Female · Long Curly · Left Side
Hair design reference showing a female anime character with a long curly hairstyle from a left side angle.
Practice Advice
Study the alignment of features and angle of construction lines. Use our interactive practice tools to draw timed sketches of this pose.
How to Draw Long Curly Hair (Left Side)
This reference shows Long Curly hair on a female character from a left side view. Use it as a structure study for silhouette, chunking, and flow.
About This Reference
Hair design reference showing a female anime character with a long curly hairstyle from a left side angle.
1. Structure of Long Curly Hair
Long curly hair is built from clusters of tight S-curves, not individual ringlets. Sketch the overall silhouette as a cloud of volume, then define curls in small grouped clumps along the edges. Inside the mass, suggest a few loose curls with interrupted lines.
- Silhouette: sketch as one cloud of volume first.
- Curls: grouped clumps of S-curves along the edges.
- Interior: suggest a few loose curls with interrupted lines.
2. Drawing It at the Left Side Angle
From the left profile the hair reads as one continuous silhouette from the crown down the back and over the forehead. Compress the fringe against the face and show the hair's thickness at the nape of the neck.
- The hair reads as one continuous silhouette from crown to back.
- Compress the fringe against the face profile.
- Show thickness where the hair meets the nape of the neck.
3. Gender Styling Notes
Female anime faces read through softness and larger features. The jaw tapers to a gentler, rounded chin, the cheeks are softer, and the eyes are larger and sit slightly lower on the face for a youthful look. The nose is small and subtle, the lips are fuller, and the upper lashes are drawn with a thicker, cleaner line.
4. What to Watch for in This Reference
Curly hair reads from the silhouette first. Study how the overall shape is a cloud of volume rather than a smooth fall. The curls at the edge are the most defined; interior curls are suggested rather than fully drawn. The part line is often hard to see in curly hair.
Profile hair is a single continuous silhouette. Study how the hair flows from the crown down the back, over the forehead, and down the nape. The thickness at the nape is what gives the hair mass its weight.
5. Common Mistakes with This Style
Drawing individual ringlets all over. Curly hair is built from clusters, not strands. Group the curls into clumps of 3-5 and only fully define the clumps at the silhouette edge.
Breaking the silhouette with too many interior lines. In profile, the outer contour of the hair is the strongest line in the drawing — keep interior lines light.
Quick practice plan
- Block in the hair silhouette first, ignoring interior strands entirely.
- Add the chunk structure, following the flow lines from the crown.
- Refine edges and add 3-4 accent strands where the mass meets the face.
- Check your work against the common mistakes list above and fix any issues.
- Redraw the same hairstyle from a different angle using this reference as the base.
