How to Draw Hair on Cartoon Boy
This tutorial shows how to draw male anime and manga hair. It includes a total of nine hairstyles with step by step drawing examples and instruction for each.
There are many variations of male anime hairstyles. This tutorial focuses on the more common and generic styles that you are likely to see in many shows and manga.
While drawing hair can seem complicated a good way of managing the drawing process is by thinking of it as being split into various sections. These are the front, sides and back/top.
To help avoid mistakes this tutorial uses a "see through" drawing approach. This means that if you are going to be following along using pencil and paper it's important that you first make light lines that you can easily erase. You will need to do so with parts of the drawing before you finish. You can darken the strokes after you complete the line drawing.
For more on good drawing practices and common mistakes also see the tutorials below:
- Beginner Guide to Drawing Anime & Manga
- Common Mistakes When Drawing Anime & Manga
- Beginner Guide to Picking Colors When Drawing Anime & Manga
Drawing "Buzz Cut" Male Anime Hair
While this "hairstyle" is hardly any hair it's a good one to start with as it shows the hairline. This will be important to drawing the other styles.
Before drawing the hair draw the head as shown in the step by step example above.
Step 1 – Draw the Front of the "Buzz Cut"
The front off the "buzz cut" will be part of the hairline. Draw it with with just two large curves that create a bottom pointing tip slightly below the top of the head.
Please note that this is just a basic example as to how to draw the hairline. It can vary in shape and position in both real people and anime characters.
Step 2 – Draw the Sides of the "Buzz Cut"
Add the sides of the hairline with another pair of curves that join with the first set a good distance above the ears.
Step 3 – Draw the Top/Back of the "Buzz Cut"
Finally draw the top/back part of the "buzz cut" hair. Depending on how short you want this to be you can even leave this step out. If the hair is almost completely shaved you can just use the outline of the head to define it's top.
In this case the hair will be slightly longer so it will be draw with just a little bit of volume. To do this draw the hair pretty much hugging the shape of the head starting from the top of the ears gradually moving away from it towards the top.
Step 4 – Finish the Line Drawing
To finish the line drawing first erase the top part of the head that should be covered by the hair. Afterwards go over your drawing with a darker stroke.
Step 5 – Add Some Shading
You can also give the hair some basic fill/shading to make it a little more visible.
Drawing Short Male Anime Hair
Short anime hair will usually be drawn in smaller clumps compared to longer hair. The reason for this is that short hairs can't reach far enough to join into as a big a clump.
Before drawing the hair draw the head with an outline of the hairline (based on the first example of the tutorial).
Step 1- Draw the Front of the Short Hair
Draw the front section of the short hair with the base of it's clumps fairly close to the hairline.
Step 2 – Draw the Sides of the Short Hair
In a similar manner to the "front hair" draw the side clumps close to the hair line as well.
Step 3 – Draw the Top/Back of the Short Hair
Finally draw the back/top section of the hair somewhat "fanning out" around the head. Also be sure to draw the clumps leaning somewhat downwards instead of projecting directly away from the head like sun rays.
Step 4 – Finish the Line Drawing
Once you finish drawing the three parts of the hair erase the hairline and the sections of the head covered by them. You can also go over your drawing with darker lines.
Step 5 – Add Some Shading
You can see what the short hair will look like with some basic shading in the example above.
Drawing Medium Length Male Anime Hair
The medium length hair (or some variation of it) is probably one of the most generic hairstyles in anime and manga. Very common to the "average guy" protagonists.
Before drawing the hair draw an outline of the head along with the hairline.
Step 1 – Draw the Front of the Medium Length Hair
Draw the front of the hair in fairly large clumps that start from around the top of the head and go down well past the hairline. Make the clump/clumps in the middle slightly longer than the sides.
Step 2 – Draw the Sides of the Medium Length Hair
Add the side sections with just a few long clumps each again starting from around the top of the head and going down close to the bottom of the ears.
Step 3 – Draw the Top/Back of the Medium Length Hair
Finally add the top/back section of the hair with a bit of a "roof like" shape on it's upper part where the hair slopes down and then transitions into clumps.
You can also add some clumps sticking out from below the ears.
Step 4 – Finish the Line Drawing
Erase the parts of the hairline and head covered by the hair and go over your drawing with darker lines.
Step 5 – Add Some Shading
When done with the line drawing you can add some basic shading as shown in the example above.
Drawing Medium-Long Male Anime Hair
This hairstyle is fairly similar to the previous example but slightly longer. One common characteristic of this hair is that the portions that would cover the eyes are often swept to the sides with one big chunk going down the middle of the face to around the tip of the nose.
Start the drawing with an outline of the head and the hairline.
Step 1 – Draw the Front of the Medium Long Hair
Begin the drawing of the actual hair by adding the part that goes down the middle of the face. It can start from about the top of the head and go down to around the tip of the nose (if it was shown). Draw this part as two combined clumps that curve in opposite directions forming a bit of an "x" shape near their bottom as they overlap. You can also draw some small splits into each clump to make the hair look a little more natural.
Step 2 – Draw the Sides of the Medium Long Hair
Add the side parts of the hair as two large curved shapes that somewhat "hug" the head and split into smaller clumps towards their ends.
Though really this "side hair" also grabs parts of the front section of the hair it's still easier to simply split it up as shown in the example.
Step 3 – Draw the Top/Back of the Medium Long Hair
Finally draw the back/top parts of the hair. To show that it's fairly long leave a good amount of distance between most of the clumps in it's upper part with just a few shorter clumps sticking out near the very top.
Step 4 – Finish the Line Drawing
Once done with the light line drawing erase the hairline/parts of the head covered by the hair and go over everything with a darker stroke.
Step 5 – Add Some Shading
You can also add some basic shading as shown above.
Drawing Combed Male Anime Hair
As the title implies this example is of hair that looks at least partially combed.
Before drawing the hair draw the head and the hairline as shown above.
Step 1 – Draw the Front of the Combed Hair
The front portion of the hair will be the section that shows that it has been "combed". Position it some distance below the hairline as the hair will need some length to be combed like this. Draw the "front hair" in medium sized clumps that are all sort of "swept" to one side. At the same time try and draw each individual clump pointing in a slightly different direction so that the hair looks more natural.
Step 2 – Draw the Sides of the Combed Hair
To not make the hair look too neat you can draw the sides slightly messy as in the above example. If you do want a neater look you can draw them more like the hair in the "medium length example".
Generally the fewer clumps you draw and the more they point in the same direction the neater the hair or part of the hair will look. Drawing more clumps pointing in different directions will generally create a messier look.
Step 3 – Draw the Top/Back of the Combed Hair
Add the back/top portion of the hair in pretty much two main curves going from one side of the top of the head. It's overall shape should somewhat hug the head/face getting closer to it the more it goes down. You can also add a few small clumps at the very bottom and slightly above the ears.
Again these clumps will take away just a little bit from the "neat" look but will make the hair appear slightly more natural.
Step 4 – Finish the Line Drawing
Erase the hairline and the part of the head covered by the hair. Afterwards go over the light line drawing with darker lines.
Step 5 – Add Some Shading
You can also apply some basic shading to the hair to make it stand out a little bit more as shown above.
Drawing Combed Back Male Anime Hair
For the combed back hair the hairline is particularly important as it's pretty much fully visible.
Begin the drawing by first outlining the shape of the head and placing the hairline.
Step 1 – Draw the Front of the Combed Back Hair
Draw the front section of the combed back hair as a let of little "teeth like" shapes running along the hairline. You may notice that this is a little different from the "buzz cut" where you could simply use the hairline itself as the "front of the hair". The reason for drawing the "teeth" is because the hair in this example is much longer and these teeth along with the rest of it will help create the look of pulled back hair strands.
Step 2 – Draw the Sides of the Combed Back Hair
For the sides of the hair you can pretty much trace the hairline and connect them to "teeth" of the front section.
Step 3 – Draw the Top/Back of the Combed Back Hair
The back/top part in this case is somewhat complex as hair that has been combed back like this will tend to create all kinds of small bumps and clumps.
When drawing these bumps try to position them in a way where their combined shape still has a consistent flow to it. Meaning that you don't get one part that is very close to the head and one that really far away from it. There should be a gradual transition where the bumps and clumps are closer to the head around the ears and farther away from it at the top.
Try and make the "hair bumps" around the upper area of the head somewhat random in shape with some being much bigger and other being much smaller but keep the bumps above the ears generally small.
Draw a few pointy clumps in between the bumps as well. You can draw most of them with a bit of a "wave".
Step 4 – Finish the Line Drawing
For this step first erase the hairline and the part of the head covered by the hair. Next draw in some curved (or wave like) lines in between the hair bumps/clumps of the back/top section and the "teeth" of the front section.
You can also add a tiny clump of hair (or a pair of clumps) that is hanging down around the upper middle of the hairline as shown in the example. Simply erase part of the hairline and add it in.
Once you finish the line drawing go over it with a darker stroke.
Step 5 – Add Some Shading
Finally you can add some basic shading to the hair as shown above.
Drawing Long Male Anime Hair
Some long male hairstyles can be drawn pretty much the same as female. However the combed back long hair as in this example tends to be common to males.
Draw the head and hairline before starting the hair.
Step 1 – Draw the Front of the Long Hair
Similar to the previous example of the "combed back hair" draw little "teeth like" shapes along the hairline for it's front section. In this case the teeth will be just a tiny bit smaller and more numerous than in the previous example.
Step 2 – Draw the Sides of the Long Hair
Again similar to the previous example of the "combed back" hair draw the side sections pretty much tracing the hairline and joining up with the "teeth".
Step 3 – Draw the Top/Back of the Long Hair
Draw the back/top section of the hair pretty much tracing the shape of the upper part of the head some distance away from it. It should then starting to "fan out" more from around the top of the ears.
Inside the outline of the back/top shape draw a pair of lines going from the ears to the shoulders to help define the volume of that part of the hair.
Step 4 – Finish the Line Drawing
To finish the line drawing of the "long" hairstyle first erase the hairline and the parts of the head covered by the hair. Next you can erase part of the hairline and draw in a large clump of hair hanging down along the middle of the face. This is optional but it can make the hairstyle look a little more interesting.
Afterwards draw some curved lines along the top and sides of the hair going from the outer shape to the hairline. These will create a hint of the hair strands.
You can also draw some wavy lines around the inner bottom part of the hair to show the hair folds that usually form in that area.
Step 5 – Add Some Shading
To finish you can add some basic shading as shown in the example above.
Drawing "One Eye Covered" Male Anime Hair
In this style the "balance" of the hair is shifted to one side of the head covering one eye.
Before drawing the hair first outline the head and hairline.
Step 1 – Draw the Front of the "Over One Eye" Hair
As can be expected the front section of this hairstyle will be very large and long. You can think of the entire thing as being split into two main sets of clumps with one being smaller and one much larger (covering the eye). You can draw the split in these starting from around the top of the head.
Draw the clumps on the "covered side" generally larger and going down slightly farther (a little below the ear) than those on the open side of the face.
Step 2 – Draw the Sides of the "Over One Eye" Hair
There really is not much to the "side hair" clumps in this particular hairstyle as they are pretty much merged with the front section. Draw them as sort of extensions of their side of the "front hair".
Step 3 – Draw the Top/Back of the "Over One Eye" Hair
Draw the back/top part of the hair hugging the head (some distance away from it). You can draw some small clumps into it's main shape around the top and side areas.
Draw the very bottom part of the hair (below the ears) in large and fairly long clumps. This will help give it a slightly more messy/stuck together look.
Step 4 – Finish the Line Drawing
To finish the line drawing first erase the hairline and parts of the head covered by the hair and afterwards trace over your drawing with darken lines.
Step 5 – Add Some Shading
You can optionally add some very basic shading as shown above.
Drawing "Spiky" Male Anime Hair
This "spiky" hairstyle is shaped a bit like a flame and may sometimes be used to emphasize a characters "fiery" personality.
Begin the drawing by first outlining the head and hairline as shown in the first step above.
Step 1 – Draw the Front of the Spiky Hair
Draw the front section of the hair with fairly small clumps that start around the middle tip of the hairline and go downwards to the sides.
Step 2 – Draw the Sides of the Spiky Hair
Draw the "side hair" with just a few tiny clumps.
Step 3 – Draw the Top/Back of the Spiky Hair
As mentioned before the back/top parts of this hairstyle will have a combined shape that resembles a flame.
To create the flame shape draw the hair clumps smaller and shorter starting from above the ears and getting generally larger and longer as they go up to the top of the head.
The clumps should also gradually transition away from the head and point more upwards the farther up you draw them. At the same time still try and randomize the size and direction of each clump.
Step 4 – Finish the Line Drawing
Finish the line drawing by first erasing the hairline and the part of the head covered by the hair. Afterwards go over it with darker lines.
Step 5 – Add Some Shading
You can also add some very simple shading as shown in the example above.
Conclusion
This tutorial show how to draw some of the more common male hairstyles seen in anime and manga. There are of course many more but it's difficult to cover too much in one guide.
For drawing the faces that can go well with most of these hairstyles see:
How to Draw Male Anime Characters Step by Step
For drawing female hair see:
How to Draw Anime and Manga Hair – Female
For drawing facial hair see:
How to Draw Anime Facial Hair – Beards & Mustaches
Source: https://www.animeoutline.com/how-to-draw-anime-male-hair-step-by-step/
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