HOW TO HAIR

This is just a quick visual tutorial of how I color/shade hair. 

I chose to do this using Nora's long hair from a Marc CG so this is also kind of a pseudo-preview of that CG. OwO;

Anyway, let's get started.

To start with, obviously, you need a flat fill as a base. I also go in with a big, soft brush and block in some very, very basic starter shading just to start setting where I want the bigger shadows. Hair, of course, is 3-dimensional because the head is a sphere so you have to keep in mind the head shape along with the shape the hair itself is making (in this case due to romantic WIND.) It's useful to start picturing which parts of the hair are nearer the viewer, which are further away, which are under other parts, etc. Blocking in this first, loosing shading is my way of doing that for myself. 

The next step is to block in the first round of shading. I usually go in with a medium sized brush at about 30% opacity. My preferred brush for most shading is oval shaped with a very, very slight softness to it. I usually have the soft/hard level set to about 85-90%. I don't try to be especially neat here. I follow the lines to some degree, since I have those lines there as a guide for myself in the first place, but I'm not trying to be perfect. This is just a starting point.

The next step is to refine the above shading. For me, this means a slightly smaller brush, same opacity. I darken some areas, I lighten others using an eraser set at about the same size and opacity as my brush. Lifting out color helps begin to define where the highlights will eventually go. You can always just switch between painting lighter and darker and colors rather than actually erasing and lifting out color.

I prefer the latter just because it's what I'm used to. It's how I would set highlights back when I was exclusively using water colors so it's just the way that makes the most sense to my brain. 

By this stage, individual locks and sections of hair have started to become more visible. I don't try to paint every strand as it typically looks overly detailed and too busy. And you really don't see every individual strand when you look at someone's hair anyway. It also doesn't match my style well. I try to just focus on shading that gives the impression of hair without being too fussy. 

By this point, the hair has lost some of it's depth as the shading, overall, is kind of the same throughout. So in this step, I go back in with a very large, very soft brush and just gently lighten some of the shading to bring back some of the volume and depth to the hair. I mostly erase on areas where I'll be focusing highlights later on.

And now it's time to start laying in highlights. This process is basically a repeat of the shading but much more toned down. Typically you just don't have as many highlights as you have shadows so you don't want to go overboard. And you don't want to use bright white! I use shades of red and orange that are slightly lighter than my base color. 

I had faint highlights throughout the hair, where I want to emphasize the shape of the locks, but you can see I only put significant highlights on portions where I want to add extra emphasis or shine. Using highlights sparingly will keep the end result from looking plastic or oily.  (Though I'll admit she's got some awesome shine going on in this image)

The final step for me is adding outlines. I don't really have heavy outlines in my art, nor do I outline everything. Especially with hair, I try to add lines only where I feel the shading or highlights need a little definition, or along edges that I feel need it. Or just in places where I feel it needs a few stray strands of hair. (I've turned off the sketch lines in the image below so you can see the finished hair without the original sketch hiding underneath.)

I think the biggest thing to remember when doing hair is to just remember that hair is both 3D and very fluid. You want to keep it from being overly detailed (drawing every single strand), overly shiny, and you want it to have a sense of depth to it. 

It doesn't have to be realistic to look nice. And, of course, this is just *my* way of doing it.

My way isn't the only way, or the 'right' way, and it's probably not even the best way. This is just my strategy.

I hope you enjoyed walking through the process with me!

~Esh