This is just a very basic hair tutorial for an updo type hair-do.  If you would like to see a larger, more detailed image just click on the thumbnail and the larger image will open.  Use your back button in your browser to return to this page.

I started by painting a very basic head to use as a template for all future hair tutorials.  This is a good idea if you want to practice with various hair colors, styles, techniques, etc.   I kept it grayscale so that the focus could be on the hair. 

Then I created a new layer and made a quick (and crappy) sketch of basically how I wanted the hair to flow and pile on top of the head.

Keeping the sketch layer visible, I then created a new layer (beneath the sketch) and filled in the base (mid) hair color.

Then, I just began blocking in highlights and shadows, getting a feel for where I wanted each curl and strand to be.  I am usually not very good at this and the hair that I paint doesn't start taking good shape until near the end but I do my best.

Once the basic areas are blocked out, I do a combination of things.  I use a small brush (3 pix) and a high smudge pressure setting (85-90) and I begin drawing the areas together with the smudge brush, painting highlights and lowlights as I go along to begin to bring out more depth and definition of both the main mass of hair as well as the piled curls.  It is very important to place shadows along the under edges of the curls to bring out the definition.  This can be done with the airbrush set very soft or the burn tool or a combination of both.  Be careful not to burn too much as it will look overburnt.  *grin*   This is also the point that I usually turn the hair sketch layer to 0% opacity or I delete it entirely.

The next step is similar to the last - it is just more smudging and color layout.  At this point, I experiment with various brush sizes and pressure settings to achieve what I am looking for.  If you look at the large version of this you can see that I am still not overly concerned with any finished look but rather just basic blending.

Then I begin really working in more highlights and shadows, further defining the strands and curls of hair.  I do this by using paint as well as the burn and dodge tools. 

More blending, adding shadow, and adding highlight.

More of the same... all the while I'm working to softly blend the hairline so it will look natural.

Here I begin finishing by adding individual hair strands.  You can set your brush to fade if you'd like or you can use separate layers for various strands, erasing off harsh edges.  I prefer a combination of both.  I draw colors from what is already down for strands and use them to further define the hair.  For this updo, I created custom brushes which were little more than a small, smattering of dots so that I could achieve painting several strands at once.  I also focused some more on painting a natural hairline with the multiple strand brush set very small with light pressure.

This stage was similar to the last - a combination of painting strands and blending to give it a silky and soft look.

In this next step, I created another layer and with both a single pixel brush as well as several different multi-dotted brushes, I began adding wisps of hair at the forehead and curls on the sides.  The wisps on the forehead were softened by lightly brushing the ends with the eraser set at a low opacity over and over.  The curls on the side were painted with the multi-strand brushes and softened with the eraser as well as a very slight bit of smudging.

Just for kicks, I added a few cheesy flowers.  You can add whatever you'd like - a tiara would work nicely too!  The curls on the side of the face as well as the wisps of hair could be worked further.  This tutorial is fairly basic.  You will want to perfect your own work much more than I have here.

I hope this was helpful or at least interesting!