hairs too hard

B

bazza

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gday guys im trying to do a portrait of conan but I cant get the hang of long hair and help on how to do this would be great
 
gday guys im trying to do a portrait of conan but I cant get the hang of long hair and help on how to do this would be great

A picture and a little more info would help us to understand exactly where you need to focus your attention, but I'm guessing as yet, you aren't trying out scratching or erasing techniques?, I don't how long you've been at airbrushing but practicing dagger strokes is particularly important for achieving hair textures.
 
thanks for the reply madbrush im havin trouble with dagger strokes there too fat too thin paint dosent run right ect is a higher preassure needed? when I finish I end up with a heap of dark lines and pretty much a mess. ive been painting for about 3 months so im just learning everything from guys like you thanks for that
 
thanks for the reply madbrush im havin trouble with dagger strokes there too fat too thin paint dosent run right ect is a higher preassure needed? when I finish I end up with a heap of dark lines and pretty much a mess. ive been painting for about 3 months so im just learning everything from guys like you thanks for that


No problem, it's just a case of plenty of practice with your daggers, it's the same for everyone, but without the practice it will never get good, as for pressure and thinning, this depends a lot on your paint and your airbrush as well as personal taste, people can tell you what they do themselves, but you can only use that info as a rough guideline, you simply just need to play around until you find the combination that suits you.
 
thanks for the reply madbrush im havin trouble with dagger strokes there too fat too thin paint dosent run right ect is a higher preassure needed? when I finish I end up with a heap of dark lines and pretty much a mess. ive been painting for about 3 months so im just learning everything from guys like you thanks for that

Keep practicing your dagger strokes. Some people have been airbrushing for 25 plus years and cant do them. They are tricky and take a good amount of trigger control to pull off relatively consistently.
 
Theres no rule about using mixed media. You could use a very small paintbrush if you need to, to paint them in. Or another way to get the base of the hair in and thats a split frisket technique. Trace the shapes of the hair the way it flows and just cut one line down your tracing paper or whatever you use. Then just split it apart barely and paint it in.
 
Theres no rule about using mixed media. You could use a very small paintbrush if you need to, to paint them in. Or another way to get the base of the hair in and thats a split frisket technique. Trace the shapes of the hair the way it flows and just cut one line down your tracing paper or whatever you use. Then just split it apart barely and paint it in.

Sounds like another trick for me to try out, lol
 
I don't tend to use dagger strokes at all except for a grass look and occasionly fur and def for eyelashes/eyebrows but they do work for some..With hair, especially long hair for me speed is the key, getting close and moving quickly..(In essence just a long line that you can sharpen the point of if desired by decreasing your distance in the last small area which some wld prob call a dagger stroke anyways LOL)..GL
 
this has been an interesting thread to read. I have tried the split template and works great for Smoke ,But I have had a heck of a time with hair.
Like Madbrush I scratch or like rebelair use long lines (super extended dagger strokes) .
But I have found what works for some may not work for others , I suggest you try them all and see what works the best for you.
 
this has been an interesting thread to read. I have tried the split template and works great for Smoke ,But I have had a heck of a time with hair.
Like Madbrush I scratch or like rebelair use long lines (super extended dagger strokes) .
But I have found what works for some may not work for others , I suggest you try them all and see what works the best for you.
Its pretty much good for mapping the shapes in not necessarily for a finished look. It gives you something to go by for your scratching or erasing to help see certain waves or strands. At least that how i look at it lol
 
Do not do individual hairs. On dark hair you paint in or around the highlights and on light hair you paint in the shadows. Otherwise it's just s lump of colour.
 
this has been an interesting thread to read. I have tried the split template and works great for Smoke ,But I have had a heck of a time with hair.
Like Madbrush I scratch or like rebelair use long lines (super extended dagger strokes) .
But I have found what works for some may not work for others , I suggest you try them all and see what works the best for you.

Interesting indeed Herb, sometimes while trying to help someone else you end up learning yourself too, lol, although I'm pleased with what I can achieve now, I still have the problem of the "too clinical look" which I would love to get away from, VR's advice here seems like the easiest way to map out the direction and irregularities naturally found in hair and fur and I reckon by combining this advice with my own habits I can achieve the results I've been struggling to find.

My problem with dagger strokes isn't that I can't do them, it's that it takes too long before I can see the effect or result of them, it just doesn't fit in with my level of patience.

Now that my Paint Pal is on it's way to some poor unsuspecting victim and the festivities are almost over, I think I'll start a new project with the purpose of trying out this and other ideas, I'll combine these as I say with my own bad habits to see what I come up with, but I am confident of a more realistic look, I will make a full step by step as I go and where advice from others or reference to outside sources these will be acknowledged with links.

Thanks again VR, it's amazing what one can learn just from a few sentences, lol
 
Interesting indeed Herb, sometimes while trying to help someone else you end up learning yourself too, lol, although I'm pleased with what I can achieve now, I still have the problem of the "too clinical look" which I would love to get away from, VR's advice here seems like the easiest way to map out the direction and irregularities naturally found in hair and fur and I reckon by combining this advice with my own habits I can achieve the results I've been struggling to find.

My problem with dagger strokes isn't that I can't do them, it's that it takes too long before I can see the effect or result of them, it just doesn't fit in with my level of patience.

Now that my Paint Pal is on it's way to some poor unsuspecting victim and the festivities are almost over, I think I'll start a new project with the purpose of trying out this and other ideas, I'll combine these as I say with my own bad habits to see what I come up with, but I am confident of a more realistic look, I will make a full step by step as I go and where advice from others or reference to outside sources these will be acknowledged with links.

Thanks again VR, it's amazing what one can learn just from a few sentences, lol
No prob Mad B! I always think to myself, simple is easier on the mind. It may not be the correct way but its just what ive found that helps in speeding up the process and what has worked for me. Hair sucks period, no matter how you slice it lol
 
No prob Mad B! I always think to myself, simple is easier on the mind. It may not be the correct way but its just what ive found that helps in speeding up the process and what has worked for me. Hair sucks period, no matter how you slice it lol

LOL, I don't think hair sucks at all, I actually love doing it, but as I said, your advice will help me get away from that uniformed look I've been trying to avoid, it will also help map out direction and length, I'm looking around for something I like with lots of hair, I thought about an old English sheep dog, my only problem there is I also want to be able to see the eyes, lol
 
No prob Mad B! I always think to myself, simple is easier on the mind. It may not be the correct way but its just what ive found that helps in speeding up the process and what has worked for me. Hair sucks period, no matter how you slice it lol

New rule no more hair everyone will be painted Bald!:D

Quick easy to remember done!
 
LOL, I don't think hair sucks at all, I actually love doing it, but as I said, your advice will help me get away from that uniformed look I've been trying to avoid, it will also help map out direction and length, I'm looking around for something I like with lots of hair, I thought about an old English sheep dog, my only problem there is I also want to be able to see the eyes, lol
No it doesnt suck, just depends on what you are doing. Hair is actually a great challenge, especially long hair. Still the most effectice way is scratching or erasing. But for individual strands that run out of the main area of hair it works well and quickly.
 
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