This is a weird question, but how do you draw hair that's been brushed/pulled back? If I try to draw that, my characters look like they're balding.

If your character’s look like they’re balding when you draw them with their hair back, you might have misplaced their hairline, or forgotten to give the hair the neccessary volume and flow it needs to look like it’s not slipping off the scalp. 

As we grow older, our hairlines will recede. Depending on your genes or disposition of health, this can vary from person to person. 

Though usually, a “youthfull” hairline peaks at aproxmiately one fingers length from the brow up. And usually takes the shape of an ‘M’ on our crown. Depending on your genetic makeup, this ‘M’ may be more or less pronounced, though, people with high testosterone levels might see that the peaks of their ‘M’ ( ie. the temple peaks ) deepen as they grow older. 

https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/hairline-repair-and-restoration-21003288873.html

Placing the hairline on your character can be a bit tricky at first,  i don’t have much of a “rule of thumb” for how to find it, though i know that the temple peaks sit a little ways up from the top of the ear. Vague i know, but it’s something you will work to get a feel for as you draw your characters again and again. 

https://www.styleinterest.com/ponytail-hairstyles/

https://www.ecemella.com/short-hair-updos/loose-ponytail-short-hair-ideas-2019/

Now, depending on how tight your character’s hair is when tied or pulled back, it will leave more or less air between itself and the scalp. If your character’s hair is tied back somewhat loosely, it leaves these puffy spaces sitting on the scalp as the hair raises itself from the head itself and bundles at the hairband. 

This means that, depending on your style - you might need to incorporate these little wild shapes into the outline of your hair, like little “ripples” following the shape of the skull in somewhat pronounced ‘chunks’. 

If, on the other hand, the character’s hair is pulled back tight, the hair will align along the scalp a lot more, and it might even look somewhat smooth, with little to no discernable ‘chunks’ and no lift to the roots. 

- Mod Wackart ( ko-fi ) 

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