magic0lotl

[magic0lotl]

A steep, bustling street overlooks a sprawling city nestled in a grand basin, framed by what appears to be a distant gigantic hill and a towering skyline. Weathered buildings lean into the slope, their colors mistreated by time. A gigantic white cloud rises impassively over the horizon of the city.

[magic0lotl]

Have you ever been shocked by a bunch of lesbians ?

[magic0lotl]

Some Mitsi doodles because of the new AVA episode yohoo!!

[magic0lotl]

Hi Fett!

I think your art is really cool, especially how you draw hair I want to try to create a black character, but I'm not familiar with the culture surrounding hair. It looks cool, especially the styles with all the micro braids, so I want to do it justice by understanding it Do you have any tips or places where I could start researching? (Completely understandable if you're busy or don't want to respond) (no pressure)

hi!!!!! i'm very flattered that you're coming to me about this

it's very important to remember that i'm mixed and so i'll be linking some other resources on this stuff, but if you ever have any specific questions i'll gladly answer what i can and consult my mother/hairdresser/family for the rest!

this post is one of my favorites for resources on black hair and the basics of it:

i also recommend visiting the r/BlackHair subreddit! it's full of different textures and styles. you can find tons and tons of reference images for whatever you're trying to do, often with people talking about how they do and maintain it! :)

as for art advice, i'll just give u a quick rundown of the most important hair principle when it comes to drawing black hair textures: weight.

(for reference, every hair you are seeing in the below image is the same length. the tighter the coil, the shorter the hair appears! it most often is seen in hair straightening out and appearing longer when wet. this is referred to as shrinkage.)

the important thing to know is that hair tends to stack upon itself as it gains volume. this is how afros are possible! this also results in larger and more simplified shapes. TLDR, hair starts with big shapes (straight and wavy textures), becomes more complex in silhouette as the pattern turns to curls and then goes back to simple large shapes with afro-textured hair! it's like a curve!

these examples are images of my own hair, which is 3a/3b depending on who you ask. these little hair tufts simply don't happen for people with type four textures!

*dry brushing hair isn't a good idea for hair textures over 3c, by the way! it can damage hair severely. even i am careful with it.

here's a really helpful post by writing with color on describing hair in fiction

some really important things to remember:

exotic, nappy, or 'bad hair' are never descriptors that you should use to talk about black hair. ever.

touching someone's hair is a big deal. if you want someone to touch a black character's hair, please ensure they ask for consent or are already a close friend first--many of us (myself included as a mixed person in a white area) have terrible experiences with being pet like animals by strangers or acquaintances. most black people will not just let you touch their hair for fun.

you can't wash curls or coils every day!!! they will dry out. just thinking about the idea of it is making my hair recoil with fear

don't associate any hair texture with neatness or not. every single hairstyle can be made messy or neat. curls are not intrinsically messier than straightened or braided hair, you get me?

please send me any specific questions you have, especially if it relates to the process of drawing and coloring itself! <3 alright!!!! hope this is helpful anon!!

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After midnight.

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then eventually, we'll forget!!

[magic0lotl]

Giant stickdoodling

[magic0lotl]

Taking the red hats off of half a dozen gnomes and loading them carefully, tearfully, into a revolver.

[magic0lotl]

Paranormal siblings... What crimes have they committed

(Murder, actually)

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Grown ass man

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Things I drew yesterday

DRAMA QUEEN GREEN LET'S GOOOOO

[magic0lotl]

faces and TCO original meme under the cut <3:

[magic0lotl]

— roach-works