How to draw anime hair, step by step

How anime hair works

Hair is not hundreds of lines: it is a volume sitting on the skull, cut into a few big locks. Each lock is a ribbon that starts at the parting, follows the curve of the head and ends in a point. A few thin strokes inside the big locks are enough to suggest the texture.

Hair often makes a manga character's whole silhouette: you recognize them by their hairstyle before you even see their face. That is why it pays to get the big shapes right first: the mass, then the locks, and single hairs never.

How to draw anime hair step by step

Follow these steps for any hairstyle. The example is short to medium hair, the most common in manga; the next sections adapt it to spiky, long, curly and tied-up hair.

1. Step 1Draw the whole head

   Build the head with a sphere for the skull, the side plane, the axis and the jaw, as in the anime face tutorial. Draw the whole skull even if it will be hidden: you need it to know where the hair sits. Hair drawn without it often looks like a hat.

   

2. Step 2Mark the hairline

   Draw the hairline along the top of the forehead, a little below the top of the skull. On the side, it comes down in front of the ear in a C shape on the side plane, from about the top of the eyes to the bottom of the nose.

   

3. Step 3Draw the mass

   Hair has thickness. Lightly draw the overall shape of the hairstyle around the skull, like a helmet a finger or two above it, wider at the sides. Short hair stays close to the head; thick or spiky hair goes far out. This shape is the boundary of your locks.

4. Step 4Choose the parting and cut the big locks

   Choose where the parting is: every lock starts from there, or from the crown. Cut the mass into a few big pointed locks that follow the curve of the head. In three-quarter view and in profile, they wrap around the skull, like the construction lines of the head.

   

5. Step 5Add the bangs

   Bring a few locks forward over the forehead. They follow the curve of the forehead, with tips of different lengths. Leave gaps between them so the eyes stay readable, and let one cross the eye line for a natural look.

6. Step 6Add small locks and a few strands

   Inside the big locks, draw a few medium and small ones, overlapping each other: a lock passing in front of another creates depth right away. Add a few thin strokes for texture, and leave two or three small locks sticking out: that bit of mess brings the hair to life.

   

7. Step 7Darken the overlaps and leave a shine

   Press harder where one lock passes behind another, under the bangs and at the nape of the neck. For shiny hair, leave a white band that follows the curve of the skull, with a zigzag edge, and shade lightly around it.

How to draw spiky anime hair

Short spiky hair, the shonen hero's hairstyle, is a round mass bristling with triangle locks pointing every way. Draw the mass well above the skull, then cut it into big pointed locks leaving the crown in every direction, keeping an overall fan shape.

Vary the size of the spikes, the biggest on top and at the back, the smallest around the face, and group them in clumps of two or three. Locks that are all alike look like a saw blade.

How to draw long and straight anime hair

Long hair starts like short hair, at the parting and the hairline, then falls under its own weight in a few long, almost straight locks that widen, then thin out and split into points.

Always separate what falls in front of the shoulder from what falls behind it, and show a little of the hair behind the neck: it gives depth to the drawing. A bob is the same mass cut at the jaw, with bangs that follow the curve of the forehead.

How to draw wavy and curly anime hair

Wavy hair is drawn with S-shaped locks, curly hair with spirals gathered in clumps, never one by one. Keep the overall mass first, then cut it into big wavy locks, and only add the small curls on the edges and at the tips.

How to draw a ponytail and tied-up hair

For a ponytail, pigtails or a bun, draw the hair tie first. Then pull the hair toward it: every lock converges on the tie, tight against the skull. After the tie, the volume opens up again in a tuft that falls or swings.

How to draw hair in motion

Moving hair brings a panel to life, even when the character stands still. Decide where the force comes from, wind, a turn of the head or a run: every lock points the other way. The hair stays fixed to the skull, and only the tips fly: the longer a lock, the more it moves.

A floating lock waves in an S and thins toward its tip; a straight one looks stiff, like plastic. Make the clothes move the same way as the hair: if they disagree, the eye feels something is off.

Common mistakes when drawing anime hair

If a hairstyle looks flat, check the top of the skull first: it almost always lacks volume at the crown.

• Hair glued to the skull: the outline sits right on the head and the head looks too small. Leave room for the mass.
• Drawing hair by hair: hundreds of lines turn into noise. Mass first, locks next, single hairs never.
• Locks flowing in every direction: every lock should start from the parting and follow the curve of the head.
• A straight hairline: it curves along the forehead and comes down in front of the ear.
• Identical locks: vary their size, overlap them and let one or two escape.