HAIR HAIR HAIR!! (Patreon)

Hi bbs! 

Just gonna show you cuties how I usually paint the hair!

hehe i had to make her bald first!!! 

First! Whenever I'm adding something to the face, most of the time I paint it on a new layer first before merging it to the face so I can make changes to the hair without ruining the face hehe 

2. First, I block in the hair shape, it doesn't have to be the exact shape of the hair from the reference, you can go wild with it and change it!! 

I usually start with the darkest color of the hair! Here, I used black!

3. Instead of painting the strands and locks on the outline of the hair, I used the erase tool to "sculpt" it! I feel like it looks more natural like this!

The ends should always be thin and you should "sculpt" the ends in a curly way that it will look like the hair is flowing!

4. Next, I used the 2nd darkest color! I don't paint it all over the hair tho, I leave out spaces in between so you can still see he darkest shade (color black) earlier! This way you naturally have "locks" of hair!!

5. And! I used the color of the shadows you use on the face on the side of the hair to give the bangs some shadow!

It gives it more dimension and flow, and it's also important, especially with hair with no bangs, to do these shadows for a smooth forehead to hairline transition!

Also, don't forget to lower the opacity when you're blending the shadows!

6. Then a 3rd shade! A lighter one to make the locks pop out more!

7. NEW LAYER for this! Now the placement of this highlight depends on where your light source is placed!

So without painting over the darkest color we used (black), lower your brush opacity again and paint the highlight on the locks of the hair

With a low opacity too, use the erase tool and kinda erase the edges of the highlight to give it a blend or soft effect. Highlights are usually in a zigzag shape.

8. I used the darkest color again (black) to darken the colors in between the locks of the hair to define it more!

9. Details!! Painted more strands again but thinner strands this time!

10. I used the erase tool again to make the strands thinner and make it look more natural

Tadaaaaa!! Now it looks like a proper hair!

IMPORTANT NOTES!

• If you're going to add something to your painting, always paint it on a new layer first so you can make changes without ruining the other stuff you've already painted! You can always merge it after!
• Lower the opacity of your brush for a soft blend effect!
• Don't think too much about the details of the hair! You don't have to paint the strands of the hair! It's more effective if you separate the sectors of the hair and make "locks" of hair instead of painting strands.
• Use the erase tool to shape the hair and shape the strands of hair for details instead of painting them! It will look more natural this way!
• Consider the flow of the hair! When you're erasing and sculpting the ends of the hair or the strands too, make sure you curl it and make it appear as flowy!
• Add a shadow on the hairline so it wouldn't look awkward and wouldn't look like a wig hehe

I will definitely try to make more hair tutorials for other hair types too! I hope you bbs found something useful here hehe