15 Ways to Sketch Curly Hair Easily
Fifteen fast ways to sketch curly hair in under two minutes each — shorthand marks rather than rendering. Sketching is a different skill from drawing, and the aim is to suggest curl, not to depict it.
In this article · 21
- The Shorthand That Works
- The 15 Methods
- 1. The Thirty-Second Scribble
- 2. Open Loops on the Edge
- 3. Continuous Line Sketch
- 4. Side-of-the-Pencil Mass
- 5. Two-Value Sketch
- 6. Zigzag Texture
- 7. Negative Space Sketch
- 8. Gesture First, Hair Second
- 9. Three-Clump Simplification
- 10. Ink Sketch, No Corrections
- 11. Eraser-Out Sketch
- 12. Silhouette Only
- 13. Five-Mark Challenge
- 14. Thumbnail Series
- 15. Sketch From Life, Not Photos
- Why Speed Helps
- Mistakes to Avoid
- FAQ
- Final Thoughts
Sketching curly hair and drawing it are different skills with different aims. A drawing depicts the hair. A sketch makes someone read "curly" from a handful of marks and lets their eye do the rest.
That means the techniques are almost opposite. Rendering wants control and patience; sketching wants speed and confident shorthand, and tightening up is the main way it goes wrong.
The Shorthand That Works
Three marks between them will read as curly hair from across a room.
A scribbled, broken outline. Not drawn — scribbled, quickly, with the pencil barely lifting. The irregularity is the information.
Open loops at the edge only. Four or five small loops along the silhouette. Not closed spirals; open, incomplete ones. The eye completes them.
One solid dark mass somewhere in the shadow side. It gives the sketch weight and stops it reading as an empty outline.
Thirty seconds, three marks, and it reads as curly hair. Everything below is a variation on that.
The 15 Methods
1. The Thirty-Second Scribble
Scribbled outline, one dark mass, done. The baseline exercise.
2. Open Loops on the Edge
Five incomplete loops along the silhouette, nothing inside.
3. Continuous Line Sketch
One unbroken line for the whole head of hair, without lifting the pencil.
4. Side-of-the-Pencil Mass
Lay the pencil flat and block the shape in one movement.
5. Two-Value Sketch
Light and dark only. No mid-tone, no line work.
6. Zigzag Texture
A fast zigzag through the mid-tone suggests dense curl.
7. Negative Space Sketch
Draw the gaps between clumps rather than the clumps.
8. Gesture First, Hair Second
One sweeping line for the hair's direction before any shape.
9. Three-Clump Simplification
Reduce the whole head to three clumps. Nothing more.
10. Ink Sketch, No Corrections
Pen forces commitment and stops fussing.
11. Eraser-Out Sketch
Cover the shape in graphite, then lift curls out with an eraser.
12. Silhouette Only
Filled solid, no interior at all. Surprisingly convincing.
13. Five-Mark Challenge
Five pencil marks total. Forces ruthless simplification.
14. Thumbnail Series
Six tiny sketches on one page, thirty seconds each.
15. Sketch From Life, Not Photos
Moving hair forces shorthand because there is no time for anything else.
Why Speed Helps
The counter-intuitive part: sketches get worse when you give them more time.
Given two minutes, most people draw the shorthand and stop. Given ten, they start closing the open loops, evening out the scribbled edge and adding curls in the interior — and every one of those changes removes the suggestion that made the sketch work.
A closed loop is a specific curl. An open loop is curl in general, and the viewer fills it in more convincingly than you could.
Set a timer if you tend to overwork things. Thirty seconds, then a minute, then two, and compare the three. Most people find the thirty-second version reads best.
Mistakes to Avoid
Closing the loops. An open loop suggests curl; a closed one is a specific ring.
Evening out the scribble. The irregularity is the information.
Adding interior detail. In a sketch the interior should stay as one mass.
Sketching with a hard pencil. It encourages tightness. Use something soft.
Treating a sketch as an unfinished drawing. It is a different thing with a different goal.
FAQ
How do you sketch it quickly? Scribbled outline, open loops at the edge, one dark mass.
How is sketching different from drawing? Sketching suggests; drawing depicts.
How long should it take? Thirty seconds to two minutes. Longer tends to make it worse.
Final Thoughts
Do the thirty-second version first, every time. If it reads as curly hair, a longer drawing will too — and if it does not, spending an hour on it will not fix what the shorthand got wrong.
For the full rendered method see 20 steps to draw curly hair like a pro, and for ideas see 25 easy curly hair drawing ideas. More in Hair Drawing & Art.
