How To Draw Long Hair

Drawing long hair is a skill that takes lots of practice. You need to be willing to make mistakes, mess up, and try again! With the right technique, though, it can be relatively easy to create beautiful, flowing hair.
Let’s start by getting a basic understanding of how to design long hair. To achieve beautiful locks, you need to create some “s” curves by blending long strands together. To do this, draw some straight lines from the scalp to the ends of the hair. Once you have the lines set, you can start to add the curves. Add curves along the sides of the head and at the ends for extra definition and texture. Take care to draw the hair in the direction of growth, using a mix of up and down strokes to create depth.
Once you have the basic shape of the hair, you can move onto adding in the details. To add more dimension and make the hair look more realistic, add soft shadows and highlights to each strand. This can be done with subtle shaded lines or with a soft brush and some graphite pencils.
Once textured, you can add some flyaways. Flyaways are loose strands that look random and disheveled. They can be added with wispy, straight pencil lines or with a small brush dipped in charcoal or dark pencils. You can also add flyaways by running your finger over the pencil lead.
To make the hair look more vivid and vibrant, add in some color. Coloring pencils are your best bet for drawing long hair. If the hair is a single color, blend layers of varying shades for a more realistic look. If the hair has highlights and lowlights, use complementary colors for a natural look.
Now that you’ve mastered the basics of long hair drawing, let’s take it up a notch. To add more volume, add some thicker strokes of graphite around the highlights and lowlights. You can also add some frizz with small squiggles to give the hair a more textured look. Then take a blending stump and blend the colors together, using the tip to add in more depth.
For an even more realistic effect, sketch some natural cowlicks. Cowlicks occur when the hair grows in a circular pattern and are often found at the top of the head. To draw them, use small circular strokes that blend with the rest of the hair. Lastly, you can create some flyaways peeking out from under the hats and caps. This adds a fun and unique touch to your drawing!
Now that you’ve learned the basics of how to draw long hair, it’s time to get creative and draw some hairstyles! You can start by creating a simple ponytail, then move onto more intricate styles like buns and braids. Be sure to use highlight and lowlight colors to create some contrast and texture in the hair.
Drawing long, flowing hair is a skill that takes patience and practice. But with a bit of trial and error, you can soon create some beautiful, vibrant hair. So grab your pencils and let’s get started!

Robert Ortiz is an artist who has been writing about art and design for over ten years. His writing focuses on the creative process of art, from the conceptual to the material, and highlights its importance in our daily lives. He has a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Texas at San Antonio and has also attended other prestigious art schools like Savannah College of Art and Design. He has a passion for exploring the boundaries between fine art, design, commercial work, and technology. His work extends to social media campaigns, website development, magazine articles, video tutorials and more.

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