How to Paint Hair in Photoshop: Start with Texture
Want to learn how to paint hair in Photoshop? Start off by grabbing another swatch of color to use as a base layer for the hair.
If you’re using a brush stroke texture like shown here, try and line the direction of the brush strokes up with the direction of the hair.
When you are going for a look that mimics the natural feeling of real oil or acrylic paint it’s good to always start with this base texture layer.
Rendering the Hair
Use a wet brush in Photoshop and begin painting in the lightness of the hair overtop of the texture in the previous step. Here are a few key things to keep in mind while learning how to paint hair in Photoshop:
- Where is the light going to strike the hair?
How is the hair flowing?
What design sense is applied to the hair to give it an interesting look?
Adding Depth
Once you have laid down your lighter hair color you can go back in with a darker color and start to carve out some of the shapes and also add volume to the hair.
While you are learning how to paint hair in Photoshop, try to occasionally vary the color of your brush to avoid the need to go back in later and colorize parts of the drawing that have become monochromatic.
Mark likes to stay away from the ‘tinted photograph’ look in his work, and you would do well to approach your own paintings in the same way.
We hope this article has helped you learn how to paint hair in Photoshop. If it has, why not leave us feedback below?