Dove wants increased representation in the digital world, leading the global personal care brand to launch a guide to help designers create characters with Black hair textures and protective styles for video games.
“Code My Crown” — created with the help of Black game developers, artists, academics, and stylists — features instructions, personal insights, detailed references, and complete open-source code.
“In the real world, there is an incredible variety of Black hairstyles. But this is rarely reflected in the gaming world,” said Lead Guide Contributor and Founder of the Open Source Afro Hair Library (Osahl) A.M. Darke in the guide.
View this post on Instagram
Recent research indicates that 85% of Black gamers believe video games poorly represent Black hair textures, according to Dove. Additionally, around 80% of Black gamers report feeling excluded, discriminated against, or inadequate when they do not see accurate representations of themselves.
In 2020, Darke founded the Osahl, a free database featuring 3D images of Black hair created by Black artists, AFROTECH™ previously reported. Before Osahl, 3D asset marketplaces — where animators and 3D artists could browse models for their projects — often displayed racist depictions of Black people.
“When Black hair is absent from the games we play or is consistently low-quality, it communicates that Black players and our culture are an afterthought, that our stories aren’t worth telling,” Darke added in Code My Crown.
Dove is also calling on Unicode to include natural hair textures and protective styles in the emoji library. While 92% of the global population uses the nearly 4,000 emojis currently available, there is a notable lack of representation for Black hair textures and styles.
“When we see ourselves in the media we consume, we feel seen and celebrated,” said celebrity stylist Nai’Vasha Grace, who helped create Code My Crown. “Everyone should be able to create an avatar that really looks like them in the games they play. We all deserve our chance to be heroes in the fictional worlds we create.”
Despite technological advancements, the representation of Black hair textures and protective styles remains limited, inaccurate, and often stereotypical.
In addition to her work with Dove, Darke recently co-authored a study that developed algorithms capable of accurately depicting coily Black hair in computer graphics, AFROTECH™ noted. The algorithms animate specific hair phases unique to afro-textured hair, including “phase locking,” “period skipping,” and “switchback.”
“In the Black community, our hairstyles are reflections of our history and culture, showcasing our creativity, innovation, and resilience,” Darke said in the guide. “Like the games we play, Black hair tells a story.”
