The Flow of Hair

Hey all, my cousin was asking me how to draw hair, so I busted out a little tutorial for him. With it's complexities, it is easy to get lost trying to draw hair. I felt it had some merit to anyone else who is an artist or interested in the subject. The two images below are by J. Scott Cambell(Blackcat) and Jim Lee(Superman).

Jason asks: "I need your help with some technique. I am trying to illustrate long hair using the style that has multiple strands (like how J Scott Campbell and Jim Lee do it) as opposed to just doing an overall shape and shading it with a few highlights."

My response: "Take a look at the two links below. I took a J.Scott Cambell and a Jim Lee and illustrated how the flow of the hair is applied. You are correct in outlining the whole shape first. This can be done in various large blocks to get the initial shape (see red).

Once you have the blocking done you just break it down into smaller shapes or blocks of hair (see green). When applying the second layer of shapes I usually figure where I want the hair to part and draw a soft line as a starting point for the stroke. I draw from the hairline out in this step.

After you have that how you like it, break it down to smaller shapes again (see blue). This usually applies for any style of hair you're doing too. Jim Lee has been getting crazy about hair detail and doesn't draw them as clumps as much as he used to. His Superman drawings have had Kent's hair all over creation, but it still looks good.

Hope this helps and good luck!"






Blackcat is a ™ and © of Marvel Comics.
Superman is a ™ and © of DC Comics.