Tutorial Tuesday: Making Bangs

Since we finished the paper doll tutorial series last week, I thought we'd start a new one on doll hairstyles. This week I'll show you how I make bangs.

What you need:

-Your doll (Holly is my model this week)

-Scissors

-Tape

-Pencil

-Eraser

-Markers in the color you want for the hair

Follow the steps from last week's tutorial on hair, except draw in how you want the bangs to look before you color it in.

Next, test color combinations on the side to see how you want the hair to look. I thought that only using red looked too plain, so I added yellow and orange to add a little more dimension.

I started with yellow. I didn't color the hair solid yellow because I wanted the colors to blend a little more.

Next I added orange.

Then I finished it off with the red.

Then I let it dry for a minute or two, and then cut it out. I tried to cut it out with bumpy edges so the hair would look curly.

Now for the bangs. I've found that the best tool for this is an X-acto blade or pocket knife. Scissors won't work here because you want to cut into the hair without cutting through the edge.

Use the blade to cut along the lines you drew for the bangs. I pulled up the bangs in the next picture so you could get an idea of how it should be.

Next, try it on your doll to see how to adjust it. I thought the bangs were too square and her hair was too wild, so I used the blade to trim a tiny piece off the bangs and scissors to trim the hair.

Here's Holly before the adjustments...

...and after. I trimmed the hair a little more after I took this picture, but I couldn't get a good image so I didn't include it.

So that's how I make bangs. You can use this basic technique for any style of bangs - just look at Saige, Cora, and Keira. The major thing I want to emphasize is the use of a pocket or craft knife, because it really makes a difference in how they turn out.

I hope you liked this tutorial! What hairstyle or other tutorial do you want to see next week?