In this free art lesson, you’ll learn how to draw a Manga Girl 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 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 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: Between the eyebrows, draw a big angled line that’s similar in shape to a curved letter V. On the sides of this letter V, draw two thinner, spike-like lines for more of the front bangs or fringe. Notice how the outer lines curve up until they almost touch the top of the head. The outer tips of the hair should overlap the eyebrows 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.
Step 2: On the left side of the face, draw a long, clump of hair using two curved vertical lines. There should be a small space between the middle clump of hair and this one. Notice how the hair overlaps a bit of the eyelashes on the left and a big part of the ear. The top part of these lines should almost touch the top of the head. At the bottom, draw thin, pointy shapes for the tips of the hair clump.
Step 3: On the right side, draw more of the bangs or fringe using more curved lines. Draw these lines shorter. There should be a gap between the very first clump in the middle and this shape. The top of this shape would be wide and the bottom should be made up of three thin, pointy lines for the tips of the hair. The bottom should also overlap a bit of the eyelashes and ear.
Step 4: Add a few more short, curved lines in the space between the front shape and the side shapes for the rest of the bangs or fringe. Use thin, spike-like shapes for the tips of the hair. These lines should overlap a bit of the eyebrows.
Step 5: On the left side, draw more of the hair using, long, vertical lines. The outermost vertical line should be the longest. Don’draw these line too far away from the head, otherwise the hair will be too poofy and wide. Curve the bottoms of the lines so that they form pointy angular shapes just above the shoulders.
Step 6: On the right side, draw more hair the same way you did on the left side. Use a long, vertical line on the outermost side but don’t draw it too far away from the head. The innermost line should overlap most of the ear. Curve lines lines at the bottom to create, spike-like shapes just above the shoulder for the tips of the hair. Make both sides of the hair similar but don’t make them perfectly symmetrical a bit of variety is better.
Step 7: Connect the sides of the hair using a long, curved horizontal line at the top. As you draw this line, follow the basic curvature of the bald head. Don’t draw this line too high above the head, otherwise the hair will be too poofy.
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. At the bottom, draw a few angled, spike-like shapes for the tip of the back of the hair peeking from behind the neck.
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 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 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 for 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. 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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