I used to paint with watercolours a lot, and I illustrated this scene of a peacefully meditating curly haired girl back then. I recently got a scanner and I’m trying to figure out how to use it to put my drawings out there in new ways. So I decided to start with this drawing which has a softer and more peaceful feel than my other work.
I am obsessed with drawing curly hair girls, that is because I myself have kinky curly hair and I had a bad time growing up. Let’s just say I hated myself for how I looked. I was obsessed with princesses and heroines from animations and books, and 30 years ago in Iran, there was not much of a curly hair representation going on. I might talk about my experiences with how I saw myself in another post, they are bizarre.
When I was in my 20s, there was a beautiful movement by Black women who decided to celebrate their natural hair. Thanks to their efforts, I began to feel more accepting of my own natural hair. I still have the occasional doubts since it’s hard to overcome what is ingrained in you as a little kid.
But this movement made me want to illustrate characters with curly hair. That is because looking at illustrations has a big impact on the way I dream my world. And if I can use my own art to dream of inclusive beauty, why not.
Now, this is a lot of explanation for this simple piece of a meditating curly haired girl. I just wanted to give a background on why I like drawing curly hair when I simply wanted to share my work with you.
I’ve added this illustration to my collection on Redbubble if you are interested.
Speaking of representation and drawing, check out my post outlining the process of illustrating a curly hair profile photo.
You can also find me on Instagram where I post raw photos of my work. Come say hi!