Tips on Painting Brown Hair for Portraits: Brunette and Russet Colors
The artist assigned to paint a portrait of someone with brown hair may reach for any brown pigment in the hope that it will do, resulting in hair that looks flat, dull and wool‑like rather than fine strands. How can the artist paint brown hair realistically?
How to Paint Brown Hair on Portraits
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| Painting Brown Hair Rachel Shirley |
The artist may reflect upon what went wrong when painting hair. Any of the following practices could be at fault:
- Assuming any tube labelled “brown” will represent all shades from brunette to auburn.
- Illustrating every strand in a linear fashion with a fine sable, resulting in a synthetic wig‑like appearance.
- Leaving harsh dividing lines between tonal areas, making the hair appear solid or plastic.
- Mixing brown with white for highlights or black for darks, resulting in dirty grey colours.
- Treating the hair as separate from the face and omitting cast shadows over brow and cheeks, creating a cut‑out look.
Tips on Painting Brunette
Brown hair is a blanket term for diverse earthen colours — brunette, ochre, auburn, coffee, toffee, bronze tan, chocolate and russet — each requiring different mixes. The following remedies may help:
- Avoid using generic brown paint for the entire head. Brown varies between individuals and even between strands.
- Blend to suggest softness. Look out for harsh tonal divisions and soften them with a sable brush.
- Highlights are not always white — brunettes may show blue, pink, violet or red highlights.
- Avoid black. Warm brown hair can be darkened with pthalo blue and burnt umber; cool brown hair with ultramarine and permanent rose.
- Do not draw every strand. Blend overall colours and add selective detail only on highlights or stray strands.
Pay special attention to the outline of the hair, especially strands falling over the face or catching the light.
Illustrating local shadows over the face can create a photographic realism and integrate the hair with the subject.
Backlit hair produces bright russet colours, pinks, golds and bronzes — similar to translucent autumn leaves. Use these opportunities to create striking portraits.
Colour Mixes for Shades of Brown Hair
Lots of browns and earth colours are not needed. I use burnt sienna, burnt umber, ultramarine, pthalo blue, permanent rose, cadmium red and titanium white for all my brown hair paintings.
The following mixtures may help capture particular shades. Adjust white as needed for paler tones:
Ash brown hair: burnt umber, a little pthalo blue, white.
Auburn hair: burnt sienna, permanent rose, ultramarine.
Russet hair: burnt umber, cadmium red, a little ultramarine.
Toffee hair: burnt umber, cadmium red, a little ultramarine.
Dark coffee hair: burnt umber, pthalo blue, permanent rose.
Almost black brown hair: burnt umber, pthalo blue, a little permanent rose.
Oil Painting Techniques for Painting Hair
Glazing and dry brushing are excellent for suggesting realistic hair. Explore these techniques via the links below:
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