How to Draw Slicked Back Hair
Learning how to draw slicked back hair is mostly about understanding direction, weight, and shine.
This hairstyle looks simple at first, but the clean surface and strong flow make it a great test of observation and line control.
Slicked back hair appears in portraits, fashion sketches, character design, and comic art because it creates a polished silhouette.
Once you know how the hair clumps together and where highlights usually sit, the style becomes much easier to construct convincingly.
What Makes Slicked Back Hair Distinct?
Slicked back hair is defined by strands being combed away from the face and directed toward the back of the head.
In many real-world examples, the hair lies close to the scalp, exposing the forehead and creating a smooth, controlled shape.
When drawing it, focus on these visual traits:
- Directional flow: all major strands move backward from the hairline.
- Compressed volume: the hair is flatter than loose styles, but still has structure.
- Surface shine: product or natural oil often creates strong highlights.
- Clean hairline: the front edge is usually sharp and easy to read.
Materials You Can Use
You can draw slicked back hair with nearly any medium, from pencil to digital brushes.
The key is choosing tools that let you build smooth shapes and controlled shadows.
- Graphite pencils: useful for sketching structure and shading.
- Fineliners: good for clean contour lines and stylized art.
- Charcoal: effective for bold contrast and soft transitions.
- Digital tablet: ideal for layering highlights and refining edges.
Start With the Head Shape
Before adding hair, sketch the head as a simple form.
Hair sits on top of the skull, so the shape of the cranium determines how the style wraps around the head.
Begin with an oval or egg shape, then mark the center line and brow line.
These guides help you place the hairline, determine symmetry, and keep the slicked back style aligned with the face.
Map the Hairline and Part
Draw the hairline slightly above the brow area, depending on the character’s age, gender presentation, and hairstyle variation.
Slicked back hair may have no visible part, or it may have a subtle side part that changes the direction of the top section.
If you include a part, keep it understated.
The hairstyle should still read as brushed back, not combed into separate sections unless you are drawing a more formal or vintage look.
Block in the Main Hair Mass
Once the head is mapped, block in the overall shape of the hair.
Think of it as one large form first, rather than many individual strands.
Sketch the top section sweeping backward from the forehead to the crown.
Then extend the sides back along the temples and around the ears if the style is short.
For longer slicked back styles, the hair may continue farther down the head or blend into a tied-back shape.
At this stage, keep the outline simple.
The silhouette is more important than texture because it establishes the hairstyle instantly.
Use Long, Controlled Direction Lines
Inside the hair mass, draw long lines that follow the backward motion of the style.
These lines should curve slightly around the form of the head rather than running flat across the page.
Avoid making the strands look like separate spikes.
Slicked back hair usually has smooth, merged clumps, so the line work should suggest flow without over-detailing every strand.
Build the Hair Clumps and Strands
Hair rarely behaves as one solid shape.
Even when slicked back, it groups into larger clumps that shift together.
Use this to give the hairstyle realism.
Break the hair into a few broad sections:
- Front section: pulled tightly back from the forehead.
- Top section: follows the curve of the skull.
- Side sections: smoother and narrower, often tucked close to the head.
- Back section: gathers near the crown or falls farther back in longer styles.
Keep the transitions soft where the sections overlap.
Too many hard edges can make the hair look stiff or sculpted from plastic.
Add Shine and Shadow
Shine is one of the most important features when learning how to draw slicked back hair.
The flat, combed surface reflects light strongly, especially on darker hair tones.
Identify where the light source is coming from, then place highlights along the raised curve of the hair.
These highlights often run in elongated bands across the top or side of the head.
Shadows usually appear:
- along the hairline near the forehead
- under the top curve of the hair
- around the temples and behind the ears
- where strands overlap near the crown
For realism, keep highlights aligned with the shape of the head.
A highlight that ignores the form will flatten the drawing.
How to Draw Slicked Back Hair for Different Styles
Slicked back hair is not one fixed look.
The technique changes depending on length, thickness, and whether the style is glossy, matte, neat, or slightly messy.
Short Slicked Back Hair
Short versions are tighter to the scalp and usually easier to draw.
Focus on the hairline, the smooth top surface, and a few narrow clumps near the crown.
This style works well for business portraits, classic male characters, and clean fashion illustrations.
Long Slicked Back Hair
Long slicked back hair often creates a stronger sense of flow because the length can continue past the crown.
Draw the top as compressed and controlled, then let the back section extend with more movement.
If the hair is tied, add a band or gathered tail shape where the hair meets behind the head.
Wet or Gelled Hair
Wet or gelled hair appears shinier and more separated into larger, heavier clumps.
Use stronger highlight shapes and deeper shadows.
The hair should look dense and weighted, with less frizz and fewer loose flyaways.
Loose Slicked Back Hair
Some characters have slicked back hair that is tidy but not rigid.
In this case, allow a few loose strands to escape near the temples or crown.
These subtle irregularities add personality without losing the overall polished look.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
When artists first practice how to draw slicked back hair, a few issues appear often.
These mistakes can make the hairstyle look unnatural or disconnected from the head.
- Drawing too many strands: use grouped clumps instead of dozens of separate lines.
- Ignoring the skull shape: hair should wrap around the head, not float above it.
- Making highlights random: keep shine consistent with the light source.
- Using a stiff outline: soften some edges to suggest real hair texture.
- Forgetting the hairline: the forehead and temple area help sell the style.
Practice Techniques That Improve Results
If you want to improve quickly, practice the hairstyle as a set of forms rather than as a final portrait immediately.
Repeating the same structure helps you understand how slicked back hair changes across angles.
Try these exercises:
- Draw the hairstyle from the front, three-quarter view, and side view.
- Practice only the hair silhouette before adding detail.
- Shade simple head studies to train highlight placement.
- Copy reference photos to observe real strand grouping and shine.
Use references from actors, models, athletes, or classic grooming styles to study how the hair behaves under different lighting conditions.
Real-world reference is especially helpful for hair texture, sheen, and volume.
How to Make the Style Look More Realistic?
Realism comes from subtle variation.
Even in a controlled hairstyle, the hairline may not be perfectly even, the clumps may not match exactly, and the light may hit the surface in uneven bands.
To make the drawing feel natural, vary the thickness of your lines, soften a few edges, and keep the crown slightly lifted rather than completely flat.
Small irregularities help the hairstyle look believable while preserving the clean slicked back finish.
With practice, you can adjust the style for portraits, character sheets, editorial illustration, or stylized artwork while keeping the core structure intact.