How to draw glamorous curls

In this tutorial, you will learn how to draw hair. When drawing a fashion sketch the designer is expected to think not only about the design itself but also about the whole styling of the model – this includes shoes, accessories, jewelry and of course- the hairstyle. This is a step-by-step technique for creating a voluminous, glam hairstyle for your muses. Big lush curls and a lot of glamour – the perfect companion to any design idea. Have fun and if you like the tutorial, check my online course that covers dozens of different hairstyles: “How To Draw Hair“.

6/10

4 min

drawing paper
pencil
eraser
colored pencils

Step 1: Starting with a nice face

Draw the face of your model. In case this seems challenging try the “How to draw fashion face” tutorial.
Make sure the forehead is not too big nor too short. Add the ears – most of them will be covered by hair, but it always looks better and more realistic if at least a small part is showing through.

Step 2: Draw the hairline

Using the “How to draw hairline” tutorial draw the curved line that defines where the hair starts growing. The hair is going into the forehead at the temples and at the top center part as shown.
This glamorous hairstyle has a lot of luscious volumes. Starting from the middle of the temples pull a straight line at about 45 degrees. Connect the two sides with an arch and mark its Centerline. Draw an inclined line to the right of the arch Centerline – this will be the hair parting.

Depending on how voluminous you want the hairstyle to appear you may go for a bigger or smaller shape at the top of the head. Experiment and find what works best for you.

Step 3: Hair guidelines

Begin from the hair parting line and draw a curve going through the middle of the Centerline, the outer corner of the eye to the middle of the left ear. This will be a sexy, free-falling strand of hair.
From the center of the 45-degree lines pull down lines that will serve as guidelines for the hair dimensions. Make sure you leave enough distance from the ears to the side outline and mark the hair length with a curved line.

Step 4: Luscious volume

Finish the sexy strand by drawing an identical line over the first one. Don’t make it look too thin and make sure you have gentle variation in the width of the strand. Notice how it is curving behind the hair. It is an essential part of a glamorous hairstyle drawing.
Draw a nice smooth strand over the right shoulder of the model. It is covering almost the whole shoulder.
Lastly, draw short lines in different lengths from the parting line out. Notice that they are curved, not straight!

Step 5: Hair outlines

Using the guidelines from the previous steps draw the outlines of the hairstyle. An “S” shaped line usually works best, but you can also come up with your own way of smoothing the angles and giving the hair a more natural look.

Step 6: Strands

Erase the unnecessary, distracting lines and start drawing the hair strands. It is important to remember that each strand has its individual, unique width. Don’t make the lines perfectly aligned with each other – play a little bit.
Notice how the thick strand covering the right shoulder is separated by a line. This line is drawn from the hair outline and is not making it to the roots. This gives air to breathe to the illustration – avoid drawing all of your lines from one end to another.
The new strands are curving behind the same way as the big ones.

Step 7: More hair

Draw more hair. Your lines should look flowing, natural and not stiff. Leave enough space between the strands, give them different directions, size, even let them cover each other. Continue to the hair ends in the same spontaneous way.

Step 8: Little rebels

Some rebel strands will give life to this already glamorous hairstyle. Choose the places that appeal to your eye and add a few thinner hairs. Don’t go wild with this step or the hairstyle will start looking messy.
Finish the ends – make them look nicely curved and not perfectly aligned.

Step 9: Coloring the hair

Depending on the dominant colors in your fashion sketch choose a hair color that harmonizes well with the rest of the drawing. Fill all the hair with a nice solid color and shade the roots and the ends of each strand as shown.
You need to treat each strand individually! This might take longer to render, but the results will be much nicer.

Step 10: Highlights

Finish the coloring of the hair by adding highlights in the middle of each strand. Again- you want to treat each of them individually. Consider darkening the roots with a darker pencil – roots always appear darker than the rest of the hair.
Finish the rendering of your fashion sketch.

Once you master this hairstyle you will be able to draw it in minutes without the guidelines and measurements. Remember that good styling can bring your fashion sketches to a new, higher level and enjoy the creative process!

Happy drawing!