Hair Highlight Tutorial

[Bruce Lee]

In regards to hair, let me say that the first thing you have to think about is your light source. Once you determine where that light source is, then you figure out where on the head the highlights should fall. Areas in the direct path of the light source will receive the most area of highlight, naturally, and areas furthest from the light will be in shadow. This applies also to the human head, and how it is shadowed also. Keep the lighting of the hair consistent to the light source of the drawing.

Here are a few more tips:

-You must also keep in mind that the skull is round. The human head is round and not flat. So the hair growing on the human head isn't flat either. This means that the highlight will likewise be rounded on the head. If the highlight is too straight and linear, then it will not look right.

-Think about hair as being one complete unit or area. Don't concentrate on it being individual strands, etc.

-Think of highlights in the hair to be masses (these often connect together in longer hair types).

-When in doubt, seek out photo reference images. Black and white images are great, because you can focus on light and shadow without the distraction of color. Note where the shadows on the human form fall and how that relates to the hair.

Let's take a look at some photos. First, a black and white photo featuring a young girl ("Photo A"):




Notice in PHOTO A how the light source is coming from the left side and from slightly above. The cast shadow of the girl's nose and from her fingers tells the tale. Now look at how the light hits the top of her hair, forming an elliptical highlight that continues from the front of her bangs, around the side of her head, and around the top. This elliptical shape is due to the roundness of the human head--which is not totally unlike a ball or even a cylinder--in shape. The highlight is mostly one giant mass here.

The second image PHOTO B is originally a color image. I've reduced it to a black & white photo so that the highlights present themselves more clearly. The light source in this photo is a little higher over the figure (note the shadows under her nose, etc). Still, the upper-most highlight is an elliptical mass around the top of her head. Notice how the weight of her long hair creates a tight tugging/pulling shape to the highlights on the length of her hair, creating more of a vertically dominated, zigzag shape.

Here's a couple of doodles for you to also check out. In tier one, we see a gal and guy with typical hair. They're faceless because we want to focus on the hair here. I drew these specifically to illustrate how I would personally approach the hair highlights given the suggested light sources.

In tier two, I've included an "overlay" image depicting how the highlights contour with the shape of the head. Notice how the girl's highlight dips in places. This is to show the tugging and tension of the weight of her hair, which occurs in real life. I still follow the elliptical nature of her head, but this sort of personal detail will help hair seem more realistic.

I've also drawn two images at the bottom that display poorly executed highlights that leave the hair looking flat and lacking in credibility. To make hair look credible you must keep in mind the notion that the highlights must be rounded in conjunction to the shape of the head! That's the key to creating believable hair, I think.



For wavy and curly hair, the same ideas apply, but you have to consider the twisting shapes.


Human hair differs from person to person, so a good mantra to remember when it comes to drawing hair is:

When in doubt, seek out reference.

This mantra applies to drawing anything human related, really.

Hope this post helps some. I'll tackle a few of the other things when I find some time.

Loston

[dezz]

You are a godsend , your tutorials are priceless nuggets of info for all artist from the beginner to the working pro , God bless you masked man.

[Bruce Lee]

You are a godsend , your tutorials are priceless nuggets of info for all artist from the beginner to the working pro , God bless you masked man.

Glad I could help.

Loston

[charkxl]

Great tutorial. I've always been kinda iffy 'bout spotting the blacks and doing highlights in hair.
Don't know what we'd do without ya, Loston !!

[Bruce Lee]

Great tutorial. I've always been kinda iffy 'bout spotting the blacks and doing highlights in hair.
Don't know what we'd do without ya, Loston !!

Thanks, charkxl. I'm glad this is helpful.

Loston

[FLINT79]

Great tutorial. Highlights have given me nightmares for long enough.....

[Bruce Lee]

Great tutorial. Highlights have given me nightmares for long enough.....

Glad I could shed some light on the subject, FLINT79.

Loston

[ArmstrongArts]

Man I fell like I am commenting on all this stuff so late but Please bare with me I have only been on here a month.

Good stuff man, I have to go pull out my more recent old stuff and see if I need to fix anything. I think short mens hair is my downfall.

[Bruce Lee]

Man I fell like I am commenting on all this stuff so late but Please bare with me I have only been on here a month.

Good stuff man, I have to go pull out my more recent old stuff and see if I need to fix anything. I think short mens hair is my downfall.

Hair can be tricky to draw at first. There are three major things to be concerned with: 1) the overall shape and mass of hair 2) the highlights 3) the hairline. Once you figure out how to draw all of those things, you'll be good to go! Hopefully this tutorial helped with the highlights.

Loston

[Night Robin]

Thanks for this.