In this free art lesson, you’ll learn how to draw a Manga Boy with short, shaggy / messy 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 shaggy hair, we will be using the Basic Boy Head / Face template that we created in a previous tutorial. Click on the link below to complete the Head and Face drawing first:
After you have your drawing for the Basic Head / Face, follow the step-by-step drawings below to add the shaggy 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 shape made up of a few curved lines on the forehead for the first part of the hair. Draw a couple of spike-like, V-shaped lines at the bottom for the tips of the hair. Notice how the outer lines curve up until they almost touch the top of the head. The tips of the hair should be between the eyebrows and ever overlap them a little. When you draw hair, it’s important that you don’t draw every single hair strand. Draw the clumps of hair as bigger shapes like this one.
Step 2: On the left side of the face, draw a long, clump of hair using a series of curved vertical lines. Notice how the hair overlaps a bit of the eyebrow on the left. The bottom of this clump of hair should be made up of thin, spike-like shapes for the tips of the hair. The lower half of the clump of hair should fit between the eye and the ear.
Step 3: On the right side, draw another big clump of hair using more curved lines. Add spike-like shapes at the bottom for the tips of the hair. Pay attention to the length of the lines so that they curve around the eye. The shapes for the clumps of hair on either side of the face should be similar but don’t draw them exactly the same.
Step 4: On the left side, draw more of the hair using, shorter, curved lines. Draw a couple of curved lines at the bottom for a small clump of hair that blocks to top part of the ear. Above that, draw more curved lines along the side of the head for more chunks of hair.
Step 5: On the right side, draw more hair the same way you did on the left side. At the bottom, draw a big, curved, spike-like shape for a clump of hair that blocks part of the ear. Above that, draw more hair along the side of the head using, short, curved lines.
Step 6: Connect the sides of the hair using a series of long, curved lines at the top. As you draw these lines, follow the basic curvature of the bald head. Don’t draw these lines too high above the head, otherwise the hair will be too poofy. Draw a small, pointy shape on either side for some tips of hair.
Step 7: Below the ears, draw a series of short, spike-like shapes using small, curved lines for the back of the hair peeking out from behind the neck. Draw these lines along the path of the jaw and neck. Inside the shape of the hair, at the top, draw a few long, curved lines to emphasize the texture of the hair.
Step 7: 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 ears 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 hair can be 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 with no highlights. You can also use any other color you want. Manga characters are always colorful so use, red, blue, orange or any other color you want for the hair.
Use peach for the skin. Use a bit of light brown under the head for a shadow. Color the irises 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 circles inside the eyes as you color the irises.
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!
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