflects at least some light. I find it’s very hard to portray this with lead, however.

Lastly, I’ve always loved the look of hair blowing in the face. Depending on the picture, I think it has a serene aspect to it. I didn’t have a specific resource that I modelled the last drawing in the video off of. But, I went on Pinterest and found some lovely hair blowing pictures; I’m at the point where I still need a reference to draw a picture and so all of those different resources were very welcomed. I think the last picture I drew was a good measure of where I am currently at with my drawing skills. Of course, that drawing was easy because it eliminated half of the face but it still required lots of time and patience.

I found this bit in How to Paint and Draw People by Samuel Marshall interesting, as well, because it talked about how to draw light and dark masses, an ability that is important for drawing hair. Beginners like me often just draw one type of value change throughout their drawings but knowing where the thicker and thinner lines really goes a long way in making your art look realistic. This book is just another resource that has been helpful in my MLP journey.

Well, that’s it for this week. I’m still contemplating on what I should work on next week, the week before the grande finale (aka I’ll draw a full-fledged face). Any ideas/thoughts/suggestions? They’re all welcomed!