In this free art lesson, you’ll learn how to draw a Manga Girl (Side View) with short hair step-by-step. All of the tutorials on How2DrawManga.com are good drawing tutorials for beginners and experienced artists alike. The online tutorials are easy to follow; they teach you the how to draw basics while showing you how to draw manga step by step.
To learn how to draw short hair, we will be using the Basic Girl Head / Face (Side View) template that we created in a previous tutorial. Click on the link below to complete the Head and Face (Side View) drawing first:
After you have your drawing for the Basic Head / Face (Side View), follow the step-by-step drawings below to add the short hair. The new lines in each step are shown in red, so you’ll know exactly what to draw next. Take your time and draw at your own pace.
Intro: Start off with a pencil sketch. In the beginning stages, don’t press down too hard. For every step, sketch lightly at first so that it’s easy to erase if you make a mistake.
Step 1: Draw a big, curved, V-shaped line on the forehead, to the right of the eye and eyebrow for the first part of the hair. When you draw hair, it’s important that you don’t draw every single hair strand. Instead draw clumps of hair using big shapes like this V-shaped line. To the right, draw a thinner shape with a pointy bottom for a smaller clump of hair. These shapes will be the Manga Girl’s bangs or fringe.
Step 2: To the left, draw a long line that starts at the top of the head and then slopes to the lower left for more of the Manga Girl’s hair. Add a pointy, spike-like shape near the middle for a clump of hair. Slope the line to the left so that the shape doesn’t overlap the eye. Leave a space between the lower tip of the line and the ear. You can make these lines shorter for even shorter hair or longer for longer hair.
Step 3: Between the previous line and the ear, draw a series of long, curved vertical lines for the side of the Manga Girl’s hair. The bottom of the shape curves slightly to the right and is pointy. The bottom should also overlap the throat and jaw. Don’t overlap the ear with these lines.
Step 4: Draw more long, curved vertical lines to the left for another long clump of hair. Notice how this line cuts right through the middle of the Manga Girl’s ear. Add a couple of curved, pointy, spike-like shapes at the bottom for the tips of the hair clump. Draw a spiky shape near the middle of the line too.
Step 5: To the left, directly on the neck, draw a few shorter, curved lines for the tips of the manga girl’s short hair. The shape should be similar to a curved letter V with a couple of curved lines on the sides. To the right, below the chin, draw a couple more short lines for the tips of the hair on the other side of the head. Remember to adjust the length of these lines depending on how short or long you want your girl’s hair to be.
Step 6: On the left side, draw more clumps of hair the same way. At the bottom use curved, spike-like lines for the tips of the hair clumps. Extend the line on the far left up for the back of the hair. Keep the line close to the shape of the head. If you draw this line too far away from the back of the head, the manga girl’s hair will be too poofy.
Step 7: Draw a very long, curved line across the top part of the head for the top of the manga girl’s hair. Again, keep this line close to the shape of the head and follow the bald head’s curvature. On the right side, draw a thin, spike-like shape for another chunk of hair on the bangs or fringe.
Step 8: Within the hair, draw a series of long, curved lines to add extra detail and texture to the clumps of hair. Don’t over do it with the lines; just add a few for detail. Follow the basic shape of the clumps. Use vertical lines at the top and sloping lines at the bottom tips.
Step 9: Using a pen or marker, go over the lines to make your drawing permanent. Ink slowly and carefully to avoid accidents. Don’t ink the parts of the ear that are behind the clumps of hair. If you’d like, you can draw the eyebrows over the hair like in the image or omit everything that is behind the hair. It all depends on personal style. Some manga artists draw the eyebrows over the hair because it’s a bit see-through and others don’t. It’s up to you. After the ink dries, get rid of every pencil mark with an eraser.
Final Step: Color your drawing! This drawing was colored digitally but you can achieve the same result using color pencils, markers or crayons! Using light brown, color a few streaks across the middle area of the entire hair for highlights. Use brown for the rest of the hair and don’t overlap the highlights. Use dark brown along the top and bottom of the hair. Color lightly at first and slowly blend the colors together. For an easier drawing, just color the entire hair a single brown color, without highlights. You can also use any other color you want. Manga characters are always colorful so use, green, pink, purple or any other color you want for the hair.
Use peach for the skin. Add a bit of pink to the cheek for blush. Use a bit of light brown under the hair for shadows. Color the iris dark blue at the top and gradually add light blue at the bottom. Using two colors gives the iris a more rounded feel. For a simpler drawing, you can also just use a single color for the iris. You can also use any other color you’d like for the eyes. Don’t overlap the tiny highlight circle inside the eyes as you color the iris.
That’s it! Keep practicing until you get the hair right. Draw it again and again using different colors and eventually you’ll get better! Bookmark this page for different upcoming hairstyles.
Related Tutorials:
