Now Updated: Originally I threw together a quick tutorial on digitally painting hair in photoshop. This tutorial
has now been expanded and updated to also cover Painter 7. As noted earlier in my digital tutorial series I strongly recommend using a WACOM Art Tablet and Photoshop
The PHOTOSHOP example image is the one that ends up with red hair shown on the LEFT of the steps.
The PAINTER example image is the blonde braid shown on the RIGHT.
Step 1: The Sketch
First I created a basic sketch outlining where the hair would go (if it's on top of other things you may need to use a new layer). Note: Usually I paint the hair after I have the rest of the face colored, however I didn't bother to create the face for these examples.
Step 2: Block in Tones
Using a medium-large sized brush I block in the basic tones in the same layer (right over my outline). Notice I'm working in black and white - this is because it's MUCH easier to see the shading of the hair etc. without color so I will be adding the color later (if you are comfortable with the hair shading process then you can work directly in color if you wish to). Keep in mind that darker hair will have more contrast while lighter hair (like blonde) will have less. Remember hair is a 3D shape, not flat (see the shading tutorial and general hair tutorial for help with shading). If you have trouble shading the hair look for a photograph of a real person (in similar lighting!) for reference.
Painter Users: The brush used for the braid examples here is the "Smeary Round Brush", if you want a result more like the photoshop one use the Airbrush.
Step 3: Begin adding Details
Using a small brush (and staying on the med. pressure setting on my tablet!) I start to add in details.
In Photoshop: To do this just use black and white and make small strokes in the direction the hair us going. I use a smudge brush to blend the hair (smudge with care - over blending looks bad).
In Painter: To do this use a smaller smeary round brush and low pressure/opacity.
Step 4: More Details
I continue from step 3 adding more brush strokes and smudging them. I sometimes also use the eraser or a white brush to get sharper lines. This takes patience and practice, but eventually you will get the desired amount of detail.
Painter:To Smudge in painter use the Smudge tool located under the "Liquid" tools with low pressure/opacity.
Step 5: Darkening & Highlighting
At this point I need to make sure that the values (contrast) in the hair are the way to want them. So I may add more shadows/highlights.
Photoshop: To get the really "bright" and shinny hair look I first I use the burn took to darken some areas of the hair (I normally keep burn set to midtones or shadows), then I use the dodge tool (I normally keep dodge set to highlights) to add in highlights. Do this with care - over use of these tools makes the hair look weird! Then I brush in a few additional details.
Painter: I use the brush tool set to a darker color and less opacity, as well as the smudge tool more. In this case I really don't have to darken much because the hair is going to be blonde.
Step 6: Adding Color
Time to add the color! I make a new layer and set it to "color" (in painter it's "Colorize") then I brush the layer with color (red or a yellowish color in this case) where the hair is (this takes care if you have the hair over other colors like skintones or clothing - you will want to zoom in and take your time!). For the red hair I also made another color layer above that one with some yellow/gold highlights.
Step 7: Any Last Details
Time for any last detailing. If you find there's a little too much contrast in your hair just add another layer like I did for the red hair. Then use an airbrush to add in some light color (red) to tone it down (I set the layer for 30% transparency). You could also just use a brush with low opacity set, but then you can't "play" with it to see how much more toned down you want it. Sometimes at this stage I go in with a really tiny brush for some stray strands of hair (as shown on the Painter braid example).
And there you have it - HAIR! I did the photoshop example in about 30 minutes and the painter one in about 10 - really good detailed hair can take hours depending on the style and intent of the artist (and the size of the picture!).
