Skin color- how much does it matter?

Prism, when I was growing up in a Saudi oil compound, I saw people who had the skin color you describe, as well as ritual face scars. The oldest natives of the Arabian peninsula vary from Semite to African in appearance, as it's a crossroads between Africa and Asia.

Hey Prism, the 2nd has pure black skin, that looks really good.
Heh, my Sheelah was designed to have a brown skin so dark brown, that it is near black. But that is difficult to paint the drawing, one does not see the black pen outlines anymore (or nearly not) .

I know how that is Yeee. That's why when I doll those who have black skin,mostly I go for the darkest grey skin color if they have it.

Can you switch to lighter colored lines?

If Elfricans existed on the World of Two Moons, where would they live? I found a fan site that offers maps of the WoTM (although I can't vouch for their accuracy):Maps of WoTM
There are clearly three continents which overlap the equator. Somewhere there should be a large population of humans with African features and coloring. I recall seeing a few of them, like Cam Triompe, in and around the Forevergreen.

An Elf community that included a Leetah-level healer would logically give themselves dark skin in order to live in a sunny area.

Should they be in contact with humans, it would also be logical to change their features to match those of their human neighbors. This would make it easier for them to relate to the humans.

@Trollbabe: I cannot switch to a lighter color, because I do everything with traditional pen and paper, not with computer. Every outline vanish with ultra dark brown. One can let the outlines which part one section of the body from another stay white, but this is horrible work to do, and the elves can`t be drawn too small, because of all the facial details

@Prism: Yes dark grey is a possibility, but one must always explain, that the skin is meant to be black.

More Elfrican

Last for now. And on the subject of 'Cultural Appropriation',I'm sick of that whole mess! Yes,it's horribly insulting to dress in black/yellow face and mock a whole culture,on the other hand,I'm sick of SJW/PC Police screaming about white people wearing dreadlocks,cornrows or certain vaguely ethnic clothing. Braids belong to every culture and race,dreadlocks were known in Europe thru the Celts,body painting is likewise universal(woading/mehendi) as were tattoos. For God's sake,it's petty divisiveness like this that keeps poor people like the elite want!

The problem is not stemming from the fact that people are wearing it.

The problem is stemming from the fact that certain groups can wear it as a fashion and nobody blinks or it's complimented. Other groups wear it as part of their culture and are told not to. Or that it's unprofessional. This has been an issue with dress codes for ages. Laws against discrimination for ethnic hairstyles are having to be passed because of it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination_based_on_hair_texture

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_hair

As for tattoos, tattoos are fine.  Nobody complains about tattoos in general.  It's when you get a tattoo of something that in a different culture that has significant meaning, that's when the critisism comes up. I've seen it mostly with these types.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C4%81_moko

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pe%27a

Yeee wrote:

@Prism: Yes dark grey is a possibility, but one must always explain, that the skin is meant to be black.

Likely due to the dark grey coloration usually being a hallmark of the Drow, which they'd likely get mistaken for.

Kojiyumi, we geezers remember an actress named Bo Derek, a sex symbol of the 1980s. She wore her long blonde hair in braids and beads in the movie "10" in 1979, inspiring much imitation.

When I was a teenager, I decided to grow my hair long. My parents had always lopped it off boyishly short, probably because my mother had trouble brushing the "snarls" out of my thick curly hair.

Once I grew my thick hair long, it didn't hang down straight. White girls were supposed to have smooth, flowing hair. Boys made fun of my hair. Girls pressured me to get it straightened. One of my uncles told me I looked like the "N' word.

I did get it straightened once, at a salon in London, while we were on vacation. They soaked it in a chemical that made it smell like a wet dog. Then I had my head baked under a hair dryer for what seemed like forever.

The results lasted until I washed my hair, a process which momentarily provoked the wet dog smell until I rinsed it all out. Never again.

I continued to have long curly hair for the rest of my life. "The change" has caused it to thin so much on top that I have to wear a cap to keep my head warm.

It's unfortunate that young people are forever pressured to look like whatever the gods of commercialism demand. This is especially hard on minority youth.

I was thinking of writing about Elfricans in my fanfiction thread, but I can't find it. Did I even start a fanfiction thread here?

Trollbabe wrote:

I was thinking of writing about Elfricans in my fanfiction thread, but I can't find it. Did I even start a fanfiction thread here?

No, You havn't, Trollbabe. Your topics are listed HERE - no fanfic included.

I remember your "Cowl" ... would love to see you writing again.

Thank you, Embala! I'll have to start one eventually. I used to have one on the SoC.

Trollbabe wrote:

Can you switch to lighter colored lines?

If Elfricans existed on the World of Two Moons, where would they live?  I found a fan site that offers maps of the WoTM (although I can't vouch for their accuracy):Maps of WoTM
There are clearly three continents which overlap the equator.  Somewhere there should be a large population of humans with African features and coloring.  I recall seeing a few of them, like Cam Triompe, in and around the Forevergreen.

An Elf community that included a Leetah-level healer would logically give themselves dark skin in order to live in a sunny area.

Should they be in contact with humans, it would also be logical to change their features to match those of their human neighbors.  This would make it easier for them to relate to the humans.

Here's some good info about the maps:
http://elfquest.com/forums/?thread=8608

Thank you, Tymber!

For a long time, I tried to think of reasons why a tribe of Elves would have the coloring and facial fatures of African or Australian aborigines.

When I create a back story for these Elves, should I say that they resembled a High One who was a common ancestor?

Did a healer give them dark skin in order to resist sunburn?

Or did a healer make them look like the local humans as a diplomatic measure?

Finally, I realized the flaw in my thinking:

People, whether they be humans or imaginary creatures, do not need an excuse to be black!

If Caucasian is the standard of beauty, than any deviation has to have an explanation.

I can simply write about Elves who resemble native Africans and Australians.

Trollbabe wrote:

I can simply write about Elves who resemble native Africans and Australians.

Exactly!

Do it Trollbabe, make your own Elficans. If you won`t do it, who else will do it?

Thank you, Packmates!

My Elves will have ancestors who decide to live in an area that resembles Africa. This is not specifically the Forevergreen, or any area that has a history of Elf habitation.

The ancestors decide to live there because the land looks promising. They didn't leave home because it was on fire, because it was getting too cold, or because they were looking for something or someone.

Their plans were not reactions to the behavior of humans, Trolls, monsters, other groups of Elves, or palaces or pieces of palaces.

sounds interesting

Just settlers - making a livin on a new world ... sounds like a Trollbabe story ^^

So. I will bring it up in this thread - since we're talking how/why an elf might look the way they do.

So... this thought (not about elves, but trolls this time)... came into my head the other day.

We know that Cutter is the Blood of Ten Chiefs, right?

And it's mentioned that a Wolfrider's life span is often not a long one (rare to die of old age, more common to die of unnatural causes - such as humans or animals killing them).

So 10 chiefs. Let's say, 100 years each (just to keep the math simple).

By the time we get to Cutter, 1,000 years have passed between Timmoran (sp, I can't believe I forgot to spell his name!) to Cutter.

Now when we first see the trolls in the Palace. They're tiny. Small. Really small.

Would you say 1,000 years is enough for them to evolve from the tiny trolls they were to the large, husky trolls they became by the time we see them with Bearclaw?

I'd need to dig - but I am not sure if we saw trolls interacting with other Chiefs before Bearclaw - were they already big at that point, if so? Meaning less time for their evolution to take place?

From what I recall reading... somewhere... Bearclaw's lifespan was close to 1,200 years. Though he was also said to be one of the longest-lived wolfriders at that time (they have to live well over 100 given how many pebbles the Sun Village wolfriders had in their jar at Sorrow's End) And given the evolution of humans from first sight to current, I'd wager there was close to 10,000 years of time for the trolls to natural select to what they are now.

You are right, Koji. I remember that it was stated in the timeline that the crash happened 10,000 years before EQ #1.
Trolls have a much larger birth rate than Elves and thus more chances to grow and develop within 10 millennia. If I'd need more reason for their developement - it's likely that the Palace fueled their mutation, before and after the crash.

I don't remember any Trolls before Bearclaw's time in the comics, Tymber. No size comparison available.

I reckon Firstcomer Troll's size being about the same as modern trolls was a Wendy&Richard retcon,since the Firstcomer trolls were only knee-high to the High Ones. I always thought the trolls grew in size whilst the elves shrunk and as for the humans,well they might'v been australopithecus and around the time of Fire and Flight cro-magnon. And a thought on Elfricans, Dungeons and Dragons drow tend to be either jet-black,grey(various shades) or purple in color. They're not located in the tropics but rather underground and their features really aren't caucasian. Anyway,there's nothing stopping one from giving fantasy races any color in the rainbow. Personally,I go for the unusual colors with my fantasy races so as to differentiate them from humans,but it's yer prerogative.