Hey y’all I have an announcement! My web app that I’ve been working on, Afro Index, is now live! It’s a visual reference library of Black hairstyles, for artist, animators, writers, and anyone who wants to learn more about them!
Check it out at afroindex.org! 💛✨
A reference library for Black hairstyles with accurate naming,
structured filtering, and curated reference images.
I think I saw a post about the differences on illnesses that can be recognised by looking at the skin on your blog, but I went to research that further and I found the youtube channel: Joel Bervell.
Dokter Bervell has a lot of shorts on how different dermatology conditions look on Black vs. white skin, so I thought it might be off interest. He talks about a lot of other things in the medical world as well, like: Hidden medical history and Black doctors.
this is his website: https://joelbervell.com/#homepage
With Black redesigns, do you have opinions on interpreting crazy spiky anime hair (like Dragon Ball or Yu Gi Oh) as styled/shaped afros? I can't remember seeing it done that much, but recently there's been a few posts going around by donutsbagels that show all kinds of more elaborate hairstyles, including spiky ones that really reminded me of those anime styles! I think i really like the idea of the hair's silhouette being carried over on some redesigns, especially when it's particularly distinctive. But are there still some things to keep in mind? Like how to still make the hairstyle read as Black hair?
Go for it 👍🏾 @phoenix-before-the-flame has a short instructional on how to reconsider design during Black edits, if you want to refer to that!
I went looking to check whether I'd already seen the post that @creatingblackcharacters mentioned (I had), and while searching for it remembered a whole bunch of other resources that might be useful for you, Anon. So!
First, the short instructional that CBC was directing you to.
While I was looking for that, I also saw another question that they answered specifically about hair when doing redesigns!
Also, as CBC has said before, it's good to look at examples of how Black people draw themselves, to get an idea of how to stylize art without being disrespectful. (It usually comes up when folks ask about Black coding and/or furries, but it applies here, too. Especially with how racist anime can be sometimes.) So in that vein, here's two compilation posts from @phoenix-before-the-flame of some redesigns they've done.
Plus another compilation post I've seen before by @kenmaiii, of different ways they've drawn multiple types of hairstyles.
(Both of them have pinned posts for commissions by the way! Go check them out if you can!!)
For an even broader range of art styles, CBC often shares posts by Black artists on here, so you can check out that tag for more!
(For this link, I'll note that not everyone who has participated in these has been Black, but) the Draw This in Your Style events that CBC has been running are also full of good examples of how to adjust a character's design, focused on one specific character every couple weeks. And before that, she ran the Melanin Beam Challenge, which was a sort of free-for-all where folks submitted whatever character(s) they chose to do!
Going beyond just what CBC has directly shared and/or done as specific challenges, you can also search the "Black edit" tag on here. A lot of folks have been editing or redrawing a whole bunch of characters (anime and otherwise) to be Black for a long while!
If you have an easier time learning from guided tutorials, CBC recently got an ask sharing a book you can get that is specifically How to Draw Diverse Manga! My copy hasn't arrived, so I don't have detailed feedback yet, but you can check reviews on different sites to see whether that might be something you want to check out.
If you like or prefer videos, @naylissah (who has made some amazing picrews!!) has some excellent tutorials over on her youtube, both for specific hairstyles as well as broader character design thoughts!
Also also, Anon, your last question was partly answered (for styles you choose to do as a shaped afro, rather than as locs/braids/etc.) in the last image for Part 3 of the @donutsbagels series of posts you mentioned, if you've not seen all four of them yet! (The bottom of each posts links to the next in the series, if you've not clicked through all of those.) There are other ways to handle it depending on your art style, but it boils down to learning how to draw Black hair texture (and other features).
Expanding on that, you can do some research on natural hair sculpting to get an idea of what various cool hair silhouettes might look like in the real world. She's a Solar Being is very popular and incredibly creative with the hair sculpts she's done (and sometimes makes or shares 2d and 3d art that she's inspired folks to make), but you can also just search around the internet to find other examples!
Finally, whether you're new here or have been around a while, don't forget to (re-)check out CBC's syllabus! She's got several lessons about hair and drawing (and writing and thinking). They contain links to even more tutorials, plus resources and info about some basic types of hairstyles. Knowing what they're called will help make it easier for you to do your own further research, and find even more inspiration!
Absolutely wonderful reply with resources & information i highly agree with! Just wanted to add a little bit as well as someone that's done a decent amount of Black edits/Redraws/Re-imagines over the years also. ^-^
For me, the main thing i consider when trying to translate what would work is considering the original style itself (of course) then figuring out:-
-how can i more-or-less make the same shape/silhouette for the character and carry that over? (which is good that it's something that's being kept in mind already!)
-what style might be fitting and/or functional for the character themselves in that universe or setting (and you dont necessarily need to follow 'realistic' rules too closely obviously. i feel like a lot can be done with our hair regardless in a lot of awesome rule defying ways)
*even just freeballin it and being like 'i think they would look good with this' even if it doesnt necessarily match the silhouette is fine too, i think the most important part is Would They Rock This Style
-what texture might that be, since of course that can come in many different variations
The first time I attempted doing this with Sampo i wanted to follow the swoops in his hair as best as possible. Then i realized locs weren't particularly working for me and i switched it up to twists!
It mostly still follows the same hair flow and I feel it works better! plus its just very fun to render.
Another example is when I wanted to draw Choso. The first thing to come to mind was two puffs. I mean... cmon. This doesnt mean that other styles wouldn't work, but it's still good to think about what would be emulated onto the character. Everyone's gonna have different ideas even if we can agree on some!
💬 0 🔁 211 ❤️ 539 · i come bearing a choso >.>…
Among many other examples:-
I dont have much anthro/furry experience but having drawn ponies there's really... not that big of a hurdle to hop in drawing Black or afro-textured hair there either. Same rules apply tbh. The subject is just Slightly different.
Though when pony-fying characters I have to consider the skintone, potential hair additions like the tail type/texture, cutiemark (or none), horns/wings, and what theyd be. In the MLPverse there are also dragons, griffons, changelings and other sorts of hooved animals; so to speak.
Human-wise, I put that kind of consideration into how a character might fix their hair, or what may skintone work nicely with their palette (while being mindful of harmful stereotypes). Ideally, it's just thinking about 'Would this work/what fits This character'
You cant go wrong with looking through the Black furry/Black Anthro artist tag for more examples. Or anywhere outside of Tumblr tbh.
Though some artists and furs I like (Black+POC) who can tackle this, for example, are:
@/satellitedusterart
@/cupiidzbow
@/ratycaks
@/tainted-sweet-meats
@/michaels-reality
@/marleemutt
@/toorurii
@/skunkes to name some.
💬 0 🔁 42 ❤️ 77 · the artist at work 🎨
[ + the rough sketch :P]
Introducing my fucking FURSONAAAAA
I've been wanting to have a fursona I could draw myself as for so long and I finally settled on one :3 an
💬 3 🔁 96 ❤️ 364 · dawg they really just let anybody in this damn series
I also highly recommend @ligerbombz as a guide. i've seen some of the absolute best most creative renditions of these characters hairstyles being translated and I nod my head every single time. They also actually made a guide on afro-fying hair for anime styles.
💬 0 🔁 75 ❤️ 460 · Well when u get a question enough times it means that u finally have to make an attempt at a tutorial 😭😭
Thank you @magm
[the piece above can be found here.]
Unironically threads like this where people are like "Styles I Think [Fandom Here] Characters would have if they were Black" Or "Black Hairstyles i think [_] characters would have"; can be good direct visuals of hair being translated to fit a characters design. Even just browsing through posts/threads like these for a little while can get one thinking about how to approach it as well.
💬 3 🔁 148 ❤️ 462 · oshiankozuki @ twt made a wonderful thread of OP characters with black hairstyles
Here are a few more thread links for example:
MHA Characters | KNY Characters | Jojo's | JJK | Haikyuu etc etc just to share a lil sumn sumn.
Additionally, other artists that instantly come to mind that I like who are good at this are @/pcktknife (Kae) and @/ackee (Mani, formerly @/cinnimani ). Mani isn't much of a fandom artist anymore and more-so OC orientated, but I still highly rec you support her for that too! But a good example that comes to mind was her Undertale humanizations!
💬 3 🔁 278 ❤️ 1172 · FINALLY.. AFTER A WHOLE ENTIRE YEAR I WAS ABLE TO FINISH THIS LINEUP...! i've been wanting to redraw my lineup from 20
references and a lil bit of creativity are your friends when it all comes down to it. i think Pinterest or observing other artists approaches for later application en mass is always the best for that. (Not direct copying or tracing! But personal study and amalgamation that then becomes your own!)
If you find at least one Black Artist it is very easy to find more, whether they're also in the replies/tags/reblogs supporting each other or in the search bar. You just need to take the time to look!
All-in-all just remember to be mindful with your depictions and have fun. go wild truly :]
I believe part of being an artist means you never stop improving. For one reason or another, a lot of artists are afraid to paint dark complexions or Black characters. Sometimes deeming the idea too complex or difficult and they’d rather focus on lighter skin tones. If you truly want to get better on skin tones, improvement will come when you keep drawing diverse figures.
Heres few tutorials I like that might be of some help! :
- Dont be afraid of Dark Skin by Ririarts. (I visit this one most frequently)
- How to Render Dark Skin by jordynl33
- Oil painting process by Ellie Mandy Art
Older but honorable mention from Sinix: Painting Dark Skin Tones and Anatomy: Skin
I hope these tutorials help, if anyone has any youtube videos they like feel free to share as well i’d love to see! And remember that practice makes improvement.
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