Portrait Classroom : The Hair

[krispee]

Hi all. I`ve been asked to step in and try and pass on what I`ve learnt about drawing and painting hair. Hope you all get something from it.

My dilemma when asked to do this was just how to approach it. Technically; as Dave has admirably done in the Head and Neck thread; or a more hands on approach, with lots of images.
I decided on the latter, mainly because hair is a subject that`s not easy to approach technically without boring everyone to sleep and to be honest there seems little point in learning how hair grows and about folicals and such as that won`t help you draw it. But also because illustrating it will, I feel, best show what I`m trying to say.

Essentially, hair will follow whatever anatomy lies underneath it, growing on the skin that lies on top of the skull and following the law of gravity – except in the few gravity defying cases or that of some mens (not to mention my own) case where gravity has gone a little too far lol. It does help if you have some knowledge of the anatomy underneath if you really want to draw hair properly, be able to show how the hair is conforming to the shape of the head it`s growing on.
Here`s a quick before/after sketch to show how it helps to know your anatomy, even if it`s only a little bit:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Apr-2005/46276-hairconform.jpg

The following examples, I hope, will show how you can draw hair pretty realistically. Starting with a few quick sketches:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Apr-2005/46276-head1.jpg
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Apr-2005/46276-head4.jpg
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Apr-2005/46276-head5.jpg
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Apr-2005/46276-head6.jpg
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Apr-2005/46276-head9.jpg
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Apr-2005/46276-head13.jpg
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Apr-2005/46276-head14.jpg

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Apr-2005/46276-juliarobertsex.jpg

Next post I`ll talk more about how I paint hair.

krispee

[krispee]

My painting process for hair is pretty much the same as for any painting really; lay down the mid-tones then gradually add in darker tones and lighter tones of different colours to help define, in this case, the hair.
A quick hair paint sketch:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Apr-2005/46276-hair_sketch.jpg

For my main and last example I`ll try and explain just what i did.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Apr-2005/46276-hair_united.jpg

After obtaining my ref I blocked in the face and the mid-tone, a mid-brown colour that will act as the base tone. I then added some burnt sienna to brighten the hair and some darkend sienna for the hair nearest the face and some dark tones in the hair. Later I layed in the lighter tones by combining raw umber and titanium white and burnt sienna and titanium white and used thinner brushes to steack the hair to try and duplicate hair strands. Finally I added dark tone streaks chaotically throughout the hair mass and very light highlights to mimic light bounce.
Paints used include: raw umber; burnt sienna; cadmium red; lemon yellow; ivory black; titanium white.

http://www.fluidimage.co.uk/images/hair_united_lrg.jpg

Above is a link to a larger version of the hair paint tutorial image.

Well, please comment as much as you can. I`ll leave you with a link to some hair examples that you can use to practice with as I have.

http://www.fluidimage.co.uk/images/hair%20examples/

Krispee

[eileenclaire]

Krispee, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge about rendering hair! I appreciate your coming in at short notice to do this.

The photo examples are great, thanks so much for giving the links. Your drawings really exemplify how a knowledge of anatomy will make rendering the hair much easier.

On your tutorial for painting the hair, what color are you using to highlight? This is where I've been running into problems - getting the right highlight color. The highlights in your painting seem to have a bluish tint - is this from using ivory black? Are you painting this wet on wet, or layering?

One other question - do you know of a good palette for painting blondish hair? And maybe light reddish/brown hair? Sorry to bombard you, it's just that I'm working on two portraits and struggling with these colors at the moment. :D

[krispee]

thanks eileen, well at least you`re getting something from it and that makes it worth the effort.....
for reddish brown hair use Burnt Sienna definitely and mix that with Raw Umber to darken it......you may even want to add in some Cad Red if you want to redden the Sienna more....i almost never use Black unless i really want a dark shadow and almost always never on its own....
if you add Titanium White to the Sienna/Umber mix then you get a nice but unusual highlight but add grey to it and it becomes a lovely light brown.......i used Raw Umber and Titanium White for some of my lighter tones.....

blonde is a different matter...i mixed some colours up and eventually got a mixture of Yellow Ochre and Lemen Yellow together then added lots of white.....but also got a mixture of White and a tiny amount of Ochre to work well...i think i remember using that to do my 'little boy look' picture with....
if in dounbt i just experiment with different colours...i just love mixing colours together, could do it all day....

hope that helps.....

krispee

[Pars]

Krispee,

Thanks so much for doing this Portrait Classroom. I'm wondering if you'd take a look at this months Paint/Draw from the same Picture and give us some pointers on that wonderful curly locked little angel.

My own daughter is a mass of curls and I'd sure like to know how to approach potentially doing a portrait of her.

Here's the link (http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=261471) if you have time! :)

[krispee]

pars: no probs, i`ll go to that thread and have a look see.....

krispee

[eileenclaire]

I'm back again with more questions. :D

I'm attaching a photo (face blocked out because the parents don't want the photo posted) of the little girl with light brown hair (with some reddish highlights). Next to that is my WIP. I don't have raw umber, so am using burnt umber instead, as well as burnt sienna and naples yellow. Maybe that's my mistake. I was going to highlight with the naples yellow + white after it dries.

Two questions: is it possible to do highlights alla prima? How does one do that? :confused: I've seen people do great hair alla prima, but how do they keep the paint from mixing? I hope I'm making sense here, because I'm confused myself, LOL.

Second question: I don't feel I've captured her hair color. And the more I work it and rework it, the duller it looks. I find it's best for me to have the colors ready to go on the palette and just paint away quickly. The only problem is finding the right colors. Where do you think I've gone wrong with this hair?

Thanks, I appreciate your taking a look!

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/05-Apr-2005/21757-Milana_the_one_photo_cropped_with_face_cut_out.jpg
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/05-Apr-2005/21757-milana_wip_2.jpg

[elizabeth ours]

Krispee,

Thanks so much for the info.

Question: Any suggestions on painting hair that is so short that it is actually stubble?

Here's a pic I have been working on for some time - am thinking about painting in the scalp with violet and green they when dry, layer hair color. Then trying a type of scraffitto to show the scalp through the hair.

Thanks,

Liz

[krispee]

eileenclaire: well, burnt umber is a little different than raw but you might still be able to use it and make a mix of that and burnt sienna and maybe use a little more sienna to make up for it, don`t use sienna on it`s own....bring that back with a little yellow and that should give you your mid-tone.....darken that with more umber or lighten it with white......highlights look overexposed on the left but you might be able to use yellow to lighten that and use that for the highlights, or white, either will do.....
don`t worry about about painting alla prima on this, let the mid-tone dry and then block in the darks and lights......let that dry and refine...
as to your picture you have overworked it i`m afraid, the best thing to do is to go back and block in again....

you can paint highlights alla prima but the technique requires you to load the brush with paint, lay in the stroke and then leave it, don`t try to brush again....if it didn`t quite work then load the brush with dark and paint against it to thin the highlight stroke....it`s not an easy technique to learn straight away....the trick is to load the brush with enough paint that it makes a mark....

krispee

[krispee]

elizabeth ours: treat the hair is if it was just the scalp but add in some blue to compensate....blue/grey....and that works for stubble as well....

krispee

[rosebard]

Thanks Krispee for this Class. Really nice examples of drawings and painting. That was just what I was looking for on the search. I am lost on the portrait classroom schedule. Shoud write it down. Anyway, Thanks God I found just in time to paint my daughter's hair. I am too struggling with my daughter portrait. The hair part is the most scary part. And I think that has much to do in a way with fur. Imagine my daughter wants me to paint a cat now!

I have a question. I dont know how to put my question. It is about the hair and background color, and they go with each other. I am asking that because, for example on my daughter's hair is kind of midtone brownish hair, and I painted the background with ultramarine/prussian blue mixture. So when we paint a portrait do we have to think carefully about how the color of the background affects the hair color? Or not? Sorry for beeing difficult to explain. I am still getting used to all the words for art in English.

Second question, I notice that you blocked the face colors and then painted the hair. Is that the way we should do always?

Thanks a lot for sharing this lesson with us. I really appreciate this.

[imperess]

hi krispee!

GREAT DEMO!! thisis a great resourse and i am sure will help many. Maybe you could address different hairstyles like fancy updo's and things? can you share your pallet for red and blonde hair?

Thanks a bunch, you're doin great!

~Carol

[rosebard]

Today I drawn my daughter's in another pose. What do you think about her hair?

[krispee]

bard: your portrait is coming along nicely but don`t forget to vary your pencil stroke intensity and your placement of the mid-tones and dark patches and highlights....hair can fall choatically but you can still plan your way around this by lightly sketching an appproximate shape for the hair and then gently blocking in the dark patches....gradually refining this, adding more, but smaller, darks and leaving the lights blank.....most hair tends to fall together but occasionally you can draw and wayward hair or two, just to mix things up a bit.....

imperess: thanks....i`ll try to post some other examples when i can....but have been very busy lately....i`ll post a photo of my pallette soon....

krispee

[rosebard]

Thanks Krispee for explain it through and give your comment on this one. I will keep all that in mind.

[moscous]

hi I'm ok untill it comes to hair am not comfortable with textures. I don't know if I strive to be too detailed or if i just don't know the secret to succefully potray hair and fur. please help!

[krispee]

hi all
i`m sorry i haven`t been able to contribute anything more to this thread, have so many paintings on the go at the moment....
pars: i will try and have a go at the little girl sometime, have had a look, very challenging!

moscous: try and add in some mid-tones to your hair, not just dark tones and highlights....it will break up the mass of the hair...and change the colours a bit, bringing different colours will also help to break things up......

krispee

[Pars]

hi all
pars: i will try and have a go at the little girl sometime, have had a look, very challenging!

krispee

thanks, Krispee, for taking a look. I do think hair can be a challenge but then so can so many other things :D

Perhaps as I'm working on a portrait or two (albeit, slowly) I'll see if I can figure out a way to incorporate all those wonderful curls.

I did notice btw some very good work in oils, I believe, that's you posted not too long ago.

[krispee]

I did notice btw some very good work in oils, I believe, that's you posted not too long ago.

not sure what work you are referring to there pars.....you`ll have to remind me lol

krispee

[Pars]

Here's one (http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266844) I was taken with.


not sure what work you are referring to there pars.....you`ll have to remind me lol

krispee

[krispee]

pars: oh that one lol....yeah, not that long finished with, tried to be more painterly with the hair, gives the impression without the work :D...but painting her hair was the same technique wise as it was the others....start with a broad mid-tone and work in the rest.....
still not that happy with her left hand, will probably have another go at it sometime......

krispee

[Johnnie]

Hi all

I would like to know if there is any additional information or demo's on hair.. Especailly using Oils

I have heard of a phrase called "Raking the Hair" .. Was told its taking the lighter paint and pulling over the darker paint or something like that.

Anyone else with experience who can add to this great thread on painting Hair??

Thanks
Johnnie

[krispee]

johnnie: hi there, haven`t heard of that technique, but then i`m self taught so it might be a school taught technique i wouldn`t know about.....i would love to post some more lessons here but haven`t the time at the moment....maybe when i`ve got some free time....
i`ll have a look around for that technique.....

krispee

[ArtsyMom x3]

watercolor blonde hair sample...

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/25-Aug-2005/30384-Liz_3_small.jpg

[krispee]

hi artsymom
that looks great, nice tones in the hair, quite pale at the top but i guess this was a sunny day.....you`ve changed the hair colours well, good undertone of darks, changed the browns enough to keep the hair looking natural, like the inclusion of a light red/brown.....
i also like the way you`ve done the face....actually it looks quite like your avatar picture.....
wasn`t sure if you were posting this just to show or wanted a proper critique on it.....
anyway, good work.....

krispee

[ArtsyMom x3]

hi artsymom
that looks great, nice tones in the hair, quite pale at the top but i guess this was a sunny day.....you`ve changed the hair colours well, good undertone of darks, changed the browns enough to keep the hair looking natural, like the inclusion of a light red/brown.....
i also like the way you`ve done the face....actually it looks quite like your avatar picture.....
wasn`t sure if you were posting this just to show or wanted a proper critique on it.....
anyway, good work.....

krispee

a little of both...a possible example of white blonde hair and a proper critique as an added bonus, if possible.....thanks for your time!!!

[krispee]

artsymom: well, as mentioned before you have a good range of tones in your hair, it`s important to vary your colour and tonal range a lot when painting hair, keep the same flowing lines, as you have, and add in more colours....
to be honest there`s not that much to crit here as in general this is very good.......not that i`m familiar with watercolour as much, but the principles are the same......you have a good tonal range and i like the extra colours in the area on her left side, where the hair opens out......i`m guessing that the light source is from the top left, in that case you could have added more darker tonal ranges on the right, especially near the neck region......but without seeing the original i can`t say for sure.....
i also find that one darker brushstroke of paint will break up a whole region of light tones......and vice versa...without going into lots of detail.
but i like this, lovely flowing lines and colours......hair isn`t that difficult if you keep to the rules: vary your tones and colours; keep the brushstrokes loose and flowing; let the hair follow the head, not the other way around, get the anatomy right first.

anyway, some blog for ya, hope it helps some.....

krispee

[ArtsyMom x3]

source photo: http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/27-Aug-2005/30384-Liz_photo.jpg

Keep in mind too, I lightened the picture pretty good in order to pull out her features to paint her face. So, accordingly, the hair is pretty washed out in the painting...The background set in will set her head apart from the sky..I'll bet putting in a different view of the river behind their house, loosely, in the background, and in doing so will put some blues in the sky around her head..blurring the edge of her hair to make sure and eliminate any hard lines...doing so will push the sky back and her head forward.

the hair is lighter there on the right side ...I will be tweaking the neck area more next week, this is just as much as I could do on it with the time I had. I'm sure I'll go back into the bottoms of the hair, that is not finished yet, but I'll have to put in stin tones between the flipped up edges of her hair...that will be tricky since in watercolor you can't just paint a shoulder and drop in hair, you have to do both simultaneously, slipping the shoulder skintones in and out of strands of hair. Haven't quite figured out how I'll do it yet, but I'm sure I will...(I better!)

thanks for the input!

[Johnnie]

HI Monique

Great hair and lovely subject.

How about a method of operendi on how you did the hair..
Sure would help me out.. I see a lot of different shades and values but not sure as to what order they would be done.

A WIP or Demo here would be nice if you have the time and I am sure others would bebenefit from your expertise...

Thanks
Johnnie

[Marilyn Speck Ballard]

[QUOTE=One other question - do you know of a good palette for painting blondish hair? And maybe light reddish/brown hair? Sorry to bombard you, it's just that I'm working on two portraits and struggling with these colors at the moment. :D[/QUOTE]

Eileen, For blonde hair, a palette of Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, and Cerulean Blue, (blending one color at a time, for the right proportions), works well for me. To accent strawberry blond lights, add a little burnt Sienna. To make the hair more golden, use Yellow Ochre, and Scarlet Lake, occassionally cooled with Cerulean Blue.

Please visit the portrait or watercolor forums and I'd like for you to see my "Ram's Fan". She has strawberry blond hair with lighter blond highlights. Maybe that will be a help. Strawberryblonds have a lot of different shades in their hair.

Marilyn

[flippetygibbet]

Help - I have a hair emergency! This was for the "same reference" thread.

This was before I read this tutorial, so I think I'll be a little better after reading it. But I have real problems seeing shapes in hair - all I see is a mass of irreproducible details - any tips on how to 'see' better?

Also, anything different for colored pencil?

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/15-Sep-2005/67248-color.jpg

[krispee]

flippety:
unfortunately i know very little about coloured pencils, although the basic principles should be the same for all mediums in practice it`s a little different......
the main technique for seeing more shapes and less detail is to squint your eyes at your subject, but that doesn`t work so well with a photo.....if it`s a photo i use photoshop and a filter called Dry Brush which i apply giving the photo a blocked in look, that might help give you more shapes to start with.....
your image looks ok structurally but is washed out and needs much more contrasting tones to give it depth.....

hope that helps

krispee

[Marilyn Speck Ballard]

Help - I have a hair emergency! This was for the "same reference" thread.

This was before I read this tutorial, so I think I'll be a little better after reading it. But I have real problems seeing shapes in hair - all I see is a mass of irreproducible details - any tips on how to 'see' better?

Also, anything different for colored pencil?

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/15-Sep-2005/67248-color.jpg

Steve, First, I couldn't find your post in the Portrait Classroom thread. Check it out, and ask one of the monitors to help you, because that may be why you might not be getting many responses. I'm really not sure where this reply will appear. :confused:

In the "Colored Pencil" channel, Karen Cardinal, (the avator with the bright red hair) offers an excellent article, "A Colored Pencil Portrait From Start To Finish" I think this, and the others in this channel can help you a lot. I don't do much with colored pencils. It takes me too long, but you will have better control than with watercolor. I love the challange of watercolor, and it's a happening, because no two are ever the same. I know, never say "never". Usually!

Some of the same rules do apply, however:

Go with the contour of the head, (which you are basicly doing, except in a few places)

If you are striving for realism, tone down the gold color. It's much too loud, in my opinion. Natural blondes usually, (besides having more fun :wink2:),
have softs tones in the highlights. In the watercolor media, I use Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, and Cerulean blue, to cool it, mixing a little at a time to get the desired shades. For shadows on the skin, unless you are striving for the light, soft tones, I would do more shading to help show more depth. Same colors, in different proportions,and a bit of burnt umber for darker shadows.
In your present work, the hair over powers the face in color.

You have an excellent start on the face!


http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/15-Sep-2005/35425-Hair_close-up.jpg

I start out with midtones, add shadows and then lighter colors, in some of the larger areas that I have reserved for them, topping them off with fine brush strokes (using a fine liner brush) of watered-down acrylic in different light tones. Pure white for some really squeaky-clean, silky, shine highlights. See my attachment. Also, ("Young Ram's Fan" in the Portrait section)
Hope this helps.

Marilyn

[Marilyn Speck Ballard]

Steve, Nevermind, I found you. I just didn't go far enough. :rolleyes:

How's it goin"? Let me know if I can be of any more help. I'm sure though that you will get plenty of good advice.

Marilyn

[flippetygibbet]

Thanks Marilyn, that's great advice, and I've been getting tons of good advice too from other places it WetCanvas.

I think I'm going to wait until I get some proper pencils before I post a colored pencil portrait again (possibly this weekend), then I was thinking of either tackling something that was particularly "hairy", or trying this poor girl again.

[lilje]

is it possible to do highlights alla prima? How does one do that? :confused: I've seen people do great hair alla prima, but how do they keep the paint from mixing?


Here's a (very) quick method of painting hair hilights alla prima. This method is so lovely and easy it should be illegal, but its perfectly legal I assure you.
(I've just roughly sketched the process here with the mouse, so do try it in oil to get the proper effect) .

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/15-Jan-2007/98730-hair-hilights-alla-prima.gif
Step 1 - Draw a line in titanium white across the hilight area (onto the slightly wet paint)
Step 2 - Using a flat, dry brush ( my favourite tool ) bring down some of the white paint using the flat side of the brush (i.e. put the brush down in the middle of the hilight and bring it downwards) It should run out of paint normally. Clean the brush on a cloth before each stroke.
Step 3 - the same in the opposite direction
Step 4 - with a clean, dry, flat brush, pull the hair colour back into the hilight (the main part of the hilight should end up quite thin). Only blend in the one direction along the hair, not across the hairs.

This works very well with slightly older brushes that are still soft (their bristles are a little apart to paint all those little hairs for you in one stroke)

This really is easy (practice on an area of thin dark paint first) and shouldn't take longer than 90 seconds to do once you get the hang of it.

[ELIZAVETA]

i need to paint his goatee/beard and grey, and rather thin
....worse yet, have to go over unsatisfactory attempt.....
any suggestions truly appreciated
ELIZAVETA

[ELIZAVETA]

:clap: Re: Portrait Classroom : The Hair

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
dear guidance,
i was left a beloved self-portrait, however I need to repair
his rendition of chin whiskers. I messed it up once already
but feel determined to repair my mistake (it now looks like
a ball of white cotton! Ugh.
the goatee/beard mostlly white/ grey, and rather thin
....worse yet, have to go over unsatisfactory attempt.....
any suggestions truly appreciated

[Marilyn Speck Ballard]

Elizaveta, first off, Welcome!

Can you post your resource picture and also a photo of your WIP (work in progress)? What media are you using? No matter, whatever you use, I'd start out with the middle tones first, leave some white areas white for the major part of the highlights, then work in different shades of darker colors. Healthy hair reflects light and is not all one color. I leave some areas without a lot of details, and on the raised portions, use a fine rigger or liner brush for fine strands of shiny highlights. (check the lower part of entry 33 on this series of posts and replys.) The greys can be varried a lot. Soften the black with something! Soft, light shades of Colbalt blue are good to ease the contrasts of white and gray . I have to be away, but will get back to you later this next week.

Marilyn

[purplepansey]

I have a problem with hair too, my own in real life, LOL but seriously with painting hair. I'm new to this class, may I post my painting for hair critique?

[Marilyn Speck Ballard]

Hi, Purplepansey, (I LOVE pansies!) Welcome to you, too!

Of COURSE you may post your painting! By all means!
Send a resourse photo, too, if you are using one.

Lilje has a good idea for beginners. (Post # 36) It works easier for oils and acrylics, tho. What media are you using? Try that and you may add your own touches. If you get carried away, just go over some. (Look at it in a mirror to get more depth). If you have more questions, just ask away.

Marilyn

[Marilyn Speck Ballard]

Sorry, I see I posted in the wrong catagory.

Marilyn

[Dana Design]

Purple Pansy and others...please post your hair WIP/painting in the Portraiture Forum. Thanks!

[Marilyn Speck Ballard]

Hmmm, I always thought the hair was an important part of classroom instruction in learning how to paint portraits, especially people with hair. What is the portrait classroom forum for? I'm confused and I just haven't figured out the system, yet. Sorry.

Marilyn

[Dana Design]

Marilyn, the Classroom is for completed works that illustrate a specific way of doing things as regards Portraiture.

When the WIP or illustration is completed and has received many comments and has been very helpful, I move it to the Classroom for all to learn from. This is so that it doesn't get lost in cyberspace. There's a sticky at the top of the Classroom Forum page that explains this.

The Classroom is frequently referred to when someone is having particular difficulty achieving their goal. By doing this, they can immediately go to the Classroom and have their questions answered.

Hope I've made this clear. Thanks! :)

[Marilyn Speck Ballard]

Thanks, Dana,

Marilyn