‘Killmonger Locs’ Are Everywhere in Video Games. This Artist Is Sick of It

Danielle “Ebonix” Udogaranya, a technical artist with ten years of experience modeling Black hair for life-simulation games, says realistic coils and braids demand exhausting physical effort. Current hair-rendering code favors straight hair, causing textured Black hair to look stiff in titles like Tekken 8, Apex Legends, and The Sims 4. Initiatives such as Dove’s Code My Crown and EA’s free DLC aim to improve representation, yet industry tools still marginalize natural Black hair.