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deuxia-devonair β€” Craptastic Hair Tutorial

Published: 2006-07-10 03:02:01 +0000 UTC; Views: 22176; Favourites: 288; Downloads: 313
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Description As you can see, I finally decided to make a quick hair tutorial for color pencils.

The finished picture is here -> [link]

EDIT as of 12/07/2012:
And the FAVS keep coming! Thank you all for your stars and comments!

EDIT as of 06/13/2012:
I still can't believe this is STILL getting fav'd. Thanks a bunch! Please send me your results if this tutorial worked for you!

EDIT as of 03/17/2011:
Whoa! it's been quite a while and this deviation keeps on getting Favorites! Thanks so much to each one who fav'd!

EDIT as of 05/22/2010:
My, oh my! Even now, this tutorial gets fav'd and commented! Thanks to everyone who comments and keeps on faving or just passing by! I appreciate that bit of your time.. a lot! Thanks again, I'm overwhelmed!

EDIT as of 11/30/2007:
YAY! This Tutorial has been featured at an article for DA News among the best Tutorials in DeviantArt! I'm so excited! Go see for yourself: [link]

Here is the description:

Palette: This is the range of colors I used for the hair. As you can see, I used soft strokes and combined the different tones to achieve a smoother look. The more tones you use, the more realistic it will look. Hint: For wider areas, the pencil should not be too sharpened. The oposite goes for smaller areas, use a sharp pen and very thin strokes.

Area 0: That is your rough, white, un-colored area. This is where you start.

Area 1: This is the base. Here, you will use very light and broad strokes. The lighter tone is used here. See the notes for "Palette". Also, use the "color" of the paper. The white spaces will add shine to your picture.

Area 2: Here, I have used 3 layers. You can now tell the difference between this and the rest of the areas, the hair starts to look like hair!

Area 3: This is how it looks at the end. All the left-half of her face is shaded with all the colors included in the palette. Note how the hair seems to pop right out of the paper, almost as you could touch it. The final touch is actually given by a few strokes of black, individual strands of hair.

Additional notes:
- If you want to have a shinier look, add more black, thin strands of hair where the hair is deeper and further from the viewer. The rest will look silkier by contrast.
- You can also use a thin eraser later to add more shine where you need it. Remember that the shine is more noticeable when the surface is closer to the viewer.
- For blonde hair, you can combine the following colors: light yellow + yellow + light brown + tan + black + olive green
- For black hair, I can recommend you this palette: gray + light purple + blue + black

Remember that these are just tips, you can use them to improve your current skills or add variations of your own to create a unique style.


Have fun!
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Comments: 57

EsmeraldaSmith [2011-09-08 19:01:05 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much. I really needed to know this... Now my drawn hair doesn't look too sucky anymore!

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Dhemlan [2011-05-13 19:54:19 +0000 UTC]

Muchas gracias por el tutorial))

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XxxNekoxShoujoxxX [2011-03-04 19:33:21 +0000 UTC]

Awesomee! The drawing's really nice~

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mxgirl199 [2010-10-07 17:28:27 +0000 UTC]

Awesome!

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SailorMoonArt [2010-10-02 01:50:08 +0000 UTC]

perfect i needed this Aregoto

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Konpeki-san [2010-05-14 02:22:21 +0000 UTC]

Heeeeey it's Jury! XD Just browsing tutorials and I was like, "I know that ridiculously curly hairstyle anywhere!"

Very well done. might use this in the future. :3

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deuxia-devonair In reply to Konpeki-san [2010-05-22 21:54:13 +0000 UTC]

Thanks a lot! I love her hair, hehe. If you use it, let me see it, mmkay?

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Konpeki-san In reply to deuxia-devonair [2010-05-22 22:02:20 +0000 UTC]

Sure thing!

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Nobody-said-so [2010-02-17 07:16:59 +0000 UTC]

Even if this weren't an excellent tutorial, it would still go into my Favorites on the basis of its pretty, pretty hair and lineart...

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deuxia-devonair In reply to Nobody-said-so [2010-02-19 03:49:00 +0000 UTC]

Thanks a lot!

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mishkuu [2010-01-11 17:48:49 +0000 UTC]

thank you!

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padme-naberrie [2009-09-05 00:09:41 +0000 UTC]

Great tutorial! Thank you!

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FreakieGeekie [2008-04-28 06:18:52 +0000 UTC]

OMG a tut with simple and easy to comprehend instructions!
I mean, I can understand the ones with technical terms but my younger sis can't so when she's using one of the tuts I've saved for reference, I have to explain it all to her. So this one she can use without my help!

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deuxia-devonair In reply to FreakieGeekie [2008-05-03 15:14:01 +0000 UTC]

I'm glad you think so! You know, at the beginning I couldn't understand why this tut was so popular but now you just mentioned the real reason, I guess...

Thanks so much!

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FreakieGeekie In reply to deuxia-devonair [2008-05-04 22:47:46 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome! And my sis says thanks too!

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gimpyy [2008-03-31 18:38:46 +0000 UTC]

I love the last bit with the black. That last little touch really makes a difference!

I have a question: How do you decide what colors should be in the palette for different hair colors? Are there only a few colors you change in the palette to go from say brown to blonde or would you have to change all the colors? And what about choosing an appropriate palette for an unatural color such as blue or green?

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deuxia-devonair In reply to gimpyy [2008-04-04 01:29:27 +0000 UTC]

That's a really good question! Let me explain it:

I use a range of tones for the same color, with white at the beginning of the range and black at the end of it, of course. Let's say I choose to paint someone with green hair, I would use white as the base and then yellow as I progress. I would end in a green with heavy tones of blue.

As you may know, green is actually the combination of blue and yellow. So, the lightest colors at the range would have to look more "yellowish" and the darker ones would have to be more "blueish". It's actually easier to pick colors for unnatural hair tones because there are specific color ranges you can follow. To get an idea, you can always take a look at a chromatic circle: [link]

For natural hair tones, you have to rely on your eyes, basically. As there are many of these tones, you have to observe carefully before actually choosing them. For example, you wouldn't pick the same colors you used to paint a 'dirty blonde' to paint a brunette. I tend to use yellow as a base and then I combine them with different shades of orange, red and then black.

If I made it sound too complicated, please let me know and I will be glad to help. I hope it helped at least a bit.

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gimpyy In reply to deuxia-devonair [2008-04-14 00:37:49 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much! I'm still a little confused about the last thing you said about natural hair tone. Does it go by a similar process that choosing the unnatural hair colors does?

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deuxia-devonair In reply to gimpyy [2008-04-16 02:45:44 +0000 UTC]

Yes, it goes in a 'similar' process. I stress out the word 'similar' because it's the same only in theory.

You have to take a closer look, use your eyes when you choose the colors for a range of colors. Let's take again the example of the blonde. This girl has a very light, almost yellow-ish haircolor. I would choose:
uncolored area (the 'white' of the paper) + light yellow + yellow + light tan + light orange + light brown + burnt siena + black (in very thin strands).

That would be my selection, you can have an entirely different color range to create/paint the haircolor you like the most.

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gimpyy In reply to deuxia-devonair [2008-04-18 23:26:41 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much, this has been so much help for me! XD

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rixies [2007-12-18 23:27:31 +0000 UTC]

Yay! Colored pencil! Hair! Tutorial! Thank you much!

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XxXAnimeStarXxX [2007-11-04 19:53:49 +0000 UTC]

That looks very beautiful! I hope to colour like that someday Thanks so much for the tutorial xD

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videmo [2007-09-10 16:24:32 +0000 UTC]

Sorry I won't make advanced critique, but I wanted to say that's one of best Juri pics I've ever seen... Is it yours? ^^

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deuxia-devonair In reply to videmo [2007-09-16 04:05:10 +0000 UTC]

Hello! Yes, the picture is from me. It appears in my gallery. Thanks for watching!

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MiseryMiserSourDream [2007-07-27 23:27:28 +0000 UTC]

this was helpful ^_^ i have nearly zero talent with color pencils so i tried this and had some progress

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deuxia-devonair In reply to MiseryMiserSourDream [2007-07-30 04:56:30 +0000 UTC]

Excellent! those are great news! I'm glad I was able to share this with you.

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Foxtrot44 [2007-07-12 22:08:37 +0000 UTC]

thanks for the tutorial! I'll have to try that with my prismas now

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redbloodedgirl [2006-11-27 09:00:46 +0000 UTC]

Mujer, tu eres una maestra para mi!!!

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WanderingKotka [2006-07-27 19:06:37 +0000 UTC]

Wow! Nice tutorial! This is really handy to see and I can see applying it to other media quite easily. Thanks!

My one critique/suggestion would be that I would prefer to see Area 2 broken down to individual steps. The jump from Area 1 to Area 2 is rather sudden for me.

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deuxia-devonair In reply to WanderingKotka [2006-07-29 22:17:27 +0000 UTC]

Thanks a lot to you for the useful feedback! Actually, this was not meant to be a tutorial. xD I'll definitely have to break it down to small steps, you're absolutely right. I'll create another, but with black hair, perhaps... I think that's the hardest. >_<

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WanderingKotka In reply to deuxia-devonair [2006-07-29 22:36:06 +0000 UTC]

Really? Well, either way I found it helpful. I'm really amateurish with colored pencils so I found a lot here to learn from! Coloring anything black, hair, clothing, whatever, is hard.

I added it to my tutorial bank anyway, hee.

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nazicatboy [2006-07-20 22:28:01 +0000 UTC]

Oo, I'll have to try this

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deuxia-devonair In reply to nazicatboy [2006-07-23 03:01:49 +0000 UTC]

Let me know when you do, please!

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ZeroLink [2006-07-14 23:59:10 +0000 UTC]

I needed to zoom in to notice the difference between Area 2 and 3... and, though I don't have the rights to critique it, the Area 3 can be improved, maybe a bit more 3D... just that

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deuxia-devonair In reply to ZeroLink [2006-07-15 00:45:34 +0000 UTC]

Blame that on my stupid scanner. DX Thanks for the comment, hehe!

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Undaunt [2006-07-11 17:08:01 +0000 UTC]

pretty oO;

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deuxia-devonair In reply to Undaunt [2006-07-22 17:39:02 +0000 UTC]

Hehe. Thanks a lot!

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Mikha [2006-07-11 16:54:45 +0000 UTC]

OMG

If I ever can paint hair like that... But I'll give it a try with the tutorial

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deuxia-devonair In reply to Mikha [2006-07-22 17:38:28 +0000 UTC]

Siii! trata de colorear siempre en la misma direccion, mas suave o en circulos!

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Mikha In reply to deuxia-devonair [2006-08-10 14:12:37 +0000 UTC]

ok o.o, lo voy a tratar la proxima. tengo ratos de no dibujar nada >_>

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S0rce [2006-07-11 03:57:48 +0000 UTC]

Al fin lo pude ver a color!

mira que chivo te esta quedando el pelo... pero no se si es por la compu, que los brillos IMHO pudieran ser un poco mas claros (aunque para aprender a colorear me parece kewl q lo hayas puesto asi).

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S0rce In reply to S0rce [2006-07-22 18:41:19 +0000 UTC]

ah si.... eBil scanner.

Pero creo que igual medio podes controlar eso con el open canvas y poner que los colores te salgan mas brillants.

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deuxia-devonair In reply to S0rce [2006-07-22 17:36:51 +0000 UTC]

Es un poco de ambas cosas.... yo debi haberle dejado el amarillo un poco mas notable, pero tambien el scanner hizo lo suyo al matar muchas de las tonalidades intermedias. ;_;

A-lo-thanks! <3

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dexvaldex [2006-07-10 23:47:26 +0000 UTC]

vaya q interesante!!

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deuxia-devonair In reply to dexvaldex [2006-07-22 17:28:58 +0000 UTC]

Graacias!

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bidujador [2006-07-10 23:11:13 +0000 UTC]

marvelous! will keep it in mind for my next color pencil art ^^

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deuxia-devonair In reply to bidujador [2006-07-22 17:27:31 +0000 UTC]

Espero sinceramente que sirva de algo.

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Munia [2006-07-10 07:32:18 +0000 UTC]

ΒΏCΓ³mo que "craptastic"? Si el tutorial es estupendo. ^-^

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deuxia-devonair In reply to Munia [2006-07-10 13:37:21 +0000 UTC]

En serio? Se entiende? Normalmente, ponen screenshots, pero yo lo puse todo en una sola imagen, y no se si este comprensible. Gracias!

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Munia In reply to deuxia-devonair [2006-07-11 13:21:34 +0000 UTC]

Bueno, yo he entendido las explicaciones perfectamente, asΓ­ que me imagino que los demΓ‘s lo harΓ‘n tambiΓ©n.

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