DIGITAL ART TUTORIAL - How to paint black hair -- 9 steps --

DIGITAL ART TUTORIAL - How to paint black hair in 9 easy steps

A lot of people asked me to make a tutorial about how to paint black hair. So here it is! I'll be showing you how to paint black hair with digital painting software and (preferably) a drawing tablet. This is the end result we're aiming for in this tutorial.

You a lot less color variety in black hair, so you really have to work hard on the highlights to get a realistic result. I worked mostly with a blueish, almost black, tone and greys.

STEP 1 - Paint the basic shape of the hair

Start out by painting the basic shape of the hair. Use a dark base tone to do this, I used a blueish/purple tone, near black. Don't paint with 100% black, you won't be able to add variation that way.

STEP 2 - Add darker shadow areas

Add darker shadow areas to the hair to define the shape more.

STEP 3 - Add light areas

Use a dark grey tone to lay down some basic light areas. Be mindful of where the light will hit the hair.

STEP 4 - Use a hair brush for detail

Use a hair brush on a separate layer to suggest detail, cover all the strand but be sure to vary the color you use. Once you've added a layer of hair brushwork, use gaussian blur on this layer to slightly blur it.( Check out the video on how to make your own hair brush at the end of this post)

STEP 5 - Add highlights

Use a screen layer to add highlights to the hair. This is starting to look more realistic already!

STEP 6 - Add shadows

Use a multiply layer to add shadow areas and define the little strands of hair more.

STEP 7 - Add volume and loose hairs

The hair was missing some volume, so correct any mistakes at this point. Start painting individual dark hairs. Try to make loose long strokes from your wrist and set your brush to a small size.

STEP 8 - Brightest highlights

Use another screen layer to start adding the brightest highlights to the hair, the brighter the highlights, the shinier the hair will look.

STEP 9 - Final details

Add some loose hairs, I used a grey tone and a near black tone to add individual hairs.

VIDEO: How to make a hair brush in PHOTOSHOP

If you have any questions about the techniques I use, be sure to let me know!