#for other art i tend to use braid/twist/loc brushes to make it easier

[bastart13]

How do you draw Abodes Dreads/Braids? I'm a black creator and still (embarrassingly) struggle with them in the arcana style. (And in general XD) the way you draw her is gorgeous. And I must know the magic you poses.

Nothing to be embarrassed for! Unfortunately there's not much reference for black hair in the Arcana, so we all have to guess. I'd highly recommend looking at @kianamaiart and Simkray's hair brushes for other examples of stylising black hair (if anyone has examples of black hair in angular art styles, please share!!)

Anyway, I hope this helps!

Dreads and braids are both segmented styles which makes their basic construction similar, however dreads are stiffer and hang less than braids, which are quite heavy

She usually pulls her hair back so I only have to pay attention to the hairline, but I draw each dread as a somewhat stiff tube. Where it connects to the scalp I feather in short, fine lines for the edges/thin hair that's attached to the skin.

To show the twisted texture of dreads, I add curved lines along each one. For me, this is a good balance of detail for the style (though I can still get tired of lineart -_-)

Then, as a final detail, I give Abosede imperfect ends, topping most dreads off with a thin twist. This is optional as some dreads don't have this.

Then finally, for colour. I take reference for how they render ropes and add a series of light lines along each dread. Dreads don't reflect much light, so these are pretty faint.

For some braided hairstyles, you just replace the tubes I use for dreads with a simple plait pattern (as seen in Lucio's masquerade outfit). If you're aiming for cornrows, instead of the segments, draw the tubes along the scalp with sharp ends. Then fill them with a plait pattern. For extra detail, you can hatch lines in between the cornrows where the hair is pulled into the braid.

Braids have stronger highlights than dreads, and I tend to dot them in the centre of each part.

So this is my basic process. If you have more questions, feel free to ask!