Black Girl Hair in Gaming Has Reached a Creative New Level
Thanks to the Open Source Afro Hair Library, the world’s first free database of 3D-modeled Black hairstyles, creative Black hair looks are coming to the gaming world in 2023.
A.M. Darke, an Oakland-based artist and UC Santa Cruz Assistant Professor, was fed up with the recurring problems with Black hair within gaming. Instead of waiting for a solution, She created one and recruited Black artists for what is now called Open Source Afro Hair Library.
Last April, Black gamers tried out the Shooter-RPG hybrid Outriders, and only four of the hairstyles through the selection were for black characters. The typical go-to styles for black gamers are Afros, thick locs, or maybe a low cut with a cool line on the side, and the Black community is getting tired.
Kahlief Adams, the host of the Spawn on Me Podcast, stated through Vice, “Black hair has been bad forever in games-from the worst box braids to the raggediest of dreads to even messing up naturals at this point.”
Open Source Afro Hair Library will function as a platform for a large variety of Black magic. The gallery will showcase Blackness’s vast array of versatility through gaming, animation, and other creative-made outlets. Darke plans to curate an approach against capitalism, racism and promote feminism through Black hair.
Artist @Solvrium creates the most gorgeous silhouettes. Phenomenal character design and styling for @afrohairlibrary pic.twitter.com/SYBdCJMIWu
— Open Source Afro Hair Library (@afrohairlibrary) August 6, 2021
Artist @_InvaderSkooge’s @afrohairlibrary series ‘Ready;made.’ features sculptural styles inspired by the natural world.
— Open Source Afro Hair Library (@afrohairlibrary) June 23, 2021
The details in each piece are critical to the artist’s concept: “Through the act of adornment, we make ourselves ready to face the challenges to come.” pic.twitter.com/6XnUMWrqTL
“I want to create a space that’s open for all Black folks to have this conversation about what we want this to be,” said Darke through Vice.
In 2019, Darke realized that Black Hair needed an open-source platform. Like every Black girl has to do when searching on Google for any style inspiration, she had to insert the term “African American” when scanning for Black Hairstyles on popular 3D asset marketplace websites. After being offended by the results, varying from hypersexualized Black women to models of animals, she knew it was time to take action.
To achieve the maximum variety of hairstyles, Darke has assembled an all-star team of creative artists. She wanted a way to support the artist, and with them creating their looks, they are showcasing their talent and being supported by several gamers and animators.
People are already in love with the library and are excited for the upcoming launch. Many have liked, commented, tweeted, and retweeted the work of several artists through the Open Source Afro Hair Library twitter.
this is gorgeous 😭💖 https://t.co/wcdt9nu9BV
— HexMix is Five Badgers💙 (@ArcanaSol) June 17, 2021
i’m already so obsessed with this account. LOOK AT THIS BEAUTY https://t.co/hhh1HVV2p1
— Rosa Francesca (@RosaFrancsArt) June 18, 2021
Such an amazing project for an open source database of afro hair textures and styles, something that was sorely missing from asset stores across the internet. https://t.co/DEEqA0QItA
— shane yach (@tipsheda) July 22, 2021
To see more of what these artists and A.M. Darke have up their sleeve, tune into the Open Source Afro Hair Library, expected to launch on Juneteeth 2023.
