#afro index

[paper-starz]

Look what i found!

Afro Index – Black Hairstyle Reference Library

A reference library for Black hairstyles with accurate naming, structured filtering, and curated reference images.

I found a cool site with a lot of black hairstyles! Use em as references!

[carmahnart]

Hi! I was thinking the Afro Index might do well to have illustration & 3d rendering resources and tutorials! I made this ( https://www.instagram.com/p/CEC8Ss-gtGE/?igsh=MTRoZnJrdXFmNGk3Mg== ) way back when, since I saw that there were very few tutorials for beginners.

The index is excellent, but for people who are just getting into art they may find breaking down the shapes or "reinventing the wheel" intimidating at first. So maybe some artists/illustrators/sculpters can show shorthands for things like braids, fros, locs, etc

As for 3d renders, I'm aware of presets? I think they're called? For coily hair. That's been very difficult for people to make.

And of course traditional artists may need help finding the right implements or techniques. To create the right effects or shapes.

All that said, your work is immensely appreciated and deeply needed! This is the best thing to hit the art community since the apple pencil 😂

Wow being compared to the apple pencil is actually goated thank you sm! 🥰 And yes, I have plans for drawn/video tutorials, especially for breaking down shapes so that drawing a full head of braids/twists/etc doesn't seem so daunting. There's a page for Black hair resources I want to add to the Afro Index, for things like afrohairlibrary which is for 3d hair sculpts specifically!

Thank you for your message! :) 💛

[byrdzi]

Black! hair! practice!

its been 3 trillion years since i've had time to draw so these aren't the best, but im trying to get back into it and hair is my comfort zone!

reference photos are from @carmahnart's Afro Index!

[carmahnart]

Hi! With the release of your afro index tool, I realised I have a question! Do you have any advice on creating more original/artistic hairstyles while still being respectful to Black hairstyles? I love the creativity behind styles like Aika's (from I don't want to be a magical girl, an indie animation) but am fearful that I may accidentally design something disrespectful. Thank you for any advice!

hi! thank you for the question! also yes good example I love idwtbamg 😩❤️

a helpful approach is to treat Black hairstyles the same way you would any cultural reference and design: start with real examples, learn their structure and naming, and then iterate creatively from there. like once you understand what makes a style a style, you can push it in more stylized or exaggerated ways for your character. I added a lil diagram to show what I mean 👍🏾

afro index can be a starting point for that! once you understand the base styles, you can remix and adapt them while still keeping that connection to reality.

the first step is approaching it thoughtfully, so you’re already on the right track! happy designing 💛

[carmahnart]

hello! ive been exploring the gallery of afroindex and truly thank you so much, ive been needing a tool like this forever !! trying to look up hairstyles and getting one million ai results or pinterest pics with #y2k #cottagecore and no identifying info has been. exhausting lol anyway cant wait to try and draw with those refs :^)

ahh thank you! 😭💛 that searching struggle is what pushed me to create this tool in the first place, so many refs are ai or they don’t have the name of the style I feel you! I’m so glad Afro Index is useful, have fun drawing!! 🫶🏾

[carmahnart]

Do can you put tips on drawing some of the hair in your website?

I want to draw some of the images that have a billion braids but I don't know how to draw so many of them. (I'm a teenage artist who struggles with drawing small stuff/details like that)

Thanks for reading!

Hi! Tutorials that break down the structure of certain hairstyles is definitely in the pipeline! I put a lil snapshot of the roadmap for the site in the About page, but the full document has suggestions from people who submitted a form too! When new features are added, I'll update here, on the website itself, and on the afro index instagram page! :) 💛

[carmahnart]

Would you ever consider adding drawn references/how-to-draw guides to the Afro Index?

(Thank you for your work with the site by the way!)

Hi! Yes, drawn references and video tutorials are in the future pipeline!

I've been working on putting together info for grants so I can get a team to help implement all of that, so when all of that drops, I'll put out an announcement! :) 💛

[carmahnart]

Thank you for making Afro Index! It's so hard to find good references for black hairstyles and your website is so well organized!

Thank you, I appreciate it! I'm so glad people are liking the site 🙏🏾♥️♥️