Drawing Hair
When drawing hair, beginners often focus on drawing individual strands, losing sight of the big picture. The result is usually a very bad hair day. It's more effective to consider the hair as one mass.
To start, sketch a hairline onto the head you've drawn. Unless you're drawing a short haircut, this line is for your visualization purposes only. Divide the hair into units. If the hair is parted, each side of the part is a unit. If the hair is pulled back into a ponytail, the ponytail is a unit. If the hair is layered, each layer is a unique unit.
On the left, well-drawn eyes; on the right, poorly drawn ones
Rough each unit of hair onto the scalp. Remember to follow the contour lines of the head. Wherever appropriate, attach the hair to the hairline. Use a loose, sketchy line. Starting with a firm line can result in hard-edged, plastic-looking hair.
Try to keep the hair wavy and full. The common error is to draw the hair too close to the scalp. This leaves the hair in the drawing looking flat. When drawing hair, err on the side of extra volume.
Now you're ready to start drawing individual strands of hair. You'll indicate the strands of hair in the shadows and leave the highlights white. Shadow areas are on the side of the skull that faces away from the light source and under hair that lifts away from the scalp. Pay special attention to the units that overlap. When two layers of hair overlap, the higher one will cast a shadow on the lower one. Don't forget the shadows caused by a part in the hair.
The strands should correspond to their units. If the unit goes back across the scalp, so should the strands. If the unit flips up and falls down into the face, the strands should reflect this. If the hair is pulled tightly back across the scalp, the lines should reflect this in being orderly and evenly spaced.
Drawing hair in units
In drawing curly hair, the same principles apply. Consider the curly area one unit. Draw lines indicating curly strands where the shadows would fall across the unit. Resist the urge to fill the unit with curly strands, as this will actually leave the hair looking flat and dimensionless.
Now that you've indicated shadows and left highlights, you may choose to include some middle tones between the two. Use a lighter, looser stroke than you used to indicate shadow areas. Remember to make these strokes follow the contour of the overall area as well.
Comic book artists will want to consider the effect of outside forces on hair. Too often, the hair on these characters remains the same whether the person is standing, running, flying, or swimming. Attention to this detail — especially in a scene where a character is recoiling from a forceful blow — adds considerable drama.
