Painting Hair in Photoshop: Fixing the Hair
Ready to learn more about painting hair in Photoshop?
Here, the hair on the side of the king’s head was growing right up into the eyebrow and was looking a little bit odd.
By taking the hair back it’s given the desired amount of separation between it and the eyebrow, and has also made the king look slightly older.
Adjusting the Hair
While working Mark noticed that the hair on the far side of the head was blending too closely in with the mustache, and this may cause a problem for the finished drawing.
Did you notice this while you were watching?
Upon noticing the potential problem he’s separated out the hair from the mustache as well as viewed the piece from several different angles to get a feeling if this adjustment is going to work well with the finished drawing or if it will need further work.
When you are working on your own pieces and learning about painting hair in Photoshop, don’t be afraid to take this same approach and remove or adjust a piece of the drawing that isn’t working.
One of the major advantages of working digitally is that you can go back and rework and areas quickly and easily.
So, whether you’re painting hair in Photoshop or anything else, you always have a back-up plan if things don’t go to plan!
Work Upside-down!
In addition to flipping your canvas horizontally, you can always also flip it vertically.
Occasionally flipping your canvas will give you an opportunity to see the drawing from another angle where mistakes or other problems are more likely to stand out.
Adding Hair Texture
For the next stage of painting hair in Photoshop, you’re going to add some texture.
Notice how the hair is having tiny little details added to it with a small and lightly colored brush.
The small strands of hair are added to the major hair volume as well as around the edges to soften the contrast of where the hair is meeting either the skin or the clothing underneath.
Detailing the Metal Ring
Add some highlights onto the metal ring, while also considering the reflective properties of metal like this.
If, while you are working on your own paintings and you need to paint a material that you are unfamiliar with, just go and do a Google image search to come up with several good examples that you can use as reference.
The speed that Mark works at may lead you to believe that you don’t need to study and understand the properties of the objects you are painting, but don’t make this rookie mistake!
Take the time to learn and study when you encounter a new material as you’ll be able to take this knowledge with you into the next painting you do as you continue to grow as an artist.
We hope this article has helped you learn more about painting hair in Photoshop. Why not leave us some feedback below?