Draw Manga Hair
Manga hair can often be tricky to get looking right. There are many different styles, each with their own individual techniques. However, with a basic understanding of how manga hair ought to be drawn and look like, you can adapt your abilities to suit any type of hairstyle. Perhaps the most attractive feature of drawing manga hair is that it can be as simple or as complex as you'd like, and still compliment your character either way. As in real life, the different types of hairstyles in Manga are too numerous for one article. This article will teach you how to draw simple hair for a male character, showing you the basic techniques used. As your talent and knowledge progresses, you can try the more complex, striking hairstyles which Manga is famous for.
Steps
- Draw the head for your manga character. You'll need a basic frame to work on. Don't concern yourself too much on facial features, only on the shape of the head. Remember manga heads change depending on gender, females generally have rounder, smaller, less-angular faces than males.
- Think about what you want the hair to look like. Don't be afraid to make it a little bit crazy. A lot of famous manga characters have quite absurd and impossible-looking hairstyles. There are a few basic things you'll need to decide:
- Where the parting will go.
- Whether the character will have bangs or a fringe or not.
- How long the characters hair will be.
- If the hair style matches the character's personality.
- Whether the character be wearing a headband, hat, forehead protector or any other accessories which will alter the appearance of the hair.
- Mark the hair outline on your character's head. Traditionally, the distance from the forehead to the top of the head should be equal to the distance from the top of the head to the top of the hairstyle. Additionally, the same distance should be applied to the sides of the head to determine the distance from the side of the head to the side of the hairstyle. This is just a guideline and can be altered once the hair is drawn to suit your tastes.
- Draw the basic outline of your hair. Pay attention to the guide marks you marked earlier. It is easier to start from the fringe/top of the forehead and work outwards, paying attention to the direction in which the hair falls.
- Detail and shape your hair. Manga hair is composed of many strands, or 'clumps'. Hair is made more complex by adding more clumps, or by breaking down larger clumps into smaller ones. Remember to pay attention to the direction of the hair.
- Coloring and Shading your hair. Regardless of whether you've chosen to work in colour or not, shading/colouring your hair follows the same techniques. Manga hair is always shiny and pronounced. Decide upon the direction of light before you start. If the light is shining from the left, your character's hair should be lighter on the left than the right. If the light is coming from the front, frontal hair pieces such as the fringe and sideburns should be a lighter colour than the hair around the back of the neck. Start with a 'base' colour, and add lighter and darker shades to areas affected by light.
- Complete the rest of your character's face. A Manga character's hair is what gives it its personality; in fact, most Manga characters will look the same if their hair is taken away. Consider this when deciding on facial features and expressions. Colour and shade the face, and refine the hair. Once you are happy with your character, go over any outlines and prominent features and shadows with a black-ink pen. This process is known as inking and features heavily in Manga drawing. Inking strengthens lines and hides pencil-work, while making your image stand out and giving your character its final touch-up.
Tips
- Take your time and visualize. Once you've got a process down, you can start speeding up but do not try to do that until you've got a style that you are proud of.
- Try simple strokes; don't spend too much time trying to make one piece of hair look good.
- Even if you're drawing realistic manga, use your imagination! The hair is often what separates one manga character from another.
- Don't get frustrated. What are erasers for anyway, eh?
- Be yourself! Who cares what people think about your drawing if you like it? That's all that matters, and you never know; one day your manga drawing could be the most famous in the world!
- Don't be afraid to erase one part of the drawing if you're not satisfied.
- Consider drawing in stages: draw to a point that you think looks good, make a copy (or copies) and print it. This will help to give you more options in terms of exploring the possibilities, for example, deciding whether to include facial hair, or deciding hair colour. Your back-up copies will prevent you from having to start over.
- Be patient. Good drawings aren't drawn in a jiffy. Sometimes, it takes an hour or so to finish one complete person.
- Ensure your pencil is sharp. Manga prides itself on clean, crisp images, and a blunt pencil will make your piece look shabby.
- Make the hair shine in a way you feel comfortable to draw, and don't be afraid to add in some 'strange' accessories whenever you want!
- Start with light sketches and erase what you have to without making it look sloppy.
- Just let your pencil draw lines on the paper. Don't think too hard about it.
- Start with simple, spiked hair, with a few points.
- Be liberal with your construction lines. They help greatly in visualizing your finished piece.
- Shine isn't always needed if you're making a character with light colored hair.
- Avoid making hair too spiky.
- Try making the hair like broom hair, or try copying real life hair-like items.
Things You'll Need
- A sharpened Pencil
- Eraser
- Paper (printer paper works best)
- Black-Inked Pen
- Colouring Mediums such as Pencils or Oil Pastels
- Pencil or Mechanical Pencil
