Drawing Hair as Blocks, Not Strands

Hair drawn strand by strand looks like wire. Hair drawn as a few large masses that flow from the crown looks like hair. The skill is not rendering; it is grouping.

Find the crown first

All hair grows from a point on the top of the skull, usually slightly off center and back. Mark it. Every mass of hair flows out and down from that single origin, and if the flow is consistent the style can be anything from spiky to soft and still read as one head of hair.

Block three to five masses

Divide the hair into a small number of big shapes: a front section over the forehead, two side masses, and a back mass. Draw each as a single flowing silhouette before you add any interior line. Overlap them so they tuck under each other, because overlap is what creates depth.

One band of shine

Hair catches light in a band that follows the curve of the skull, not in random highlights. Place one soft, broken band of lighter value across the masses at the level where the head curves toward the light. Break it up so it does not look like a plastic wig.