The Mentor Experiment: Week 6: Hair

Hair is one of those really tricky items to draw. I prefer to think of hair as a three dimensional volumetric form. I almost always start with reference photos to get a sense of where the hair parts and how it flows. Then, I break the overall head shape into a volumetric form, keeping in mind where the hair parts. I don’t worry about adding details at this stage. The important thing to remember is that the individual strands of hair follow the flow of the volumetric form. One doesn’t need to draw every strand of hair to make it look convincing. Just a few lines that follow the form are enough to suggest its flow. Take a look at my visual notes up above for further clarification.

Even curly hair, which can be intimidating to draw, is just a series of volumetric tapering forms. You’re trying to capture an overall feel of the hair, not trying to copy every single strand.

With that said and done, this week’s assignment is to draw at least 5 male hair styles and 5 female hair styles. Include your photo references along with each sketch!

Good luck!

-Krishna

Krishna February 23, 2012 character design, hair