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| I have often heard artists tell me about difficulties they've had with drawing anime style hair. In this section, I will show you some examples of basic hair styles. I know this section is not nearly thorough enough, but I'm not quite sure what else to do with it. If you have any helpful suggestions, please email me. ^_^
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Okay, lets start with something simple. Basic anime hair consists of two main sections: the bangs in the front of the face that hang down over the eyes, and the larger back portion of the hair that hangs down around the shoulders. This hairstyle is very basic, with big rounded bangs coming down over the front of the face, with the rest of the hair resting where the shoulders would be. In these pictures, you can see how the hair sits on the head; always make sure that the hair is large enough for the head to sit underneath; I've seen some pictures where the artist drew the hair too small because he/she forgot to take into account the size of the head beneath the hair... ^_^ |  |
There are several variations you can do with this basic shape. Changing the length and position of the bangs and the shape of the main portion of the hair can let you experiment with a variety of hair styles. In the top left picture, the hair is very angular rather than rounded, and bangs and main section are almost indistinguishable. In the middle picture, the bangs are large and wavy; notice how they rise high above forehead. The rest of the hair is pulled back in a ponytail. In the bottom picture, all the hair is pulled back behind the head except for a few long strands of the bangs, which hang down on the sides of the face. Anime characters are well known for their gravity-defying hair styles, so its okay if the hair curves and arches unnaturally. ^_~ |  |
Here are some examples of hair that has been pulled back. In all three cases, though the hair is bunched up in a ponytail, it is still very thick. On the top picture, you can see that the hair goes down the back of the neck, it doesn't just stop at the back of the head. A lot of times strands of hair stick out or drape down from over the ears, so you may want to add those. |  |
Braids are another common problem area. They really aren't that difficult, though. You can make them as detailed or simplistic as you like. On the left picture, I drew intersecting inverted teardrop shapes to represent the woven strands of hair. The bottom is tied off, and frays out slightly. The picture on the right is just a series of blunt overlapping diamonds. Simple, but you can still tell what it is. ^_^ |
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Here are a few more examples of different hair styles. Look at other anime pictures on the internet and study the styles, as well. It takes a lot of practice to be able to draw the really detailed flowing hair, so right now practice just getting the shape of the hair to look right. |
If you have any questions, or think I need to explain something in more detail, please email me.
