How to Draw Bangs
We instantly recognize bangs in a hairstyle that defines how the front portion of hair covers the forehead. There are many different bangs styles based on the shape of a person’s head, which can tell a lot about the personality of a drawn character.
Since we perceive many clues from how bangs appear in drawings, you can learn how to draw bangs to better understand who your character is and why they choose to wear their hair this way.
How To Draw Bangs: Step By Step
Since you may not have had formal training as a hairdresser, bangs were evident as far back as in ancient Egyptian culture. More than likely, bangs were invented to allow hair to be worn without having your vision obscured.
It has also become a social norm with beauty and style. It has been popularized mainly with women but not limited to men for similar reasons.
Learning how to draw bangs will include basic knowledge and a passion for style. Drawing bangs can make a character drawing appear more heroic and stark, while some bangs styles can be aloof and mysterious.
Either way, drawing bangs will help frame a face and give clues to the overall personality of your subject.
Materials You Will Need
The standard drawing materials you want include a good pencil and drawing paper. Extra accessories will be beneficial if you include an eraser, pencil sharpener, and additional drawing supplies to complete your drawing.
In a nutshell, a whole drawing kit is suitable for making your drawing. It doesn’t hurt to have reference material such as photos and excellent light for sketching your initial hair design with bangs.
You can find essential drawing equipment to complete this task here: Click here to view my basic equipment list.
What Is A Bangs Hairstyle?
Bangs are influential and often signify strong-willed and independent people. The bangs in the classic Prince Valiant drawings are also known as a Pageboy cut or straight bob for men. It is significant since the hair is short and straight across the front of the forehead, with the rest of the hair being cut at earlobe level. For more detailed information, read this blog post, 10 Amazing Guy Anime Drawings.
This style will vary significantly in length for women and includes names such as curtain bangs, blunt bangs, Cleopatra bangs, and, more recently, Terf bangs.
Choosing the right kind of hairstyle does depend on the impact of how these styles will appear. Shorter bangs look more drastic, while longer bangs frame the eyes better. The overall length of the rest of the hair will complete a more significant question of how relaxed or free a character feels about wearing their hair daily.
Draw Guidelines
The most important guideline to remember is that bangs start with a triangle pattern that starts from the crown of the head. Two separate lines are angled to the sides of the forehead, where the edges of the eyebrows are located.
A final line is then placed where the triangle shape is completed. This can be above the eyebrows, higher up on the forehead, or anywhere in the middle.
Draw Hair Part
Some bangs are intentionally parted from one side to the other. They can also be split right down the middle. They still stick to the rule where bangs are hanging but are allowed to part somewhere within the bangs to give the illusion that the hair is not a full curtain effect. There can be several parts where the hair is separated and allows the forehead to be seen to some degree.
Follow The Shape Of The Head
Drawing a person also requires learning how to draw the rough shape of a human skull. This is the first step in creating the right-shaped head for your character or model. This also helps determine the best hair that fits the skull and head shape.
After this, drawing hair onto this head shape will allow a hairstyle that further completes your drawing. Remember that not every head shape will work on select shaped heads.
Draw The Fringe
Fringe bangs are also called wispy bangs and have a feathered edge rather than a hard line edge. This can also be more harsh-looking with jagged cut lines that make the hair appear wild or broken up.
These bangs are more detailed, so there will be extensive shading and layers of softness to get this drawing effect. Using a blending stump will give the best appearance for softened bang fringes.
Draw Curtain Bangs On The Front Of The Head
Curtain bangs echo back to when Charlie’s Angels and Roller Disco were all the rage. They are more technically called fringe bangs but are longer bangs that blend into the sides of a model’s hair.
Almost as if the bangs disappear into the sides of the head, starting around the earlobes. This hairstyle is typically parted in the middle and is tapered to flow into the sides of long hanging hair.
Drawing Straight Hairstyle
Lightly sketch the spade of straight hair so that the hair follows a natural flow without having much body or weight. Straight hair can have natural curves with a certain amount of detail which helps strands stand out.
Unlike curly hair, straight hair is pulled down by gravity and sticks closer to the shoulders and where it comes in contact with the rest of the body.
Drawing Straight Hair Bangs
Straight bangs are bangs with a single straight line where they are cut. This cut line can be sharp or have slight imperfections along the cut edge. The edge can also appear softer with a slight fringe but still maintains a hard edge that is easily seen.
This hairstyle is best used on Cleopatra or Betty Page-style straight-cut bangs.
How To Draw A Braided Hair Style
Braided hair is not uncommon when a hairstyle includes a straight cut or fringe bangs. Since your character might have long hair, braided styles will give a tribal or cultural appearance. As far as beauty is concerned, braided hair can signify royalty and upper-class living. Since braided hair also takes time to be braided, recreating a braided style needs some time unless you have hair braid drawing tips.
Additional Questions:
How to Draw Birkin bangs
At first glance, Birkin bangs are straight bangs with noticeable fringes cut into the bangs. The way that Birkin bangs will appear broken up and separated with plenty of layers in between. If you’re learning how to draw bangs that include the Birkin style, it’s best to study this style from a collection of photos.
How do You Draw Bangs on a Boy?
Boy bangs are characterized by the shaggy and jagged style in which modern bangs appear. Just think about a pre-teen Justin Bieber and his funny-looking bangs. For that matter, you can check the hairstyles of any boy band from the early 2000s.
How to Draw Anime Bangs
Drawing any Japanese Manga and anime characters will almost certainly include very stylized bangs. It depends on the series or style that you’re looking for. Don’t forget that many anime hairstyles include plenty of blue, green, red, purple, and plenty of pastel colors. The bangs will appear very spiky and tend to defy gravity.
