In this free art lesson, you’ll learn how to draw a Manga Girl (3/4 view) with a ponytail 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 long hair, we will be using the Basic Girl 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 ponytail hairstyle. 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: Start with a series of long, curved lines between the eye on the left and the ear for the first part of the manga girl’s bangs or fringe. Pay attention to where the lines start at the top and end at the bottom. When you draw hair, it is best to draw it as big clumps instead of individual hair strands. This whole shape represents a big hair clump. The bottom part should be pointy. Add a pointy, spike-like shape on the right side too. It’s okay if you overlap the shape of the eye and ear a bit.
Step 2: Across the middle of the forehead, draw more curved lines for the middle section of the girl’s bangs or fringe. The lines in the middle should be similar to the letter V that’s curved and tilted. The pointy bottom tips of these lines should curve to the left and they should overlap the eyebrow and the top part of the eye. Vary the width of the V-shaped lines. The line on the right-most side should be very close to the top edge of the bald head.
Step 3: Draw more long, curved lines along the right edge of the forehead for the last part of the manga girl’s bangs or fringe. Follow the curvature of the forehead as you draw this clump of hair. Don’t the outer edge of this clump too far away from the edge of the head. The bottom tip of the clump should be outside of the head and on the same level as the bottom of the eye.
Step 4: Along the top and left edge of the manga girl’s head, draw a series of curved lines for the section of hair that’s pulled back. The lines should follow the curvature of the head and they should be similar to bumps or hills. Don’t draw these lines too far away from the edge of the bald head or the hair will be too poofy. Below the ear, draw a couple of short lines for more hair.
Step 5: On the top, left side of the head, draw a curved line for the girl’s headband. On top of the headband, draw a small bow using a couple of small triangles for decoration. You can skip the bow or add a different decoration to your headband if you’d like.
Step 6: Starting on top of the head, draw a very long, curved line for the first part of the girl’s actual ponytail. The line at the top should start to the right of the headband. The top part should consist of three small hill-like lines. The left-most line should be long and wavy and it should end on top of the shoulder on the left. There should be a pretty big gap between this long line and the left edge of the head and neck.
Step 7: To the left of the neck, draw a curved line for the inner part of the manga girl’s ponytail. This lines should start at the ear and it should end on top of the shoulder. Inside the long shape of the ponytail, draw a series of curved lines to emphasize the ponytail’s wavy shape.
Step 8: Add a few more pointy, V-shaped lines on the right side of the forehead to fill in the girl’s bangs or fringe. Below the cheek on the right, draw more V-shaped lines too for loose chunks of hair. Add some curved lines within the shape of the hair to emphasize how the hair flows.
Step 9: Using a pen or marker, go over the lines to make your drawing permanent. Ink slowly and carefully to avoid accidents. 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! Color the headband red. Using light yellow or white, color a few streaks across the top of the hair and bnags for highlights. Use yellow for the rest of the hair but don’t overlap the highlights. Use yellow orange and light brown along the top of the bangs and on the underside of the ponytail for some shadows. Color lightly at first and slowly blend the colors together. For an easier drawing, just color the entire hair a single yellow. 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 cheeks for blush. 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! Bookmark this page for different upcoming hairstyles.
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