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Install Brushes

This step won't help you if you don't have a copy of Photoshop CS or higher. If you do, download and install this brush set.

If you don't have a copy of Photoshop CS or CS2, this tutorial will still work for you - you're just going to have to find a brush that's similar.

New Canvas

We're gonna need something to paint on, so hit open a new canvas (File, New) and size it at about 500 x 500 pixels, in RGB mode, with a white background.

Just to acknowledge the point - no, you probably won't ever run into a hairstyle that needs images this large. So why do you need to start with one so big? The bigger the image you start with, the better quality you'll have because you can pick and choose the very best bits.

Pick a Color

What color do you want to end up with the hair being? If you're going for an auburn hairstyle, start with red. Brown hair? Start with a medium brown. Blondes shouldn't be done with yellow, but more of a tan (trust me) to begin with.

The point is that you need to pick a color that is somewhere in the middle of what you want the final hairstyle to be. We're going to add shadow and highlight, so what we need to begin with is something between the two.

Same thing goes if you're going to end with a multi-color hairstyle ... start with something in the middle.

My best advice? Check out the websites of wig manufacturers and hair color specialists. These people often offer pictures of what they call "Color Rings". From these pictures, you can use the color dropper to pick up your colors.

One excellent site to hit for hair samples is http://www.wiggoddess.com/margucolors.html - you can hit this site, find a color ring of your own, or use the swatch below.

I'm using the swatch below and have set my foreground color to #734221.

Select Your Brush

Seems like a lot of stuff to set up, doesn't it? I promise, after you've done this once it'll be like second-nature.

Your next decision is which brush to use. If you installed the brush set, you can use the same brush I am.

If you didn't (or can't) install the brush set, try finding a brush that looks similar to the one I'm using.

Start Painting

You've got the canvas, the color, and the brush ... now start painting! - Create a new layer (Layer, New, Layer) and get going.

What's the catch? There isn't one. Just make sure that you go in up & down movements. Most of the hairstyles are created to use hair images that are straight up and down or side-to-side ... which is easy to accomodate (we'll get there).

Fill your canvas - it will take a few minutes - with the brush strokes, but don't stress on "perfection".

New Layer, New Color, New Strokes

We're ready to add some highlight to our little swatch of digital hair.

Create a new layer (Layer, New, Layer) and set your foreground color to something several shades lighter than the color you began with. In my case, I'm using #ac560b.

Grab a different brush (it really doesn't matter which one, as long as it's thinnish) and paint some random strokes with your highlight color.

Blur the Highlights

Looking pretty good, huh? The only problem is that real hair doesn't (usually) have that strong of a mark between highlight and main color. So we're going to blur the lines a bit ... literally.

Click "Filter", choose "Blur", and pick "Gaussian Blur". In the dialogue that opens, set the amount to about 7.0 and click OK. Your highlights should still be visible, but more blended into the main color.

Last Layer, Last Color, Last Strokes

Now it's time to add shadow. Create a new layer (Layer, New, Layer) and set your foregound to a color several shades darker than your main color.

Then ... repeat steps 6 & 7. First, paint on the new layer with the shadow color, trying to stick close to the highlights for a more realistic effect. When your shadows are painted, gaussian blur them.

Fill in the Blanks

The only thing left with our hair texture that's not-quite-right are all the gaps of white showing through. Think of this as your chance to add real shadow and depth or completely alter the haircolor.

How? Easy - start experimenting with colors and fill your background layer using the paint bucket tool. Different colors will give a totally new look to your hair texture.

Using Hair Textures

Essentially, we're finished. This step is just to help you later on down the road.

First, save your texture as a .psd. That way, all your layers and layer styles are intact if you need to change anything later.

Next, save your texture as a .jpg. Then, when you're ready to add it to a hairstyle, all that you have to do is crop it down to the size you need and plug it into the previewer.