The secret “Chinese Youtube” taught me how to actually paint hair.

In this video, I'll be going over what I learned from one of the best hair tutorials that I've watched. This was a how to paint hair tutorial on the 'Chinese KZbin' Bilibili, which was almost like an art course. I talk in depth about the process and technique for rendering/painting the hair, sharing the knowledge that I've learned. I've also made it as easy to follow-along as possible, by noting which brushes I'm using, which layer modes, which colours, etc. so you can simulate being in an art course.
And most importantly, I've included for FREE all the brushes that I used for this painting, and all the layers files, so enjoy! (lowkey a crime that barely any art tutorials do this, but I can also understand why at the same time) And of course, any support would be greatly appreciated.
* Exercise files: kraymerart.gumroad.com/l/Hair...
(includes fully finished painting file, and the lineart by itself file)
* All the brushes I used for this painting: kraymerart.gumroad.com/l/Hair...
Credits!:
Original Video: space.bilibili.com/4530621
Music: / @lukrembo
/ @massobeats

[@miumiua487]

i love mostly chinese artist style have candy/glass/shining like

[@user11871]

SAMEEEEEE IM OBSSESED RN

[@ManjigumiVirus]

nice art btw

[@chibi_okami]

Also their make up "douyin make up" the always the best because of the shiny/glassy

[@dewaeryadi7776]

Its like 2010 pixiv era frozen in time, i miss those years

[@TheVoxPopuliOfficial]

I found this out through the nsfw games on steam lmao

[@Janice12223]

bilibili is literally a bible for all anime artstyle tutorials :) saw this on my recommendation but im glad you're making this video!

[@Zauriah11]

Exactly! just only if I could understand Chinese 😭🙁🙁

[@chaeroaj]

@@Zauriah11 I'd like to teach you mandarin during my free times 😭

[@ayaka3726]

@@chaeroajomg pls teach me

[@chaeroaj]

@@ayaka3726 do you have discord? :)

[@ManjigumiVirus]

they also have youtube videos of god artists being recommended regularly. unlike youtube that buries the video with their shitty algorithm.

[@AzazelDoesArt]

This feels like a secret I shouldn't know about.

[@Sasukesanimation]

This feel like I just discovered a hidden treasure only found in some deep forest dungeon

[@Soterly]

Fr like i feel like this is too dark web

[@Wmann]

Common knowledge for millions, but hidden away…

[@JhonnyWaltz]

Its likes hes a spy, telling us their secret plans. But its just art

[@user-d31m8y09]

Me trying to apply this on my paper : 👌 Reality : 🗿

[@meyx0_0]

4:19 : **”If it looks good,THEN IT WORKS”** Luv this

[@NoldenAgustina-qe2uk]

but your TA may cry

[@channel_weidu]

lmao every asian ever

[@Ally_Leaf]

a.k.a. Rule of Cool

[@safe4547]

About the highlight on the hair. It's not as simple as being "anime things" or "can be put anywhere" but rather, it's about light source. Assuming there are only two light source on the example being drawn... It just so happen that the back light source is brighter than the front one but you can still put highlight on the "shadow" side (dimmer light source) *because* there is still light bouncing off of it. Remember, the reason we see things is because light is bouncing off of it. So, yeah... highlight on hair _can_ be put anywhere *where* light is present. Also, _"Remember that the lightest shadow should be darker than the darkest light. That is a confusing statement.. Basically make sure that no shadow is lighter than any directly lit area."_ -Stan Prokopenko

[@necrosmos9034]

extremely underrated post

[@channel_weidu]

i see. thank you so much.

[@grav3yardshawty]

this. ofc the goal is to make something that looks good, but beginners should always know WHY they’re doing something they’re doing in their art

[@necrosmos9034]

@@Leadvest true true true

[@safe4547]

@@grav3yardshawty Yes, knowing the WHYs is better than just learning the technique.

[@astrahcat1212]

They put the highlights on the dark part due to it making it seem like an orb or glass, and due to making it pop due to color value/high contrast, it's not just that 'if it looks good it is good', there's logic to it.

[@RikaRieGaming]

*You showing the brushes* ; *Me on Clip Studio Paint* "Sigh, but let's see if I can get something closer." LOL

[@KraymerArt]

oh does procreate/photoshop brushes not work in CSP?

[@RikaRieGaming]

@@KraymerArt They can't use them but we can look for similar brushes.

[@vivananda6100]

​@@RikaRieGamingI think CSP already have feature to export photoshop brush as .abr extension for long time

[@ManjigumiVirus]

photoshop can use procreate's brush?

[@vivananda6100]

@@ManjigumiVirus I'm not really sure since I never use procreate but as long as procreate brush can be exported as abr file, it's good to go

[@aquare9ia]

I saw some other comments mention the discrepancy about the highlights in the shadow, but it's actually commonly referred to as the reflected light or secondary light. The main light source in your picture drawn is the rim light around the top of the head. The more intensity or surface area it covers, it can be almost considered a directional light. The shine to the hair is through a spotlight effect of a secondary light, usually bounced off a nearby source to illuminate the ambient contours of a 3D figure. The reason why it appears to be spotlight is because the shine is concentrated (small band of highlight) vs a diffuse lighting. Bounce lights can also be directional i.e. from a strong light above reflecting on the ground, giving the entire bottom of the figure a diffuse glow. If you're interested more about lighting, I would recommend using these keywords to search.

[@stonehead4775]

I was gonna commment the exact thing but you got it first and better explained hhahaha

[@InStiNctWalRus]

Amazing tutorial, I hope you can demonstrate more Chinese art tutorials as theres so much knowledge there thats inaccessible to the EN speaking audience!

[@thenosid951]

4:10 it does make sense because the "highlights" are reflexions of the environment in the hair, its a reflective material.

[@sonnochi]

Eye tutorial please. This video was really helpful, and I love seeing the Bilibili videos, but it does get overwhelming to try and figure out everything. Thanks so much for the video!

[@rbsalmon7895]

There's a japanese book for eyes which is called [きらめく瞳の描き方] or "How to Draw Bright Eyes". It's basically a step-by-step tutorial on how various artists paint, or draw their eyes. There's a lot of varying styles so you can pretty much mix and match however you want or stick to one and modify it. Don't get fooled by the title, some art style there are not "bright" at all. It's in Japanese though but I just used google lens to translate each page and it works pretty fine. I highly recommend this book. I wish there's one for hair though lmao

[@lias1]

@@rbsalmon7895can you give the names for more? Like skin eyes etc

[@user11871]

Please dont ever delete this, I love it!!! A part 2 would be amazing :D

[@rania4886]

Amazing demonstration please make this a series

[@pixelpuppy]

Nice! This is like a cheat sheet! This is the type of tutorial content ive been looking for! Not just "practice practice practice" but practical techniques to apply. Please keep making more content like this! Subscribed!

[@ManjigumiVirus]

thanks. been in bilibili for years but I cant read chinese

[@marselo1316]

Real shit

[@ManjigumiVirus]

@@marselo1316 fr if it is japanese I can make do but chinese is hard

[@oh-noe]

@@ManjigumiVirus I'm pretty much in the same situation. Thankfully I can sometimes understand a little bit of the characters due to kanji knowledge. But I think I might want to start studying chinese as well. Mostly for bilibili

[@Pompochii]

THIS IS THE EXACT TYPE OF SHADING VIDEO I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@IzikDigitalArt]

Please keep these tutorials going they’re so great I can’t wait for eye tutorial!

[@samanthajeffers9339]

Brother, you’re a life saver!! Even sharing brushes, thank you!

[@PINKDIAMOND4000]

the highlight part was mind blowing!! Thank you very much for this!

[@kizolf]

it looks so good!! the last alterations you've done give kinda like a glossy feel to the hair that I absolutely adore I'll try the ~~secret chinese knowledge~~ to see if I can also learn these secret arts

[@odw32]

Highlights in the "shadow" part do make sense In artistic compositions, you often have a large/global source and a smaller opposing spotlight source. A scene will be more interesting with different light sources, and especially different exposures, temperatures, or even hues: You might have a warm candle-lit room contrasting with a colder highlights from a phone display shining on the front of a face, or a magenta outdoor neon sign from a nightclub creating highlights on the top of someone's hair while their face is blueish from moonlight. The choice of color can be an interesting factor to play around with, changing the light, shadow and highlight colors on your character depending on events happening around them.

[@user11871]

Perfect timing omg ive been wanting to know more about chinese artists!!! But i had no clue how to even start learning since idk what to search

[@obscurenpc]

Thank you for another amazing study 🙏 This is my favourite way to colour hair at the moment!!

[@qp439]

Perfect timing! I was working on a piece and was not satisfied with the hair colouring. Your analysis and breakdown seriously helped me 🙏 Keep up the great studies, I hope these types of your videos appear more often!

[@crimsonBlair]

You're an angel, sir. I'll stay around for that applied-to-other-styles-tutorial

[@Rin-a-DingDing]

This video was thorough and easy to follow, I really enjoyed this, please make a part 2. 🙏

[@JosePerez-eb7kp]

Incredible tutorial. It's exactly what I was looking for. Thank you very much for explaining it in detail.

[@luvuberrymuch49]

umMM thank you SO much for this video i've been looking for something like this FOREVER ❤❤

[@cleanbeanArt]

This was fantastic! I hope you share more tips like this for lighting and shadow

[@mcchongyun5738]

Thank you for the brushes, they make such a difference!

[@user-do8yj4xx4w]

Thanks for sharing the wisdom I will use this tutorial to upgrade my art

[@user-jx4zr7od1x]

This was one of the easiest hair tutorials for such gorgeous hair I ever seen

[@MaleficentsLover]

Aah this was so helpful and fun!!! In a creative rut/art block rn and this vid was such a good help with not feeling stagnant in progress, there were things I never personally used while drawing, like the add feature for the smudge tool for the highlights, which gave a serious pop!!! Thank you, a million times over, I loved the video!!!

[@MaleficentsLover]

Also- I'd love to see an eye tut! Even a skin tut if you're up for it lol You're in my top 3 art creators for this video alone, so I'd love to see even more of you!!!

[@_random_user__]

This is really short and easy to understand! Thanks for sharing your wisdom! - An IbisPaintX user

[@nkanyisoinnocentkhwane3752]

😮 That was amazing, would love to see different hairstyles

[@squidink.6310]

Wow, i never knew this! Im really glad you made this video 😊

[@pizzaaaaaa36]

THIS WAS SO HELPFUL AAA

[@kami_69]

I've been searching a tutorial likes this for months, omg, thank you so much.🦇

[@wolfie1001]

As a total beginner noob I struggle alot with hair shading, thanks for this and I'd love a part 2, who would say no to extra content like this

[@zo7ug]

Yes I would love an eye tutorial aswell, this looks amazing

[@Maren617]

I love watching Bilibili art tutorials, as well! ❤

[@ThisIsThiaStudio]

Thank you for the helpful tips!❤

[@Envy_Level_Zero]

I call the hair in these illustrations gem hair, gems tend to absorb the light in this way.

[@chxns]

eye tutorial would be great and i would definitely watch! thank you for your bridge to billibilli!!

[@ellaheartz8389]

Lovely work! The easiest video I have come across that cover the topic of hair and the way lightest fall on it! Definitely looking forward to the next videos! If possible I would like to request a video that goes over line art and now to give it the light feel that a lot of these anime adjacent art styles have.

[@yuyu_viv]

i’m struggling with coloring, etc. this video really helps a lot, thank you! hope to see an eye tutorial!

[@A_eStar]

This technique is very precious, precise and amazing🙏🙏 thank you very very much for this knowledge

[@MVangelmx]

Thanks for letting me into your secrets, this was actually very easy to follow

[@casualvandal7208]

This is so incredibly helpful and informative and I found this video by accident, thanks 🙏

[@mintivee]

This was a great video. Super educational and really easy to follow! Please keep up the great work!!!

[@brianna796]

Thanks for the awesome video! Eye tutorial sounds great

[@sesiohaluoleo6095]

Definitely wanna see on another hairstyle! Thanks for sharing!

[@glaiv4]

genuinely the best coloring video i have come across

[@issogashii]

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH THANK YOU.... at some point a tut on clothes i think would be really really amazing. thank you for all your hard work , this was so useful!!

[@yukioxoXD]

I love this tutorial so much

[@TobiGoofs]

I ALWAYS wanted to know how people draw this!!! could NEVER find it anywhere, THANK U!

[@anemone.0]

Woah this was easy to understand, this helps so much!

[@itszu6836]

I wanted this video. Thanks bro ❤❤

[@Sp4rklemooncake]

Thanks for tutorial . Your voice Is pretty nice and clear for instructions 😊

[@imthinkingmikumikuoeeooo-ls6nu]

This is phenomenal! Thankyou! :⁠-⁠D

[@TickACSMVideos]

wow so cool and easy to understand! i will try it in my next drawing

[@kaeyasimp3918]

MY SAVIOUR!!!! I WANT THAT ART STYLE SO BAD

[@lowqualitysenti]

please make this a series !!!

[@curveofpursuit5519]

great idea, please keep up the good work!

[@valasafantastic1055]

Fantastic stuff! Thanks for sharing!

[@tiredtako6309]

Great video! im defnitely going to try out some of these techniques

[@Creeper4160]

I'm so happy. I know a little of canto, I've never seen people speak so softly before. Thanks! :)

[@1confusedkitty745]

Thank you so much!!! :DD I would love to see more, if you’re able to keep making these videos

[@AkuraChan3821]

Wow this changes everything!!! Tysm!!!

[@RetsyTI]

I really enjoyed this video! id love it if you did more videos on the Chinese techniques like this one! i'd defo watch ;3

[@just_peace]

Oh that was very very interesting! I grew up in russian speaking art circles and this video is very much reminiscent of the tutorials I've seen being shared around VKontakte. We very much love Chinese artists and Chinese tutorials, albeit I don't think any videos were shared around, but I've seen A LOT of image type of tutorials like this one. CG Speak is one of the biggest Russian art youtubers today that I know of, and when he presents artists he loves most of them are Chinese Still, I learned a lot from this video and by this point I forgot most of what I saw in these VK tutorials, and I hope you continue to make more videos like this one! 非常感谢! 非常感謝!

[@lotus_nc]

love the mark reference

[@crozzzyPazzo]

this is very helpful, thank you

[@yaoi4eva25576]

Please make more videos like this for those of us who don't know Chinese

[@tcysafta.]

game changer fr❤ thanks man❤

[@3llekc]

Thank you ! I took the psd file to try myself ! 👍

[@puyatnascientist1555]

Thank you so much bro. it's really helpful

[@Moon-li9ki]

this is a fantastic idea, very nice video

[@LewisCoxIII]

Thank you for doing this!!

[@sannylad9204]

holy these were all tricks i learned bit by bit overtime through many different artists but all in the same place within like 10 minutes

[@whiile1239]

regardless if you like kemono furries or not, billibilli is like the only website where I can find kemono furry content. I dont like normal furries or normal furries typically are. Im much more into kemono furrys, the community around them just feels a lot different and the furry style in my opinion is much cuter

[@jt_manic]

the "three sided shape" rule for hair shadows is pretty useful!

[@yuugael4010]

More videos like these please its so interesting to watch

[@byanasharanii]

before i found this vid i shade similar like this, bc im lazy to watch some useful tutorials lmaoo but this is actually pretty helpful and it also can improve how i shade, thanks!

[@sipeepic]

Great tutorial, thanks so much for this!!!! :D

[@evilyvonne]

This is amazing, thank you very much.

[@randolphthomasii7040]

I would love a tutorial similar to this but for more curly textures, especially African hair!

[@eveeellam995]

If you did this and nothing but this, you could easily become huge. I know im not the only one who vpns into bilibili to watch art tutorials I can only visually follow along to. Just ask your fans what art tutorial they want to see you translate next and you would never run out of content. Keep up the great work!

[@highlow8683]

This is amazing... Eye tutorial next please !!

[@yuomovaeh3028]

Cool stuff! I have more problems drawing the hair rather than rendering process.

[@furen6342]

Hey man this is a good video Thanks for sharing this I don't understand Chinese so I never visit there I'll wait for your new video this one is total 10/10

[@M82123]

Thank you this was very helpful! For a potential part two video, if you could demonstrate this technique on a male character (short hair) that would be great.

[@sapnupua5]

i love bilibili, learned to play the dizi from there and i appreciate people adding the jianpu notes to captions of videos

[@Pollymichaelis]

The "highlights" in the shadows can be very bright reflected light, so it still makes sense

[@FableDNK]

The lighter hair in the back where I'd normally add shadow is a complete game-changer for me!

[@chiara_333]

I really like this tutorial! thank you for making this! I'd love to see how you would render the other images in 0:48 since they're a bit closer to my art style. I'll use this to practice :) more power!

[@melon0637]

yes. Thank u for bridging the gap, this is the coloring style I've been wanting to do but can't get it quite right, all hail bilibili i want to learn chinese

[@sonictailsandsally]

3-point lighting could explain the specular highlights. The first light (the “light source” in this example) would be the back light. Therefore, the specular highlights may come from either the key or fill lights.

[@DrawSage]

Excellent video. Please do more.

[@M0CH1Q_]

Come across your video and it really something i want to know for a VERY long time, thanks for making this video im looking forward for more (+1 subscriber)