This tutorial demonstrates how to draw manga and anime hair for males. The tutorial includes nine different hairstyles, with step-by-step drawing examples and instructions for each.
There are many styles for male anime hair. This tutorial will focus on the most common styles you’ll see in anime and manga.
Drawing hair can be difficult. One way to manage the process is to think of it as being divided into different sections. These are the top, sides, and front.
This tutorial employs a “see-through” drawing method to avoid making mistakes. If you plan to follow along with the tutorial using a pencil, it is important that you make light lines that are easy to erase. Before you can finish, you will need to do this with portions of the drawing. After you have completed the line drawing, you can darken your strokes.
See the tutorials below for more information on drawing techniques and common errors.
- Beginner Guide to Drawing Anime & Manga
- Common Mistakes in Drawing Manga & Anime
- A Beginner’s Guide to Picking Colors for Drawing Anime & Manga
Drawing “Buzz Cut” Male Animation Hair
This “hairstyle” has very little hair, but it is a good starting point as it shows the hairline. This is important for drawing other styles.
Draw the hair as in the step-by-step example.
Step 1: Draw the front of the “Buzz Cut”.
The “buzz cut” front will form part of your hairline. It can be drawn with only two curves, which create a tip that points slightly below the top.
This is just an example of how to draw a hairline. It can take a different shape or position depending on whether you are drawing anime characters or real people.
Step 2: Draw the sides of the “Buzz Cut”.
You can add the sides to the hairline with a second pair of curves, which join the first set at a good distance above your ears.
Step 3: Draw the top/back of the “Buzz Cut”.
The “buzz cut” ends with the back part. This step can be left out depending on how short you want it to be. You can use the outline of your head to define the top of hair that is nearly shaved.
This will make the hair slightly longer, so you will need to draw it with just a bit of volume. This will allow you to draw your hair so that it is almost a hugging the shape and moving towards the top.
Step 4 – Complete the Line Drawing
First, erase the top of the head that should not be covered by the hair to finish the line drawing. After that, use a darker stroke to cover your drawing.
Step 5 – Add some Shading
To make the hair stand out, you can give it some filling or shading.
Drawing short male anime hair
Shorter hair is more likely to be drawn in smaller clumps than long hair. This is because short hairs aren’t long enough to reach as far as large clumps.
Draw the outline of your hairline before you begin to draw it. This is based on the tutorial’s first example.
Step 1: Draw the front of the short hair
The front section of the shorter hair should be drawn with the base of its clumps very close to the hairline.
Step 2: Draw the sides of the short hair
Similar to the “front hair”, draw the side clumps near the hairline as well.
Step 3: Draw the top/back of the short hair
The back/top of the hair should be drawn “fanning out” towards the head. Make sure that the clumps are drawn slightly downwards, rather than pointing directly at the head like sunrays.
Step 4 – Complete the Line Drawing
After you have completed drawing the three sections of hair, erase the hairline as well as the areas of the head that were covered by them. Your drawing can be redrawn with darker lines.
Step 5 – Add some Shading
In the above example, you can see how the short hair will look with basic shading.
Drawing Medium Length Male Anime Head Hair
Medium-length hair, or some variation thereof, is one of the most common hairstyles used in anime and manga. This is a common hairstyle for the protagonists of “average guys”.
Draw the outline of your hair before you start drawing it.
Step 1: Draw the front of the medium-length hair
The front of your hair should be drawn in large clumps starting at the top of your head and going down to the ends. The clump/clumps at the middle should be slightly longer than those at the sides.
Step 2: Draw the sides of the medium-length hair
Then add the sides sections in a few clumps, starting at the top of your head and working down to the bottom of your ears.
Step 3: Draw the top/back of the medium-length hair
Add the top/back part of the hair, with a little “roof-like” shape to the upper portion where the hair slopes downwards. Then transition into clumps.
Some clumps can be added below the ears.
Step 4 – Complete the Line Drawing
You can erase the areas of your hairline that are not visible and cover the head with hair.
Step 5 – Add some Shading
After you are done with the line drawing, you can add basic shading like the one above.
Drawing Medium-Long Male Anime Head Hair
The hairstyle is similar to the one above, but it’s slightly longer. This hairstyle is similar to the previous one except that it has a longer length. The portions that cover the eyes are often swept to either the sides of the center of the face.
Begin the drawing by drawing the outline of your head and hairline.
Step 1: Draw the front of medium-long hair
Start by drawing the actual hair. If it is shown, it can be drawn starting at the top of your head and ending around the tip. This section can be drawn as two clumps, which curve in opposite directions. They will form an “x” shape at their bottom as they overlap. To make your hair look more natural, you can draw some splits in each clump.
Step 2: Draw the sides of medium-long hair
The side hairs should be arranged in two large, curved shapes that hug the head.
Although this “side hair” actually grabs a portion of the front hair, it is still much easier to just split it as shown in the illustration.
Step 3: Draw the top/back of medium-long hair
Draw the top and back of your hair. You want to show it is quite long, so leave some space between the most clumps at the top and a few clumps near the end.
Step 4 – Complete the Line Drawing
After you are done with the light line drawing, erase any hairline or parts of the head that were not covered by hair. Then use a darker stroke to cover everything.
Step 5 – Add some Shading
You can also add basic shading to the image as shown.
Drawing Combed Male Anime Head Hair
This example shows hair that is at least partially combed, as the title suggests.
Draw the hair as shown in the image above.
Step 1: Draw the front of your combed hair
The section at the front of your hair that indicates that it has been “combed” will be this. It should be placed at least a foot below the hairline. The hair will need to be combed in this manner. The “front hair” should be drawn in medium-sized clumps and swept to one side. You can also try to draw the “front hair” in medium-sized clumps that point in a different direction, so the hair looks natural.
Step 2: Draw the sides of the combed hair
You can make your hair look messy by drawing the sides as shown in the previous example. You can make your hair look neater by drawing them closer to the hair in the “medium-length example”.
The neater your hair or part of it will look, the fewer clumps and more you draw. A messier look will result if you draw fewer clumps that point in different directions.
Step 3: Draw the top/back of the combed hair
The back or top portion of your hair should be added in two main curves starting from the top of your head. The overall shape of the hair should hug the head/face, getting closer the further it falls. A few clumps can be added at the bottom and just above the ears.
These clumps can take a bit of the “neat” look, but make hair look a little more natural.
Step 4 – Complete the Line Drawing
You will need to shave the hairline as well as the area of the head that is covered by hair. Then, go back over the light lines with darker lines.
Step 5 – Add some Shading
To make your hair stand out more, you can add some basic shading as shown below.
Drawing Combed Back Male Anime Head Hair
The hairline is especially important for combed hair as it’s almost always visible.
Start by tracing the head shape and then placing the hairline.
Step 1: Draw the front of the Combed Back hair
The front section of your combed-back hair should be drawn as a line of “teeth-like” shapes along the hairline. This is quite different from the “buzz cut”, where the hairline could be used as the “front” of the hair. This is why you need to draw the “teeth”. The hair is longer in this example and the teeth will create the appearance of pulled hair strands.
Step 2: Draw the sides of the Combed Back hair
You can trace the hairline on the sides and connect them with the “teeth” of the front.
Step 3: Draw the top/back of the Combed Back hair
This is the back/top section. Hair that has been combed like this can create all sorts of bumps and clumps.
These bumps should be drawn in such a way that their combined shapes have a consistent flow. This means that you won’t have one bump that is too close to your head and another that is too far from it. The bumps and clumps should gradually move away from the top of the head, around the ears, and closer to the head.
You can make the “hair bumps around the top of your head” somewhat random. Some bumps will be larger than others, but they should not be above your ears.
You can also draw a few clumps between the bumps. Most of them can be drawn with a little bit of a wave.
Step 4 – Complete the Line Drawing
First, remove the hairline from the area of the hair that is not covered. Next, draw some curves (or waves-like) lines between the hair bumps/clumps in the top/back section and the “teeth” in the front section.
A tiny clump of hair can be added (or two) to the area around the middle of your hairline, as shown in this example. You can simply reshape a portion of your hairline and then add it back in.
After you are done with the line drawing, add a darker stroke to it.
Step 5 – Add some Shading
You can also add basic shading to your hair, as shown in the picture above.
Drawing long male anime hair
You can draw long hairstyles for males in the same way as for females. The combed-back long hair seen in the example is more common for males.
Before you start the hair, draw the hairline and the head.
Step 1: Draw the front of your long hair
Similar to the example above, draw tiny “teeth-like” shapes along the hairline. The teeth in this example will be slightly smaller and more extensive than in the previous one.
Step 2: Draw the sides of the long hair
Similar to the “combed back”, draw the sides sections by drawing the hairline and joining the “teeth”.
Step 3: Draw the top/back of the long hair
The back/top of your hair should be drawn roughly following the contours of the head. The hair should “fan-out” from the top of your ears.
To define the volume of the hair, draw two lines from the ears to the shoulders within the outline of your back/top shape.
Step 4 – Complete the Line Drawing
First, erase the hairline. Next, draw the “long” hairstyle. You can then draw a large clump along the middle of your face and erase a portion of your hairline. Although this is not necessary, it can give your hair a more interesting look.
Next, draw curved lines from the hairline to the top and sides. These lines will give an idea of the hair strands.
To show the hair folds, you can draw wavy lines around your hair’s inner bottom.
Step 5 – Add some Shading
You can finish the project by adding some basic shading, as shown in this example.
Drawing Male Anime Hair “One Eye Covered”.
This style allows the “balance” of hair to be shifted to one side of one’s head, covering one eye.
Before you begin to draw the hair, first outline your head and hairline.
Step 1: Draw the front of the “Over One Eye” hair
The front of this hairstyle is very long and large, as you can see. The entire thing can be thought of as being divided into two sets of clumps, one smaller than the other (covering the eyes). These can be drawn starting at the top of your head.
The clumps on the “covered” side are generally larger and go down slightly (a little lower than the ear) than the ones on “open” side.
Step 2: Draw the sides of the “Over One Eye” hair
The “side hair” clumps are not important in this hairstyle because they are merged with the front. These hairstyles can be thought of as extensions of the “front” hair.
Step 3: Draw the top/back of the “Over One Eye” hair
The back/top of your hair should be positioned so that it is a little further away than the rest. You can add a few clumps to the main shape of the hair around its top and sides.
The very bottom of your hair, below the ears, should be drawn in long and thick clumps. This will give the hair a more messy or tangled look.
Step 4 – Complete the Line Drawing
Finish the line drawing by erasing the hairline and any parts of the head that are covered by hair. Then, trace your drawing using dark lines.
Step 5 – Add some Shading
Optionally, you can add very basic shading to the image above.
Drawing “Spiky” Male Animation Hair
This “spiky” style is shaped somewhat like a flame, and can sometimes be used to highlight a character’s “fiery” personality.
Start by drawing the head and hairline, as in the previous step.
Step 1: Draw the front of your spikey hair
The front section of your hair should be drawn with small clumps starting at the middle of the hairline.
Step 2: Draw the sides of your spikey hair
You can draw the “side hairs” using just a few small clumps.
Step 3: Draw the top/back of the spikey hair
The back and top parts of this hairstyle will look like a flame, as they are combined.
For the flame shape, make the hair smaller and shorter than the ears. They will grow larger and longer as they reach the top of your head.
Also, the clumps should gradually move away from the head and point higher the higher you draw them. You can still randomize the size of each clump.
Step 4 – Complete the Line Drawing
Begin by erasing the hairline as well as the area of the hair that is not covered. Then, add darker lines to the line.
Step 5 – Add some Shading
As shown in the above example, you can also add very simple shading.
Conclusion
This tutorial will show you how to draw the most common styles of male hair seen in manga and anime. There are many more, but it is difficult to include them all in one tutorial.
These hairstyles can be paired with many faces.
Drawing female hair is easy with these:
See:
