Quick reference for Ma'Jahrann, without and with patterns to show better her colors. While I often stylize her coat in art, the stylization isn't top accurate, so I thought I'd explore a more realistic take. On the pictures she's without her "hair" to show how the patterns work on her skull. For most of my Khajiit, the color of their head of hair just matches the coat underneath, it's the case for Ma'Jah.
Her braids follow her skull most of the way back and the main hairstyle I draw her with has five braids (two on the cheeks, three on the head) that follow her stripes. This is what they'd look like doodled on top of the mannequin here:
I typically draw them fully red, but a more accurate detailing would include golden or even white strands in the mix where the pulled hair is between the darker stripes! Also, here's how it's done:
The hair is parted and braided, after during which some weatherproof extensions are added to the very end of the braid. This is all tied together with a tight knot. The reinforced end is slipped into the piece of jewelry and looped over, and that loop (mostly extension) is then tied strongly, hiding the original tight knot and binding it all together.
This makes for a style that's long lasting and preserves her mane from the weather, dust etc of the outsides air. The obvious downsides is the effort: it takes a long time to set up and she can't do it herself! Once it's on, it can last for months and only needs to be redone when her roots have grown too long for the braids to sit nicely. When it's time to redo, the tip of each braid is cut and the jewerly reused. Hers are metal disks that look like moons.
