Wednesday 16 January 2019

How to Draw Hair with Coloured Pencils

My granddaughter has beautiful curly hair - but what a nightmare to draw!  I've taken up the challenge and have learnt a lot about coloured pencils.  One thing I have learnt is that they are very different to using oils.

The hardest part is going from light to dark and leaving highlights alone.  Once you've darkened a spot that should have been a highlight, it's pretty much impossible to make light again.  But I have learnt a few tricks.  I have a mechanical eraser which is very useful for tiny spots to be erased, but it does tend to rough up the paper. 

Then there's the Posca white pen with a fine nib, but it can blob a bit.  I then am able to go over the white with the appropriate highlight and smooth it off.

Sometimes, just pressing down firmly with a sharp white pencil or very light colour can help to lighten dark areas too.

Also you can employ contrast to bring out a highlight.  I have surrounded the highlight with an even darker tone to make it appear lighter.

Well, looks okay so far - now for the left side of the face!!

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