CONCEPT:
This a re-upload of a piece I decided to update.  This artwork is inspired by the dragon Shenron in the anime Dragon Ball Z.  It conveys the moment he is summoned and descends to Earth.
HAIR DEVELOPMENT:
I developed the hair in Maya using Xgen.  I placed curves along a poly hair cap, and converted them to Xgen guides.  Then I adjusted the settings and added modifications to get the look I wanted.  I could have stopped their, but I converted the hair to polys so I could push the texture and remove scaling limitations.