How to Draw Cartoon Braids

Braids should be drawn neatly, with even rows of hair.

Worn by girls, as well as women, braids come in a variety of styles and sizes. Braids are typically created by crossing and interweaving three sections of hair together into one braided section of hair. In art and cartoons, artists draw braids by drawing two sections of hair woven together. Though the weaving of braids may look complicated to draw, cartoon braids are often created through straightforward drawing techniques. These techniques give you the drawing skills needed to create a single braid, braided pigtails or several braids.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil
• Paper
• Eraser

Instructions

Using Circles

1. Draw a series of small circles, in a vertical row. Draw the circles so that they get smaller as they get further down the page. This helps recreate the look of real braids, which get thinner at the bottom.

2. Draw a curved line inside each circle that divides the circle into two oval-shaped halves. In the left half of each circle, sketch vertical lines for individual hairs.

3. Sketch lines in the right half of each circle. Outline the curved, dividing line to make it darker than the other lines, so that it won't be hidden by the sketched hair lines.

4. Draw an oval shape at the bottom of the row of circles, which should now resemble a braid. This is the loose hair at the end of the braid. Sketch hair inside the oval.

Using a Single Line

1. Draw two parallel vertical lines to outline the shape of the braid. Starting at the bottom of the braid outline, draw a short line that curves up and to the left and loops to the right and back to the left. Repeat looping the line, so that you have a series of small loops on both the right and left sides of the outline.

2. Sketch over the loops to close them into shapes that look similar to hearts. These shapes should cover the two parallel lines you drew. Sketch hair throughout the heart shapes, but leave the center line of each heart shape more defined.

3. Add a curve to the bottom of the looped line so that it becomes oval-shaped. This is the loose end of the braid. Repeat this process to draw multiple braids.

References

• Elfwood: Drawing and Painting Hair
• Dragoart: How to Draw Braids
• Neondragonart: How to Draw Hair