Character Inspiration

SHAVED HEADS

I think it would be interesting for my character to have a shaved head, with the context that she cannot be bothered to take care of her hair.

I could explore this by looking at bald caps, plastic or silicone, hair punching and flocking.

These are some brilliant reference photos of real shaved heads. These show the direction of the hair as well as the hair line from various angles.

Fig. 28

Fig. 28.1

It is good to see a reference of shaved hair but at a longer length - as I am unsure what length I would like to recreate. Her hair looks very different and the directions of the hair are more obvious while it is longer.

Much less scalp shows with the thicker hair.

fig 28.2

This is a great reference for the hair line from the side of a shaved head. This once again shows the direction of the hair.

Charlize Therons hair is thicker and longer than the previous references - could be useful to see different lengths if I decide to create a shaved head.

Fig. 28.3

Eyebrows

My model has big thick eyebrows and I thought it would be good to change her brows from the beginning. I am researching overplucked thin brows as these are linked to the lower class stereotype I am looking at.

I have considered creating an eyebrow similar to this, however if the brow was knotted, the 'knots' may be too obvious at the beginning of the brow if the hair is cut so short. I am also concerned that rather than looking like a sparse, overplucked brow, it would look like I had knotted the brow badly.

Fig. 29 and 30

This brow is the thin-ness that I imagine for my character, although longer than in length.

Fig. 31

These eyebrows would be ideal for my character although I would perhaps make them still slightly thinner.

PIERCINGS

I could imagine that my character may have facial piercings such as an eyebrow piercing. I could create this by creating brow covers which are thick enough to put an eyebrow bar through. The only issue with this may be that the brow cover would need to remain subtle, but thick eough to put a bar through. This is something I could look into further if I decide it is the look I want.

I like the idea of my character having large hooped earings similar to this character. My model only has her lobes pierced so I could look into getting some clip on earings or cuffs.

This is an example of excessive piercings - I think it is a really interesting reference for both piercings and tattoos. The amount of piercings and the placement of tattoos make me question and subconsciously judge the subject of the picture. Although it is stereotypical, I would perhaps find myself intimidated by this character if I saw them in the street. The shaved head and tattoos add to the feeling of intimidation and I find myself associating this look with Neo-Nazism. This is my immediate reaction and I have unfairly judged this person without knowing their personality or character. This is an excellent example of stereotyping and how you may judge someone by the way they look. This is really important for my character as I will be looking at stereotypes - it is important to consider the factors which create a feeling of unease in myself (shaved head, tattoos, piercings).

I also think the pattern of the tattoo'd eyebrows is interesting and something I could look at.

I could look at using tattoos on the bald cap under the flock (if I use this technique).

Fig. 32 - 33

Hair Styles

I am keen to experiment with a flocked bald cap to create a shaved head however I am still researching various other hair styles which could work for my character.

It could be interesting to create a partly shaved head - I would need to research this further as I am not sure how it wold be done. I could create a silicone piece which would sit over hair which is pincurled underneath and gafqat'd down and then hair layed around the edge perhaps. Further research required if I decide to develop this idea.

Fig. 34 & 35

Lady Sovereigns hairstyle from the 2000s is distinctive and reflects her rap style. Braiding could be something which I develop furhter into my designs - however hair styling is not a strength of mine and braids would only be efffective if they were tight and neat.

Fig. 36
I could decide to keep my models hair length and style it in a particular way, for instance in a Croydon Facelift (tightly scraped back) similar to this character Kelly from the programme Misifits. Her character is of low social class and she is represented as a chavvy character. This is ideal as I would like my character to be represented in a similar way. Her hooped earings and multiple gold necklaces add to this look.