How to paint realistic blonde hair
You can paint blonde hair on your model figures that doesn’t look cartoony with just a few, simple steps
Painting realistic blonde hair on model figures doesn’t have to be stressful. Here’s what I do in a few simple steps.
Start with white primer and then apply a coat of bright yellow paint over it. Yellow paint is naturally translucent, so a white primer allows it to naturally glow, rather than being desaturated or disappearing over a gray or black primer.
I mix Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid (No. 3720-5) 1:1 with water and add a couple of drops of Golden Transparent Burnt Umber (No. 8480-1) to make a wash. Allow the wash to pool in the crevasses and depressions, easily creating a shading effect.
After defining the shadows, you want to bring out some of the highlights, too. Dry-brush white acrylic paint over all the hair with a soft brush. Tip: Dip your brush in paint and then wipe most of it off on a brown paper bag, not a paper towel or cloth.
With all the darkest and lightest colors on the figure, lightly airbrush Transparent Burnt Umber (the same color used earlier) to create extra shading. The trick here is to find a balance between making it too dark, losing all your highlights, and not blending enough that it looks unnatural.
As the last step for blending, I mist Golden Transparent Hansa Yellow Medium (No. 8450-1) over the hair with an airbrush. This step helps tone down some of the sharp white highlights and unifies the appearance.
When you’re happy with how the hair looks, clear coat it to protect all your work before painting any other details in the hair, like hairpins, combs, or decorations. That way, if you make a mistake, you can clean it up without affecting your previous work.