The hairstyle back in the 30′s was the finger wave…or marcel wave…which is the style of the hair in this Jean Harlow photo I’m using as a reference. Actually…it’s the same hairstyle she’s got in most photos since her career was so short.

And it’s really nothing but a lot of highlights and shades to get the shapes of it…and hairs in the end of course. When I began to shade this painting (which is a separate layer under the sketch layer) I also did some shading for the hair and scalp. It creates a bit of depth to the hair later and is easy to adjust on it’s own independently to the hair layer. The details in the hair are not done yet and I’m still working on the hair itself, but when it’s time for the details in the hair, they will be on a separate layer on top of the others.

The wave around her temple was quite easy to paint and the fun won’t really start until I get down to the hair above her shoulders. She didn’t have very thick hair, which means that the hair surrounding her neck is nothing but whirls of hairs. No curls in order or anything…so that should be interesting. I might give her some real curls in the end, we’ll see. However, if I can I rather stick to the original as much as possible.

Now it’s time for lunch and afterwards I’ll be in Photoshop again :)