The hairstyle of the character you are trying to draw can have a significant impact on their personality, just like it can in real life. That’s why some hairstyles, like a mullet, a bob, or even bangs, have stuck around through different decades. They have an impact on our overall look, making us appear bolder. 

At the same time, drawing hair is one of the most difficult aspects of learning to draw, just as it’s hard to pull off a set of bangs. But like rocking a new hairstyle, drawing one perfectly comes with confidence, which is gained over time with lots of practice.

This guide will show you how to approach drawing hair, specifically bangs, as well as give you tips on how to achieve a realistic look in your drawings. 

Why People Find Drawing Bangs Hard

When we look at our hair, it’s hard not to imagine it as a set of individual strands. But if you try to draw it like that, you’ll probably end up with something that looks more like a plate of overcooked spaghetti splattered across your head than hair. 

The hair has its own mass, just like the nose or any other part of our face. Because of that, the best approach to drawing it is to focus on the form rather than the texture first. 

Whatever the hair type or style you decide to draw, figure out the shape you want to achieve first and design them as volumes rather than individual strands of hair. You can see here how to achieve different styles of bangs, from blunt to curtain to anime, but let’s focus on the fundamentals first. 

Drawing Bangs: Step by Step Process

It's important to consider the aesthetic effects of different hairstyles before settling on one. With shorter bangs, you'll make a more dramatic style statement, while longer bangs will better frame the eyes of your character. 

The length of the character's hair in general will answer a more profound question about how they feel about their hair on a daily basis and the character's level of freedom or ease.

Step One: Get the Right Equipment

Before you even draw the first line, consider these resources, which can be helpful as you research how to draw bangs:

• An H pencil to draw the lines and outline the hairstyle;
• A B pencil to add the finishing touches and delicately shade the sketch;
• A 4B pencil for highlighting;
• A kneaded eraser to remove the shapes that you don't like;
• Lightly textured sketch paper, as it makes it simple to later remove mistakes or failed guidelines.

These are merely suggestions; feel free to use whatever kind of paper and pens you prefer!

Step Two: Draw Your Guidelines

Starting out, it can be useful to begin by drawing a triangle at the top of the head and then gradually working your way downwards. This triangle shape can act as a guide for the rest of the hair.

To help position the bangs correctly, you can use the eyebrows as a point of reference. By drawing two lines that slope outward from the center of the forehead, you can indicate where the outer edges of the eyebrows are located. This, in turn, will help you figure out where the bangs should start.

Once you've determined where you want the bangs to sit, you can then draw a finishing line that runs across the forehead. Depending on the style you want to draw, this line could be placed at different points on the forehead.

When it comes to bangs, the style is most noticeable at the beginning of the hair. This is where you'll see the biggest differences between styles. Whether you're going for a straight or blunt look, there should be a noticeable gap between hair strands.

Step Three: Pay Attention to the Head’s Shape

When you want to draw a person, it's important to learn how to draw the basic shape of a human skull. This is the first step in creating the right shape for your character's or model's head, and it will also help you decide on the best bang style to fit the skull and head shape.

However, it's worth noting that not every head shape will work with every hairstyle. So, it's important to consider how the hair will fit with the shape of the head you've drawn.

Step Four: Decide the Flow of the Hair

When it comes to bangs, sometimes they're intentionally parted to one side or split down the middle. However, they still follow the rule that the bangs should hang down, just with a part somewhere within them to create the illusion that the hair isn't all in one piece.

With this style, the hair can be separated in multiple places, which allows some of the forehead to be visible. This breaks up the "curtain" effect that can happen when all the hair is hanging down in one solid piece.

Step Five: Start Drawing

Now that all the foundations are laid, it’s time to start drawing the lines. Although good drawings come from practice, here are some tips we can give you to perfect your craft:

• Don't hesitate to use references: You can gain a better understanding of how various hairstyles function and how to create the texture of different types of hair by looking at photographs or other drawings.
• Play around with various shapes and styles: Try out a few different bangs to see which suits the face shape you're drawing the best because not all of them will look good.
• Pay attention to the shadows and highlights: Adding highlights and shadows to the hair could really help create a much more realistic and three-dimensional look.
• Take breaks, step back, and evaluate your work as you go: It can be helpful to step away from your drawing and return to it later. You can use this to pinpoint problem areas and make the necessary corrections.

Bonus Tip: Mastering Highlights and Shadows

As we’ve mentioned at the beginning, focusing on the form comes first, then it’s all about the texture. And when you want to draw realistic hair, you need to understand how to work with highlights and shadows. Here’s a little cheat sheet:

1. Observe the light source: To decide where the highlights and shadows should be placed, evaluate the source's direction and intensity.
2. Start with a base tone: Use quick and light pencil strokes to create texture and movement while shading hair. 
3. Add highlights: Use a lighter shade or white to add highlights where the light hits the hair to give it depth and dimension.
4. Create shadows: To add shadows, use a darker shade in areas where the hair is darker or where it falls over the face or neck. These shadows should be blended into the hair for a seamless transition.
5. Utilize layers: Adding additional shading and highlight layers can help produce a more dimensional and realistic appearance. Build up the shading and highlights, starting with a light layer.
6. Pay attention to texture: Create a sense of movement and texture in the hair by using short, quick strokes. Hair has a particular texture that can be difficult to capture.
7. Include stray hairs: Add a few stray hairs around the face or neck to make the hair appear natural and realistic.

Remember that highlighting and shading hair takes time and practice, so try out different methods until you find one that suits you.

Final Words

Whether you draw inspiration from Edna Mode, Cleopatra, or Welma, choosing to give your characters bangs is an amazing way to describe their personalities in a straightforward but very effective way. 

Some people may associate them with a carefree and youthful temperament, while others may see them as more sophisticated and professional. In the eyes of some, bangs are a sign of originality or a yearning for change, while in the eyes of others, they are a way to achieve facial harmony.

Whatever reason you chose them for, we hope this guide will help you give your character the hairstyle they deserve!