How to Make Hair

This is a tutorial on how to make (grow?) hair. I'm basing my final image on how i created my entry to eddie's Digital MAKE-OVER competition.

I also took just a section of the head because it takes so long to make the whole thing.

So let's start growing...

1. Create a new layer (Layer 1) over the original image. We will use this layer as the "base" for the new hairstyle. Using the brush tool, draw your preferred hair contour (is that what they call it?) as seen below.

2. Create another another layer (layer 2). Pick a light color. This time, we will be using the Pen Tool, with its property set to "Path".

Let's start making the strands (i apologize in advance but this will really take a lot of time )

3. Click on a starting point, then click and hold on a second point. Since you are holding on the second point, you can change the straight path into a curve.

4. Once you're satisfied with your curve, right click and chose Stroke Path as seen on the second image.

Note: The thickness of the stroke is determined by the size of the Brush tool... so i suggest smaller brush sizes (3 or 2 px) for better looking strands

5. Check on the box where it says Simulate Pressure. This will give a lighter stroke at the ends (like a real brush stroke). Keep repeating until you're simulated hair strands (The smaller the strands the better the outcome).

6. Try variations of colors to your liking.

7. You can add a little shading to the strands by Locking the Transparent Pixels. When you apply the Brush tool to the layer, only the strands are colorized and not the transparent background.

8. Since you have the dark background (Layer 1), you can change the opacity of the other layers so that it will, sort of, blend to Layer 1.

9. Keep doing steps 3 - 8 until you get your desired look.

The output would be something like this (2nd post):

Hope the tutorial was easy to follow. I wanted to add more images but replicating the output really takes time.