Drawing hair is hard. Honestly, drawing textured hair is even harder if you’ve only ever practiced straight or wavy styles. Most people struggle with how to draw afro textures because they try to outline every single curl or, even worse, they draw a big, flat circle around the head and call it a day. It looks stiff. It looks fake. And it definitely doesn’t capture the gravity-defying, beautiful complexity of Type 4 hair.
If you want your portraits to actually look like the person is in the room with you, you have to stop thinking about lines. Start thinking about volume.
The Shape Language of the Afro
Texture is a trap. You see all those tight coils and think, "I need to draw ten thousand tiny circles." Please don't do that. You’ll lose your mind, and the drawing will look cluttered. Instead, look at the silhouette.
Think about the "halo" effect. An afro isn't a perfect sphere; it’s an organic shape that reacts to moisture, pick-styling, and even the wind. When you’re figuring out how to draw afro hair, start with a light, messy construction line. This shouldn't be a solid border. It’s a suggestion of where the hair ends and the air begins.
Variation is everything here. Some parts of the hair will be denser. Some will have stray "flyaway" hairs that break the silhouette. If your outline is too smooth, it looks like a helmet. Real hair is chaotic. Use jagged, soft, or spiraled lines to define the outer edge.
Lighting is Where the Magic Happens
You can’t just fill the hair with a solid color and expect it to look three-dimensional. Light doesn't work that way. Because an afro is made of millions of tiny, interlocking coils, it catches light in a very specific way.
Why Highlights Matter
In straight hair, light usually hits in a long, "halo" band. In textured hair, light gets trapped and bounced around. You get these "pockets" of brightness.
Basically, you’re looking for the peaks of the hair. Imagine the hair as a series of soft hills. The tops of those hills get the most light. The valleys—the parts closer to the scalp or tucked behind other sections—stay in deep shadow.
- Midtones: This is your base color.
- Core Shadows: These are the darkest bits, usually near the ears, the nape of the neck, or deep inside the mass of hair.
- Highlights: These are small, rhythmic dabs of lighter color. Don’t make them white unless the character is under a literal spotlight. Use a lighter version of the hair color.
Avoid the "Grey" Trap
A common mistake when learning how to draw afro styles is using black and white to shade. It makes the hair look dusty. If you're drawing dark hair, use deep plums, warm browns, or even cool blues for the shadows. It adds life. It makes the hair look healthy and moisturized.
The Secret of "Lost and Found" Edges
Experienced artists like Loish or the legendary Glen Keane often talk about edges. This is vital for textured hair.
A "lost" edge is where the hair seems to blend into the background or the skin. A "found" edge is sharp and defined. If you draw a hard line all the way around the afro, it will look like it was cut out of construction paper and pasted on.
Try this: make the hair near the forehead softer. Let some of the skin tone peek through where the "baby hairs" or the hairline starts. This creates a sense of depth. It shows that the hair has transparency and isn't just a solid rock sitting on the skull.
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Depth and Internal Structure
Even though an afro looks like one big shape, it has internal logic. If the hair is picked out, it will have a more uniform, airy look. If it’s a bit more "shrunken" or natural, you’ll see distinct clumps.
When you're practicing how to draw afro textures, try drawing a few "indicative" curls inside the mass. You don't need to draw them everywhere. Just a few C-shapes or S-shapes near the edges or in the highlighted areas tell the viewer’s brain, "Hey, this whole thing is curly."
It’s an illusion. You’re tricking the eye into seeing detail that isn't actually there.
Common Mistakes to Burn at the Stake
- The "Cloud" Syndrome: Drawing a scallop-edged circle. Nature hates perfect symmetry. Break it up.
- Too Much Detail: Drawing every single hair. It makes the drawing "noisy" and pulls focus away from the face.
- Ignoring the Scalp: The hair grows out of the head. Remember to follow the direction of growth. Hair on the sides grows out and down; hair on the top grows up.
- Flatness: Forgetting that the afro has a back side. Some of the hair is further away from the viewer. Use less contrast on the parts of the hair that are further back to create atmospheric perspective.
The Importance of Reference
You cannot draw what you don't understand.
Go to Pinterest or Instagram. Look at photos of natural hair. Look at the way the light hits a 4C texture versus a 4A texture. Notice how the hair moves.
Actually, if you really want to get good at how to draw afro hair, look at 3D artists. Look at how they groom hair in programs like Blender or ZBrush. They have to think about "clumping" and "frizz" as separate layers. You should do the same in your 2D work.
Layering is your best friend.
- Layer 1: The big, dark mass (Silhouette).
- Layer 2: The midtones and volume (Form).
- Layer 3: The surface texture and flyaways (Detail).
Working with Tools
If you’re digital, don’t rely solely on "hair brushes." They can look repetitive. A simple chalk brush or a textured charcoal brush usually works better for building up that organic, gritty feel of natural hair. If you’re using pencil, use the side of the lead for the soft mass and the tip for the tight, wiry details.
Actionable Next Steps for Your Sketchbook
Start small. Don't try to draw a full-color masterpiece today.
First, fill a page with just silhouettes. Don't worry about the face. Just draw different shapes of afros—wide, tall, asymmetrical, short. Focus on making the edges look "fuzzy" and natural.
Second, practice "the patch." Draw a simple square and try to make it look like a patch of afro-textured hair using only three values: a dark, a medium, and a light. If you can make a square look like textured hair, you can make a whole head look like it.
Third, pay attention to the transition. Spend twenty minutes just sketching where the hair meets the forehead. That transition is the "make or break" point for realism. Use short, light strokes.
Lastly, look at real-world examples of how hair interacts with accessories. How does a headband compress the afro? How does a hat sit on it? Understanding the physics of the hair will make your drawings feel grounded in reality. The more you observe, the less you'll rely on those "symbolic" drawings we all learned in grade school.
Stop overthinking the individual curls. Focus on the weight. Focus on the light. The rest will fall into place.