In this free art lesson, you’ll learn how to draw a Manga Woman with a messy bun hairstyle 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 this messy bun hairstyle, we will be using the Basic Woman 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 bun / updo 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 on the forehead, above the eyebrows, for the front part of the manga woman’s hair or the bangs/fringe. This represents a big clump of hair. When you draw hair, it is best to draw it as big clumps instead of individual hair strands. The top of the shape should bulge outward. At the bottom, draw a couple of thin, pointy tips.
Step 2: Along the left side of the girl’s head, draw a big, curved shape for another clump of hair. This side of the bangs / fringe should cover part of the eye, eyebrow and ear. The bottoms of this shape are made up of thin, pointy shapes for the tips of the hair.
Step 3: Draw a series of similar shapes along the right side of the head for more of the woman’s bangs or fringe. These shapes are basically made up of curved, vertical lines that form pointy tips at the bottom. The shapes are similar to the letter V but curved. The shapes in the middle should be big and the shapes on the sides a bit smaller. It’s okay if the hair overlaps the facial features because the bangs / fringe are in front of the face.
Step 4: Along the top edge of the manga woman’s head, draw a curved line for the top of the hair that’s pulled back. This line should follow the curvature of the head. Don’t draw the line too high above the head or the hair will be too poofy. On the right side, you can draw another thin, curved shape for a loose chunk of hair on the messy bangs / fringe.
Step 5: On the left side of the head, draw a series of pointy shapes for the tips of the hair that are coming out of the messy bun. Draw these shapes as horizontal curved lines that create pointy tips on the left side. Use different lengths and widths to give the shapes variety. Under the ears, draw a couple of curved lines for some more loose hair chunks coming out of the messy bun. Curve these lines to create a curly chunk of hair and make the bottom tips pointy.
Step 6: On top of the head, draw a big, curved shape for the manga woman’s bun. The shape doesn’t have to be a perfect semi-circle; it’s a messy bun after all. Make the shape a bit wavy and curve the sides inward. You can make the bun a bit bigger or smaller if you’d like.
Step 7: Inside the shape of the woman’s bun, draw a series of short, curved lines to emphasize the structure of the shape. These lines will help indicate the which way the hair strands are flowing across the shape of the bun. Don’t cover the entire bun in lines. Just draw a few hair strands for extra detail.
Step 8: Add a few more short, curved lines throughout the shape of the hair for extra detail on the hair strands. Curve the lines to follow the shape of the bangs and top of the hair. Don’t draw too many of these lines; just a few to give more structure.
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 hair brown. Use light brown for highlights and dark brown for shadows. 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 and shadows. 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 and to the lips for lipstick. 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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