Ever tried to figure out how to draw slicked back hair and ended up with a solid, shiny helmet? It’s frustrating. You want that sharp, Peaky Blinders or classic Hollywood vibe, but your pencil just creates a flat blob of graphite that looks more like a swim cap than actual hair. Honestly, it’s one of the hardest styles to get right because you’re fighting against two things at once: the individual strands of the hair and the uniform "mass" created by the pomade or gel.
Most beginners make the mistake of drawing every single hair from the forehead to the nape. Don't do that. It looks busy. It looks messy. Real slicked-back hair is about compression and highlights. When hair is pulled back tight, it loses its volume but gains a specific kind of rhythmic texture. If you look at the work of master portraitists or even modern concept artists like Loish, you’ll notice they don't draw hair; they draw the light hitting the hair.
The Foundation: It’s All About the Skull
Before you even touch the "slick" part, you have to understand the shape of the head. Slicked hair is essentially a second skin. Unlike a pompadour or a messy fringe, there’s no "air" between the hair and the scalp. If your head shape is off, the hair will look like it’s floating or, worse, like the skull is deformed.
Start by sketching the cranium. Use a simple Loomis head or just a basic oval. You need to mark the hairline clearly. For a slicked look, the hairline is your most important boundary. Is it a widow’s peak? Is it receding slightly at the temples? These little details add realism. I’ve seen so many drawings fail because the artist started the hair too high up on the head, making the forehead look massive.
How to Draw Slicked Back Hair with Flow Lines
Think of the hair like water flowing over a rock. The "rock" is the skull.
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Instead of drawing lines, draw directional flow. Take your pencil and lightly map out the path the hair takes from the front to the back. Usually, this isn't a straight line. Hair curves around the ears. It bunches up slightly at the crown. If the character has a part, the flow lines will radiate away from that line.
The Secret of the "Clump"
Hair doesn't move as individual strands when it’s wet or gelled. It moves in clumps. Basically, the product sticks the hairs together into small ribbon-like shapes. When you’re learning how to draw slicked back hair, you should focus on these ribbons.
Vary the width of these clumps. Some should be thin and sharp, others wider and flatter. This prevents the "comb-over" look where every line is perfectly parallel—which, let's be honest, looks like a barcode. Real hair has imperfections. A few "stray" hairs that escaped the gel near the ears or the nape of the neck will make the drawing feel ten times more authentic.
Shading the "Wet" Look
This is where the magic happens. Or the disaster.
Slicked hair is reflective. This means you need high contrast. You want your darks to be very dark (6B pencil or deep digital brush) and your highlights to be crisp white. The highlight usually follows the curve of the head, creating a "halo" effect.
- Mid-tones: Use these to define the depth between the clumps.
- Deep Shadows: These go where the hair is densest or where one clump overlaps another.
- Highlights: Keep them sharp. Use a kneaded eraser to "carve" highlights out of a shaded area.
If you're working digitally, try using a "Color Dodge" layer for the shine, but keep it subtle. You aren't drawing a mirror; you're drawing organic material covered in oils or wax. The highlight should have a slight "stutter" to it—it shouldn't be a smooth, unbroken line. It should break across the ridges of the hair clumps.
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Common Mistakes That Kill the Realism
I’ve seen this a thousand times. An artist spends hours on the face, then rushes the hair.
One major pitfall is the "Solid Edge." If you draw a hard, dark line around the entire perimeter of the hair, it will look like a clip-on wig. Instead, use "lost and found" edges. Let the hair blend into the background in some places. Use tiny, flicking strokes at the hairline to show where individual hairs are being pulled back. These are often called "baby hairs." They are crucial for a natural look.
Another issue is ignoring the ears. When hair is slicked back, it often tucks behind the ear or creates a slight "bulge" just above it. If you ignore this interaction, the hair looks like it exists in a different dimension than the rest of the head.
Anatomy of the Hairline
Let's talk about the "root tension."
When you’re mastering how to draw slicked back hair, you have to show that the hair is being pulled. Near the forehead, the lines should be very straight and tight. As the hair moves toward the back of the head, the tension eases slightly, and the lines can become a bit more curved.
Look at reference photos of 1920s jazz musicians or modern "undercut" styles. Notice how the skin at the hairline sometimes looks a bit stretched. You don't need to draw every pore, but a slight transition in shading from the skin to the hair—rather than a harsh jump from beige to black—makes a world of difference.
Material Differences: Gel vs. Grease vs. Water
Believe it or not, the product you're pretending is in the hair changes how you draw it.
- Gel: Usually results in a "crunchy" look. The clumps are very defined and the shine is extremely high, almost glass-like.
- Pomade/Grease: This gives a "heavy" look. The hair looks darker and the highlights are softer, more diffused. Think Elvis.
- Water-slicked: This looks the most natural but also the most temporary. The hair will have more stray strands and the "slick" effect will be less uniform.
Steps for Actionable Practice
To actually get better at this, you can't just read about it. You need to build the muscle memory.
First, grab a sheet of paper and draw five basic head shapes. Don't worry about the faces. Focus entirely on the hair. On the first one, try a classic 1950s greaser look with a side part. On the second, try a modern "man bun" where everything is pulled to a single point.
Observe how the direction of your strokes changes. For the side part, everything moves away from the line. For the bun, everything converges. This convergence is a great way to practice perspective in hair. The lines shouldn't just be flat; they should wrap around the 3D volume of the skull.
Secondly, experiment with your tools. If you’re a traditional artist, try using a dry brush technique to create the fine lines of the hair clumps. If you're digital, look for "hair brushes," but don't rely on them too much. The best hair is still drawn with a standard round brush, focusing on the shapes rather than a "hair texture" stamp.
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Finally, study real-world examples. Look at actors like Mads Mikkelsen or Cillian Murphy, who often sport these styles. Look at how their hair reflects the studio lights. Notice that you can't see every hair. You see shapes, shadows, and glints of light.
Next Steps for Your Artwork
Start by sketching the silhouette of the hair mass first, ignoring all internal detail. Once the silhouette looks "heavy" and correctly placed on the skull, map out three major flow lines. Shade the entire mass in a mid-tone, then use a dark pencil to pull out the deep shadows between the clumps. Finish by using a sharp eraser or white ink to "pop" the highlights where the skull curves most toward the light source. This layering process—silhouette, flow, shadow, highlight—is the most reliable way to achieve a professional result. Keep your strokes fast and confident; hesitant lines make for frizzy-looking hair, and slicked hair is anything but frizzy.