Drawing anime is a popular past time for a growing number of artists. Artists like the flashy over the top styles that anime characters offer. Among the many traits that anime characters offer, the eccentric hairstyles are some of the most fun and complicated to draw. There are many different hairstyles that are present in the anime art style, the styles dictated by the characters role and how much attention the artist wants to be drawn to the character.
Lead Roles
Many lead characters are often drawn with flamboyant hairstyles that combine many attributes of other hair styles. The over the top hairstyle will often be used to pull viewers eyes to the character and help the character stand out in a crowd. These styles will often be very large, but typically have strands of hair hanging around the face. It's also not abnormal for the lead character's hair to sport abnormal colors.
Spiked
Spiked hair styles can be some of the most entertaining hairstyles to draw. These hairstyles can at times add an extra foot to the characters height. The main layer of this hairstyle is often drawn behind the characters head instead of on top like most other hair styles. This simple trick helps give the look a 3D appearance. The bangs and scalp layers often make the first layer look like it's attached to the head.
Crew Cuts
Like crew cuts in real life, anime crew cuts are drawn to be simple and clean. Crew cuts are often drawn with one simple layer, the layer either raising straight up from where the hair would normally lay and given a clean cut where the artist wants the height of the hair. This hairstyle can also be drawn really short and really close to the head to give that "buzz cut" look.
Flowing
Often characters are meant to give off a more delicate natural or perhaps feminine look. These hairstyles are drawn in multiple large layers, the first of which actually moves down from the back of the characters head and down the entire back. Characters with this hairstyle also usually have strands that start from the upper portion of their heads, and cascades down over their ears and shoulders.
Sharp
Sharp hairstyles are often worn by the most powerful or power hungry characters. Their hair sharply jags out in different directions that wouldn't be possible in real life. These hairstyles are often drawn on top of another style, usually the flowing hairstyle. These hairstyles take large strands of hair that jut out one way, then about halfway along the same strand of hair jags in another direction.
