Welcome back to this how-two series on hairing your model. We've covered a lot of ground so far from materials and tools, to discussing the types of hair, to good qualities to aim for in your hairjob, to hairing the tail. Now in this Part V, 'tis time to hair the mane! Hairing the mane shares some similiar ideas such as repeated, layered steps but in a slightly different way because we want a clean, even crestline with hidden glue. We also have to contend with a bridlepath and a directional change in the hair between the body of the mane and the forelock. We can also put the hair flipped over on different sides of the neck for a more touseled look if we wish. You can even introduce knots into your mane for witch's knots (also called fairy knots or wind knots), too. There are a lot of options! But once you have my method under your belt, you can take it from there in your own way. So with that, let's start the mane!
Step One
Prepare your lock of hair the same way you did the tail, combing out the excess short fluffy hairs and cutting the lock in half, or to the length you want, then pulling out the excess hairs from that. Your lock should be about one-half inch wide but not too thick or dense with hair. There's a Goldilocks amount you'll figure out soon enough. OK...you're ready!
Step Two
Cut that lock at an angle to the follicles so you have a wedge-like tip. Apply a thin bead of glue along that edge and, like with the tail locks, pinch that glue into the ends to create a "weld line." If there are a lot of errant hairs sticking out of the end, just take your scissors and cut a clean edge (don't cut the glue off though, just the edge to neaten up the line). Now apply another thin bead of glue along that edge and go to your horse and holding the hair somewhat perpendicular to the crest, along the line of that angle you cut, apply the glued edge along the crest. Then take your free finger to gently press that hair down and at an angle so that the hair is applied oriented more upwards and angled back, rather than sideways, if that makes sense. You don't want to glue the hair sideways along the crest but straight down onto the crest with each bunch layered on top of each other like "coins" in a weld. Let it dry for about ten minutes then come back to it to press it down further and to clean up the crestline then continue that approach up the crest until you hit where your bridlepath would terminate (which we'll get to in a moment) or until you're between the ears where the forelock would start.
Step Three
To do the forelock, simply repeat the process only apply the hair in the other direction, blending the termination points between your forelock and the mane best you can.
Step Four
Let dry for at least thirty minutes, ideally an hour, then use your toothbrush to comb out the excess hair and to start taming those tresses. Now if the mane is longer than you'd like, no problem...we can trim it. Like with the tail, don't cut it sideways, but up and down first at a slight angle to get rid of length, then more up and down to naturally wisp out the edges. The last thing you want is for your mane to look cut so pay careful attention to avoiding that in this process. Then toothbrush out the errant hairs and use your mousse in the same way to style those lovely locks, and voilá...you did it! Great job! You should end up with something like this...
Pulled Manes
There are two ways to approach this...cut your locks short so that when you glue them on, they're automatically the short length you want. This takes a lot of practice to eyeball it well enough and you still might have to trim portions to even it up, but this approach works really well. Or, cut the hair after the fact and wispy-up the cut edge with that up-and-down scissor motion you'd use to trim otherwise. It'll take more time to get it right, but it's doable and looks good all the same.
Braided Manes
Braided manes are beyond the scope of this series, but suffice to say that most artists create a pile of little braids out of embroidery floss and then glue them individually along the crest to create a tidy braidline. For example, take a look at my Stormfront by Elaine Lindelef (done in 1990) and her lovely and meticulous braiding work...
I'm not aware of anyone making mane braids in situ (but still, someone might have I don't know about!) though I know that some artists have created tail mudknots in situ successfully. For instance, my Bavo by Eleanor Jones (now Harvey) (done in 1988) had his tail braided and bunned up after being glued on.
Bridlepath
Bridlepath length often varies with breed, grooming, class or discipline, so do your research first as it relates to your piece. For instance, show Arabians often have long bridlepaths whereas Hackney Ponies should have one only about ear length. Some show breeds don't have a bridlepath at all like foofy cobs.
Now there are a few ways you can approach a bridlepath. You can paint it on and not hair it at all. You can root it (which is a whole 'nuther subject beyond the scope of this series) or you can create a flattened "rope" and glue that onto the crest. Painting it on and that "rope" technique tend to be the most common approaches. To do the latter, take a 3/8" section of hair (for a "Traditional" size piece) and glue a portion of it into a flat band of glued hair, at the length you need for the bridlepath. The loose end will just become part of the forelock. Trim the end so that it's clean-edged and then add a thin bead of glue on the underside and tack it down onto the crest along the bridlepath area with the loose end becoming part of the forelock. And voilá...you've done it! I actually like to do the bridlepath last this way so that it terminates cleanly with the top of the hairline and the loose end simply blends into the forelock nicely on top.
Tips
If you hair just won't stick down, apply a bit of mousse onto the body underneath the hair then press the hair down into it, glueing it down on the underside. That'll do the trick. The mousse won't harm the paint job if you've used a quality permanent finishing spray like Mr. SuperClear, Dullcote, or Montana matte or semi-gloss. This is especially handy for forelocks in particular.
Don't soak your hair with mousse, use just enough to get the job done. Likewise, be mindful of not getting mousse all over your model...keep it exactly on the hair or exactly on the underlying areas and not smeared all over. Keep your fingers clean!
It's really important to have a clean, even crestline with minimal glue showing so pay extra attention to that and practice.
Don't apply your hair down the middle of the crest. The hair actually grows along a wide band down the crest in life and the borders of that band lay just to the sides of the middle. In other words, apply your crestline just to the outside of the middle line to mimic the breadth of the hair bed. I hope that made sense! Study roached manes like on PRE mares and Tekes to see the breadth of that hair bed for reference.
Keep your forelock glue exactly between the ears and not creeped onto the forehead. This will give you maximum freedom in styling it because its direction won't be inhibited by being glued down too far on the head.
Never glue hair onto the body other than on the crestline and forelock area. I know it can be tempting to tame it, but leave that to the mousse.
Pick strands of hair that naturally flow in the direction you wish your hair to go when glued onto the model. Doing this, you can sometimes avoid using mousse entirely which is always a bonus. This can really apply to mohair which often has strong natural waves if you don't straighten it with the straightening iron.
You Did It!
After you're all done, you should end up with something like this, a beautifully haired model you can be proud of!...
See, there's really nothing too much to it! It just takes a lot of practice, some technique, and a bit of gumption, and you got this! In Part VI then we'll talk about some additional hairing topics and have a wrap up. See you then!
"We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery."
~ Samuel Smiles
