‘Killmonger Locs’ Are Everywhere in Video Games. This Artist Is Sick of It
The Black Panther villain’s hairstyle has become a default for Black video game characters because it’s easy to code. Danielle Udogaranya is changing that.
Udogaranya, also known as Ebonix, is an artist who has dedicated over a decade to creating custom content for life-simulating video games. However, she finds the ongoing issue of underrepresented natural Black hairstyles in games irritating. The technical challenges involved in crafting intricate digital hairstyles, such as locs, braid, and kinks, have led to the perpetuation of the "Killmonger locs" style, a stiff and short-dreaded look inspired by Michael B. Jordan's character from Black Panther.
This style has become a default choice in many games, including The Sims 4, Tekken 8, Spider-Man 2, Apex Legends, and Horizon Zero Dawn. The primary reason for this lack of variety is that textured hairstyles in games are coded for straight hair, making it challenging to create natural Black hairstyles with the desired look and movement.
Udogaranya's solution is a plug-in for Blender, an open-source 3D creation software, which she developed to simplify the process of creating diverse hairstyles, including locs and kinks. This tool allows creators to easily transform curls into coils, locs, and other textured styles. Udogaranya hopes that her tool will help eliminate the time, effort, and financial barriers that creators face when working on Black hair representation in video games.
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