Portrait Drawing in Flemish Style – How To Draw Realistic Hair

Art Lesson 46, Part 7

Discover how to make a Portrait Drawing in Flemish Style

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How To Draw Realistic Hair

Draughtsmen vary very much in their treatment of hair, and different qualities of hair require different treatment. The particular beauty of it that belongs to point drawing is the flow of its lines. These are especially apparent in the lights. In the shadows the flow of line often stops, to be replaced by a mystery of shadow.

Hair of the girl on a portrait is straight without any curls at all. From one point of view this type of hair is the easiest to deal with. On the other hand you should be able to show that you are capable to represent them evenly smooth and alive.

Start with outlining the contour of the head in general and sketch manner. It will help you do shading strokes in exact direction. For creation the effect of flowing hair you should choose suitable strokes. And don’t forget about the rule that different kind of texture must have different king of execution. Also, you already know that to increase the impact of your drawing, neighboring subject should be completed in different strokes. In our case the face should have one type of treatment and hair another.

To emphasize long, smooth and straight hair you should start drawing with long strokes. Use well sharpened soft graphite pencil stroking along the length of hair. You can change the pressure to achieve variety of effects. For example drawing hair on the front you could stroke from down upwards and towards the end of the stroke reduce pressure to the minimum. Thus making gradual transition to highlights. Than do the same kind of strokes but from top downwards.

When you are working on bigger areas making long strokes place the paper in convenient for this task position. It’s easier to make curved long lines when your hand is located right. And result would be more natural and trustable.