Here it is, finally!
This is my submission for @creatingblackcharacters 's BHM CBC Challenge!
From left to right, top to bottom: Attia (she/her OC), Dani (she/her trans woman), Lavender (she/her Tiefling), and Zee (she/her vampire)
First, I really wanted to apologize for this being late! I know Black History Month was in February, and I'd like to take this chance to highlight some Black creators whose work I really enjoy! For example, @idolomantises, @kianamaiart, and @ki11ustr4tions to name a few!
Not only that, but I wanted to thank @creatingblackcharacters for answering my question and for letting this slide 😅
I really wanted to incorporate what CBC says about how melanin loves color -- and boy do I agree! I was experimenting with some colored lighting on Zee and Attia and I absolutely LOVE how they both turned out!
Also, Black fantasy characters! Lavender's a Tiefling, and Zee is a vampire!
To my Black followers/viewers/audience:
DO NOT STOP CREATING!!! Creative spaces and fandoms need your presence, and your presence is wanted! Don't let anyone tell you differently. So often, every day, whether it be society, other people, or through media, you are constantly told that your existence is not worthwhile, that it's "too hard" to learn to draw your features, that it's "DEI pandering" to include you, and to that, I hope you use your voice, your art, your mediums to FIGHT BACK!! Not only that, but you deserve to be represented well and faithfully, whether that be in photography, art, video games, fics, movies, tv shows, or anything else! I love you all, so much, it has been an incredibly rewarding journey to learn and improve on creating Black characters, and I loved it every step of the way <3
To the Black women in my audience:
If you were to take one thing away from this piece, please know that WHATEVER BODY TYPE YOU HAVE, YOU ARE LOVED. You do not have to have an hourglass figure to be fat and beautiful. I love your two-toned lips, your body hair, your stretch marks, your edges, your noses, your palms, your HAIR, your fat, your skin, your EVERYTHING! Don't stop being you! <3
And for my friends I'm tagging now, you can participate in this challenge! It isn't too late! Blackness can be celebrated every day of the year, no matter the month! @sesamenom @beachedsandcastles @marcyapologist
For @creatingblackcharacters ’ Black History Month Challenge!
It is Wyll and Karlach having a drink at the reunion party, particularly when Wyll asks with awe if you can smell forest, after their long demon hunting spree in hell. Karlach is looking at Wyll wistfully twirling some blades of grass in her fingers.
This is dedicated to Black creators for making your art, despite the fandom racism stacked against you (not just this! In every one). Thank you for bringing pieces of your heart to this place, you deserve the carefree indulgence of fandoms, and they’re better for having you in it. <3
here is a human version of riddle for the BHM character design challenge by @creatingblackcharacters
in this incarnation, riddle is a proud owner of a cd store in a (softly) post-apocalyptic world. they are a huge believer in physical media, and their favorite type of music is ska!
i put together a little playlist to go with it. this is mostly comprised of songs riddle will like :3
ska music was created by Black musicians, so this playlist is also partially dedicated to some bands that are very important to it.
As for my message to any Black viewers/followers: Happy Black History Month! Riddle is overall an homage to Black artists/musicians, who have created some amazing genres and crazy good music and should get the credit they deserve!!! Your creativity and passion make the world a better place. Keep doing awesome things!!
it's a little late for the friend tagging section, but here we go :]
@paleopronouns and anyone else who wants to participate in the #cbc bhm challenge !! <33
[ start image description: A digital illustration of Lauren Olamina (left) from Parable of the Sower, and Harriet Adu (right) from You're Breaking My Heart.
As she's imagined here, Lauren's hair is styled in short cornrows; she wears an Earthy green t-shirt with spiral designs on the sleeves, and an acorn earring. In her hands, she clutches a green book with "Book of the Living" written on the front. Her face is in profile, while her body is angled toward Harriet.
As she's imagined here, Harriet's hair is styled in flowing goddess braids, with two braids on the side of her head making the form of a heart. She wears a neon yellow tank top with the words "Just keep swimming" written on the front, as well as a silver necklace with a half-heart charm. Her face is also in profile, while her body faces frontwards.
Both girls are smiling with their foreheads pressed together—Lauren's eyes are open, while Harriet's are closed. They're at peace in each other's company. The pair stands waist-deep in water, with a radiant ripple of sun rays behind them. In the foreground are the words "I feel, therefore I can be free," a quote attributed to Audre Lorde, a Black lesbian poet and essayist. This specific quote derives from her essay "Poetry is Not a Luxury," which you can read in full through the link below. /end image description ]
"The white fathers told us, I think therefore I am; and the Black mothers in each of us- the poet- whispers in our dreams, I feel therefore I can be free. "
"Poetry is Not a Luxury" by Audre Lorde
This piece is dedicated to all the Black artists who inspired it, as well as all who continue to express themselves unapologetically.
Lauren and Harriet are two characters I hold close to my heart, and have been wanting to imagine design-wise for some time. Their emotional journeys lie at the heart of their respective stories, with Lauren having the ability to involuntarily experience the pain and pleasure of others, and Harriet contending with grief and remorse in the form of a voice in her head. Both are teenage girls who navigate an uncertain, tumultuous world, and reckon with this in different ways. Lauren creates the religion Earthseed to make sense of her reality and build a community with her fellow uprooted strangers; Harriet seeks closure by tracing a path of strange clues to a dreamlike underground world of surreal parties and intersecting dimensions. Lauren writes; Harriet swims. God is Change; Just Keep Swimming.
I want to briefly shift focus over to You're Breaking My Heart, the more obscure of these two incredible books. Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich weaves a story so deeply affective to my soul it was surely a synchronicity that our paths collided. I first met Harriet at a bookstore at the beach, and was hooked on this tale the moment I met eyes with Briana Mukodiri Uchendu's ethereal cover art. And this story. This STORY!!!!!!! Everything from the characters to the pool symbolism to the portal mysteries to the underground world to the everyday liminal to the experimental chapter structures to the fact that Dory's mantra is a motif whose meaning transforms in tandem with Harriet's arc... THIS BOOK CHANGED MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is mayhaps the first time I have ever burst into tears for several minutes after reading the last line of any story. Oh my god. Oh my God.
Harriet's path to self-love is a veritable labyrinth of memory and mending ties and crowns denied and imperfect love and visitations from the past and every step of the way you're rooting for her to find the happiness and closure she deserves. Likewise, Lauren too embarks upon an uncertain course in the wake of tragedy, and forges her future in verse alongside the found family she cultivates. Both Lauren and Harriet are young Black girls who often mask their emotions—for the comfort of others, and the safety of themselves. In the line of the white gaze, Black expressions of emotion—especially those of Black women and girls—are either written off, ignored, or disproportionately and unjustly demonized, which leads many to mask, as Lauren and Harriet do, out of societally imposed necessity.
To the Black readers of this post, your emotions, your expression, your perspective, your spirit, YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! belong in every space which calls your heart. You deserve to be welcomed with open arms—anything less isn't worthy of your time. When a space feels disingenuous, claustrophobic, you hold within yourself the power to create something new—something better. And you never, ever have to do it alone. All of this goes without saying, of course, but it bears repeating. Your emotions are precious, and deserve a place to flourish. You deserve to see yourself reflected in the narratives you love!!! Always and forever!!!!!!!!!!!!! And when something doesn't measure up, the onus is on its creators to put in the time and effort to ensure you feel seen, welcome, CELEBRATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much to @creatingblackcharacters for hosting this event, for your comprehensive lessons and advice, and for sharing your love and passion with the world.
Without further ado, here's some awesomesauce artists you should go check out!!!!!
@oakwolves
instagram | twitter
The best of the best when it comes to characters!!!! The dynamics she explores are unmatched—if you love (and miss) Infinity Train, so much of her art is dedicated to imagining what it would be like if different characters from different books had encountered each other at just the right time; what friendships, families, and rivalries would arise. If you dig all that with a dash of mystery, check out her fic Train Chasers (it's got a website and everything)!!!! Her character designs—both OC's and reimaginings of existing characters—are endlessly inspired and creative. I'd be remiss not to mention her High School Story works—a world that grows more and more vibrant with each passing day!!!! You can learn more about all her creations at the site below!
Zeinab Diomande
instagram
I had the honor of discovering her works in the real at the Magic Gardens! Many of her pieces are fantastical and dreamlike self-portraits, envisioning Black womanhood as a limitless and vibrant spectrum of possibility. If you visit her Instagram (and I highly recommend you do!!) you'll see that each painting holds a story, a train of thought, a revelation. Stars, smiley faces, and spiderwebs are just some of the motifs she employs; my words truly can't do her work justice. Each piece feels like a window into a new realm. Fun fact: a number of the colors in the above piece were actually drawn from her painting, "Caring for yourself is making room in your life for it"
Zeinab Diomande, a vibrant soul known affectionately as “Z The Rat”, paints her world in hues as vivid as her spirit. Born in the heart of V
snowgirl
Snowgirl's awesome and experimental compositions are utterly indescribable. Each album is an experience in itself, and all seem almost nostalgic in the strangest of ways. There's something unspeakably sublime in these notes, abstract sounds, and visceral poetry. Among my personal favorites are fertilizerface and we spring from our sleep like it matters. Please give them a listen—something here will surely speak to you.
Briana Mukodiri Uchendu
instagram
I mentioned her stunning work on the cover of You're Breaking My Heart, and I highly recommend that you explore the rest of her oeuvre! She works first and foremost in pastels, and the softness of the medium translates beautifully to her digital illustrations as well. Her artistic philosophy—art-as-connection above all—resonates profoundly with me, and shines through every piece she creates. In the illustration above, I wanted to emulate the cross-hatching sort of texture she used in her own rendition of Harriet. You can explore her works here!
'Mukodiri' is an Igbo word meaning "It is me who decides". This was the inspiration behind creating Muko Studios. Here I can exhibit and mar
Podcast Episode · The Illustration Department Podcast · 07/04/2023 · 41m
Paul Lewin
instagram
Lewin's work truly speaks to the heart of Afro-Futurism. I phased in and out of discovering it, seeing his signature gorgeous style on a number of books, such as Ebony Elizabeth Thomas's The Dark Fantastic, and even some versions of Parable of the Sower! There came a point when I realized all these works stemmed from the same hand. There's an enchanting elegance to it, and one could spend hours studying the details of his painting (yes, paintings!!!!!!!!!!). This interview gives so some stellar insight into his artistic process.
Paul Lewin, born in Kingston, Jamaica has always reflected his interest in storytelling, Jamiaca and sci-fi and fantasy art. All of this is
Both Parable of the Sower and You're Breaking My Heart are phenomenal books I couldn't recommend enough; that being said, both also deal in some heavy topics, so if you need trigger warnings, by all means, reach out!
Here you can read the Book of the Living 1, which Lauren writes over the course of her story:
Earthseed is a real religion inspired by the science fiction of Octavia Butler, specifically her books, Parable of the Sower (1993) and Para
Here's a preview of You're Breaking My Heart you can listen to!
Even though this is the last day of the event, I still want to tag @r4trave and @okapi8 just to let you know about some awesome artists and stories!!! I invite everyone to share your favorite Black artists and creators in the comments of this post🌟
[ID: 6 panels of a digitally drawn comic showing Daggoo doing twist-outs into Pip’s hair. Pip looks a little nervous through the process, with a warm & encouraging Daggoo, and by the end of it he looks at his reflection with surprised joy. More detailed IDs for each panel in alt.]
i finally finished what i was working on for @creatingblackcharacters’ Black History Month Challenge!
so for those who don’t know, for a few years now i’ve been working on adapting Moby Dick into a webcomic. as you might imagine, a text written by a white man in 1851 is oftentimes Very Racist with how it treats its characters of color, and this very much includes its Black characters, of which there are two of note in the cast, Daggoo and Pip. there are parts of the original text in which Melville tries (and even sometimes doesn’t completely fail) to say poignant things or critiques about racism in the text (and much of the text does very explicitly and intentionally deal w/ racism and racialized dynamics, something literally 99% of adaptations ignore), but for the most part, his nonwhite characters are flat, stereotypical, often violent, racist caricatures.
and i won’t get too much into that here (god knows i’ve rambled at LENGTH abt all of this many times & i will many more), because the point of this challenge is to share art about Black joy, but suffice to say that! I am doing my best to intentionally engage with the race & racism of the original text, whether it’s for characters of my own racial identity that Melville bastardizes (like Fedallah), or those of others (like his Black characters, Daggoo and Pip, and his Indigenous characters, and so on). It’s important to me not only to be in conversation with and to challenge Melville’s racism in my work, but also to allow these characters to be more than the one note racist stereotypes Melville writes them as.
So!!! that’s some long winded context, but here’s Daggoo doing Pip’s hair for him and showing him how! I’m extremely fond of Pip getting to be loved and cared for by others of the crew, especially the harpooners (of whom Dag is one). i just think Pip deserves his comically large number of dads who will care for him and make him feel safe and shelter him from the absolute Horror that is 19th century American Whaling (and the Horror that is their white crewmates!). i just think this little Black boy deserves love and joy 😭😭 and i think Daggoo deserves to be a soft, gentle caregiver who can give that to him.
I have lots more thoughts about this and about them and about their hair which i may expand on under a cut or in the tags, but because this is already getting so long!:
to my Black viewers, and my Black readers, you belong in classic literature spaces! you deserve to see yourselves represented thoughtfully and carefully in the ‘canon’ of literature, and to challenge when you aren’t, and be supported in your critiques! your contributions to both literature as a whole (whether “classic” or otherwise) and to literary analysis and critique are invaluable and irreplaceable, both when you discuss the racism in these works and spaces and when you engage in any other kind of analysis or creation. And I want you to be able to enjoy stories of all kinds without people brushing aside your existence or pretending your concerns are invalid or don’t matter because ~it’s a great classic!~ or ~it was a different time.~ your voices and your creations and your art matter.
& on the smallest scale, i hope at least to bring you a little bit of joy.
I'm tagging some of my art friends! I know the lateness of this in the month means it’ll be hard for anyone to probably do anything of their own for the challenge, but hopefully y’all can still check out & support all the lovely art that’s already been made for this!! @coulson-is-an-avenger @fricklefracklefloof @layalu @brainwormterrarium @seaflying-fliptuna @rootscorrode @holocephal1 and anyone else who wants to!!
& thank you to Ice for making this wonderful challenge, and thank you for all the lovely, incredible work you do on @creatingblackcharacters. truly a blessing to this world 💖💖
anyway, some more notes, because i can’t help rambling:
i referenced a lot of images & videos of people doing twist outs for this but i wanna shout out the video i watched and rewatched and paused and zoomed in on the Most; it’s by kbmaria on YouTube and called “Twist Out on Short TWA 4C Hair | Big Chop Hairstyles”!! def go check her out :]
i loved looking up 1800s hair combs (and afro picks, though it seems they were all just called ‘combs’) & 1800s sleep bonnets for this! the details of the bonnets kind of got lost in simplification (they really do just look like modern ones but with more lace!) but drawing them and the comb was still fun. i also was looking up specifically a lot of Black hair care history and there is some really cool stuff about the original invention and spread of the hot comb (used for straightening hair) and Black people’s role in that (there’s again more i could get into but i won’t right now but do look it up if you’re interested! the library of congress has a good presentation article with sources about Black hair care history. much of it is later the timeline that’s relevant to these characters in particular, but still very interesting!)
i always defaulted to giving Daggoo an Afro when i designed him (mainly because he’s described with one in the book). over recent years, i’ve definitely thought more about this decision and about whether/how to incorporate different hairstyles into representing him. whaling is a…unique situation—long, long stretches of time (we’re talking months) of extreme lethargy with no tasks to do punctuated by unpredictable short bursts (days to weeks at a time) of incredibly high intensity, life threatening, and laborious work. it leaves lots of time to do more complicated, time-intensive hairstyles (which his hair definitely could benefit from in an environment where he’s getting very sweaty, sea-salty, and wet frequently!), but any of that time could be interrupted at any moment; it’s impossible to Plan for when the whale hunts happen and put your hair in a more protective style ahead of time. i don’t really have a specific answer to this yet, but it’s smthn i’m thinking about a lot and researching a lot! visual historical references we have (that i’ve seen at least) of Black sailors of this time tend to have their hair natural and short-cropped (which is how Pip keeps his), but i def want to draw more hairstyles on Dag at different points.
in any case, i do love the idea of him doing Pip’s hair for him (even if the style will be Very temporary due to the nature of their work — he’ll probably get wet very soon 😔) and showing him how to do different ones. starting with something maybe a little easier to do (like this twist out) and maybe showing more complex ones as time goes on.
as far as hair moisturizers go, ive also done a good amount of reading over the years of what kinds of hair moisturizers were available at diff time periods (did you know lots of victorian women used egg washes in their hair to keep it moisturized? i didn’t). i like to think that Dag keeps his own personal stash of natural oil of some kind — he may have access to coconut oil/cedarwood oil/smthn like that. and if he’s ever in a pinch, apparently whale oil is a fine hair moisturizer! and was even used in cosmetics in the 20th century! so hey. got plenty of that around lmao
i think that’s all i have to say for now lmao. thank you again Ice for making this challenge 💖💖
It's the CBC Black History Month Challenge!!!!!!!!!
sqex recently failed to adapt a winning player hairstyle design, one with coils, into the game. i think all of us were pretty disappointed when they claimed they didn't have the technology to do it right. it's good that they want to try again someday. but until then i think it'd be nice if we allowed ourselves to imagine the characters of ffxiv with Black features even if they can't look that way yet in game.
if you haven't done custom deliveries yet in endwalker, may i suggest you give them a try? it's a great questline and Margrat is a brilliant, nerdy Black woman. without her effort and knowledge (and titanic amounts of coffee, judging from her energy levels) our heroes would never have reached the ends of creation to save the universe. but moreover i think she's just so charming… she is not just an engineer and scientist but an advocate for her fellow workers. and while she's already beautiful, i thought she would be beautiful with natural hair, too.
Now for the important part. To my Black followers: You belong in science, engineering, and professional spaces. You belong in stories. You belong in games!! And you belong just as you are. You are not too dark; your natural hair is not dirty or unprofessional or "too hard" to draw or model. The art you touch is enriched for your presence, and the places you're shut out from are the poorer for your absence. It's a question of effort and a question of Black presence in creative spaces, and I'm angry that we can't make a character who looks like this in FFXIV. So until (and even after!) you can, I hope you let your imagination run wild and invite yourself into every space that lacks your magic. I love you!!
there's not many days left in BHM but i'll still tag my friends @ababblesaurus, @myrfing, @flower-waltz and @saprophilous because i bet they would draw something cool if they had time….
It's February 25th- only three more days for the CBC BHM Challenge!
I've been going through my @ replies to search for people I may have missed (I was at a funeral and with family this weekend so... wasn't on full Ps and Qs). Again, if I haven't seen you yet, please feel free to retag me or send me a DM with your piece!
I have been leaving the same message on most people's works, which is "what do you want to say to your Black viewers with this piece?" I will reblog your post when that sentiment is openly expressed within it! You want our support and our image- you should feel confident and happy to express that you value them!
I plan on going through and reblogging everyone's pieces on the 28th, as well as a thank you post with everyone tagged. I'm excited to see how the month went as a whole!
I barely eeked by in time with this, but I hope it looks good cause my glasses broke halfway through and I am impaired. 😅
It was a wild ride for my first attempt at drawing a storybook version of a real life person, but Mae Jemison is a literal hero in this household.
"The really wonderful thing that happened to me when I was in space was this feeling of belonging to the entire universe." - Mae Jemison
For those who don't know this iconic woman, basically, from day one, she knew that she had boundless passion in her heart, especially for STEM. With her curiosity nurtured, she decided that she could and would do what her passion called for.
She faced relentless discrimination as a 16 year old Black college student then became the first Black woman in space despite NASA almost fumbling the ball. After she achieved her dream of going to space, she decided that wasn't quite done being a hero to any little Black girl who has and had been told that there wasn't enough space for them. She went on to start several events, programs, foundations. She became a professor at not one but two prestigious universities. She's even a children's book writer! (btw Find Where the Wind Goes goes hard)
Suffice to say, she's just a cool lady and deserves recognition as the trailblazer she is.
