Borrowed armor wouldnt fit as well as a suit made for the wearer and wouldnt be as well balanced, so someone in borrowed armor would be more likely to have problems moving in his armor. Changes in characters clothing can help revealcharacter development. For a bigger image, just click on the link above. But that doesn't mean you can't deviate from these guidelines completely and do whatever you wish. This article was very helpfulcan you post some examples of showing versus telling when describing clothing? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 'There is a blog for every aspect of the writing journey.' A common (wood) elvish theme is to have lots of green tints, flowery elements and intricate embroidery. Clothing is one of the easiest and most immediate ways to establish an historical setting. Think noble King Arthur and his knights of the roundtable. The more outlandish the fantasy species your character is the more outlandish you can usually be with clothing, but familiarity is usually still a solid ground for a realistic feel, even if the universe and the creatures are completely unrealistic. - Diagonal lines: Diagonal lines aren't all that common in historic clothing and they usually only came in the form of neck lines, the edges of unbuttoned jackets or from large pieces of fabric being held up (think ancient Rome). Note that with the camouflage patterns it's best to use this style, but make them less randomized to avoid the military look, unless that's what you're going for of course. Another important function of clothing description in stories is to create an authentic sense of time and place. Otherwise they wont take you seriously as an artist.. Ill add it to my to do list . is because we get stuck on what things look like. Affordable . Helpful links to blog posts, articles, videos and guides are shared every day. This one is simple, right? Non-visual senses are big, too. These are usually a little trickier to do well as they can look familiar quickly, but it's a usually a good element to have at your disposal. Scarves as we know them today weren't really a thing in the middle ages (they were way different) and hoods pretty much came in the form of chaperons and liripipes (Google for reference if needed), not as part of a piece of clothing. The same goes for other types of technology that could realistically be incorporated into the design of your character's clothing. Great article. Community . Get an image of a blank shirt and simply draw the lines on it, it'll form a great base to work with. Never hose for men and probably never puffy breeches. Make it mandatory to hold up a piece of clothing. One way to deal with clothing is to not try to be unique. You can go for standard quasi medieval fantasy clothing. Blunt, Once quenched, the steel was re-heated to make it more resilient. It's also an indirect way to describe their physical appearance by examining how the clothes fit them. That also will help readers really experience things through their eyes.
160 Best Character description ideas | character description, fantasy Looking for a word - prince's clothes - English Language Learners Stack It really doesnt take much. Separate and enlarge it, turn down the Opacity of the layer . Hi Paige, thank you (and thanks for your question). Impoverished with children to care for, she uses her last money to give her husband a dignified funeral. If you want futuristic fantasy simply follow the sci-fi/futuristic tips more or mix and match both sides. Such simple things, but the clothes really helped show Jesus plight. Lets take a look at how clothing description indicates your characters identity, goals, and culture. Fashionably elegant and sophisticated. To add to the previous mosaic part stealth technology can provide great patterns. This idea of knights becoming lords was introduced in England by William the Conqueror. How does their attire reflect what they want, what they fear, or where theyre going? Richard the Lionheart, for instance, was celebrated amongst his peers for his ability to chop his enemys skulls down to the teeth. Pauldrons, gauntlets, and even leg armor were fashioned into elaborate designs. Ive always wondered that too! Dostoyevsky describes how Katerinas landlady, Amalia Ivanovna, dresses for the funeral: the table was properly laid at the time and fixed, and Amalia Ivanovna, feeling she had done her work well, had put on a black silk dress and a cap with new mourning ribbons and met the returning party with some pride. Finally there's all the little things that can make an outfit look more futuristic. Glasses, headsets, lenses, jewelry, belts and so on can all help sell the futuristic look. In a fantasy setting, you may be trying to conjure up a certain feel right off the bat based on how you describe a character's clothing (and the words you use to describe them). Id be willing to bet each of these items immediately brought to mind a semi-clear character. Each lesson breaks down the analysis of one component of a fashion collection, progressing from a consideration of the designer's technique and influences to the . The changes and improvements made by technology will often create new trends or alter old ones to the point you may as well consider them a new one, so depending on the technology available in your fictional universe you may wish to create a completely new trend. Consider this example from Hard Times. Are they overalls or coveralls? Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed last week. As the battle continued through the day, a rumor grew that Harold had died or fled the field, I forget which. It took leaving the Midwest to recognize it. (Cough-cough-cough.) Your articles are always very informative. The Victorian author Charles Dickens is widely regarded as a master of characterization, for good reason. Chapters 1 and 2 were pretty decent and I started chapter 4 with him dressing for the party. Again, I don't mean make your character walk around naked, but add elements of covering up or exposing certain areas of the body. I have a hard time describing my thoughts on content, but I really felt I should here. Further reading How To Write Fight Scenes. Blades hacking, slicing and puncturing, cutting open gaping wounds and severing limbs and heads from bodies. Fully geared up, you were a walking fortress.
How to Describe Clothing in Writing Without Boring Everybody So as a way of trying to control them and their behaviour, the code of chivalry and honour was introduced. To illustrate this let's take a standard men's suit as an example. Lets delve further into these ideas about describing characters dress: Think of your characters clothing like an actors costume in a play. But they could also dress in modest, inexpensive-looking clothes. Its all in the craft.Its good that youre here to learn how to describe clothing in writing, because its a powerful tool. - Use lines to break up a piece of clothing and create a kind of mosaic. You can immediately show a character is wealthy with descriptions of fine clothing. Here are five examples: 1. If youre good at talking clothes, you can sit this one out. Its something readers definitely appreciate, which I found with Pariahs Lament. In pre-thermometer times this was difficult as you can imagine, so instead, armorers observed the colour of the heated steel. On occasion, Abi pretends to be a poet. This is often enough to make something look more futuristic, especially if used on something that looks glossy, shiny and/or smooth. Adding these other bits of lesser-known fantasy armor to your stories can really add extra depth to your worldbuilding. Heres how to describe clothing in writing to show your readers the world to which your character belongs. Mail was particularly effective against glancing blows. But there is so much more to the experience of clothing than that. Impress someone with my indifference? Try some colour. No problem! So its unsurprising to see soldiers wielding swords and axes and shooting bows. You find that its about more than throwing out fashion terms and listing articles of clothing. In some cases because they simply didn't have the technology for it, in others because it was too expensive and/or time consuming for the average person. - 'Stealth'. Excuse the on hold background music. Or one who was forever wearing poorly-fitted clothing that appeared to be handed down from friends? As well see below, one of the best things about using medieval armor in a fantasy story is the freedom to elevate it in some way. Wearing a suit of armor was like being in your own private world. clothed and we should definitely be using them to portray our characters personalities. I'll make a separate point for sci-fi/futuristic clothing and fantasy/historic clothing. The shrewd king essentially licensed out parcels of his land as rewards to his warriors in exchange for their military service. Using the work of Alexander McQueen, this unit guides students through the analysis of a fashion collection, introducing them to the critical language and methodologies needed to evaluate fashion design and runway presentation. - Mix cultures. Sometimes they're more interesting and lovable than the main characters themselves and end up stealing the show., Secrets. What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. A scarf for example might be too hot for some areas, but it's obviously easy to leave those out. Improving Google Rankings With Keywords And Content, Tips On How To Make An Essay More Engaging, A fantasy writers guide to weaponry Richie Billing, A fantasy writers guide to Castles and Keeps: part one Richie Billing, The Life of the Medieval Lord - Richie Billing, How To Create Your Very Own Living Breathing Fantasy World - Richie Billing, Fantasy Races - The Ultimate Guide To Elves, Orcs and Dwarves | Richie Billing, Killer Diseases of the Middle Ages | Richie Billing, Medieval Cannons: The Essential Guide | Richie Billing, On Writing: Fantasy Without Magic Of Metal and Magic Publishing, The Lives Of Medieval Peasants - Richie Billing, Fantasy Weapons - Medieval, Magic And Other Types - Richie Billing, Great Examples Of The 5 Senses In Writing, 5 Mistakes Men Can Make Writing Women Characters, The Power of Words: Essay Writing Techniques, Mastering Body Language With Former FBI Agent Joe Navarro, A Lawyer's Perspective On Writing Fantasy, Do you want to grow your mailing list, check out. I never thought of there being a uniform for Midwestern ladyness. For fantasy stories to be more believable, we need to understand how it interacts with our characters, especially if theyre enchanted. Examples of the prior are Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey and to some degree Star Wars and Tron. Yet Dr. Urbinos status as a respected doctor is earned he has nothing to prove by dressing smarter.
Clothing creation guide - Roll for Fantasy How to Describe Clothing in a Story (with Examples) | Now Novel Will using real-world cultural vocabulary in a fantasy setting Military service was always well-rewarded and violence applauded. So why not join the gang? Richie Billing writes fantasy fiction, historical fiction and stories of a darker nature. I love to wear baggy trousers in summer. A scarlet pantsuit. The padded material could absorb blows from blunt weapons and provided some protection from cuts, but against well-forged weapons they were useless. For example, a meticulously dressed character who is discovered in a disheveled and poorly dressed state. Jeans and a tee it was. Then this is their category. That was the theory. This is great! 2012 - Sci-fi and fantasy don't necessarily have to be futuristic and historic respectively, but they're commonly associated as such, so for the sake of simplicity that's what I'm going with for the purposes of this guide. However, you can tell your reader interesting things through a mismatch: A wealthy character might show off their expensive clothing. Press J to jump to the feed. But you may run into difficulties when it comes to the practicalities.
How to design clothes with a sci-fi feel | Creative Bloq And if you dont write historical fiction? It makes for a more entertaining read. Like all forms of exposition, your goal is to deliver this information without pulling the reader out of the story.
100 Male Fantasy Outfit Concepts & Designs ideas | fantasy clothing "Garb" or "dress" (without an article) is a rather drab abstract noun for what a person is wearing. He's had over a dozen short stories published in various magazines and journals, with one adapted for BBC radio. Mail was lightweight and flexible. Either way, their goal is to be desirable, whatever desirable means in this situation. One specific form of descriptive writing that particularly affects setting and characterization is the portrayal of characters' clothing. Theyre the kind of thing that often happen organically, but you can actually make use of character secrets to make your stories better. They should be doing that. First and foremost we need to know who we're designing for. Whether its a beekeeping suit, climbing helmet, knee pads, or sun-protective fabric, what your character wears provides a clue about whats at stake in the coming scene. Instead of a nobleman being described as wearing red silk slippers, parachute pants, a bejeweled cloth belt, a flowing blouse and an ascot; you can simply describe him as wear very fancy and extravagant clothing befitting his high status in society. So this really reaffirmed that approach for me. Those of us who dont get all jazzed about writing clothing descriptions often fail to consider that a good wardrobe has layers. But if you do want some guidelines, inspiration or just help this guide'll hopefully provide it. Join Kickstart your Novel and get professional feedback on your first three chapters and story synopsis, plus workbooks and videos. But even regular elements can help with this. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. As I write this, I am wearing jeans that are too big, a gray t-shirt I inherited from a former roommate, and a pilled hoodie from a lighting vendor that works with my friends husbands company. Pingback: The Life of the Medieval Lord - Richie Billing, Pingback: How To Create Your Very Own Living Breathing Fantasy World - Richie Billing, Pingback: Fantasy Races - The Ultimate Guide To Elves, Orcs and Dwarves | Richie Billing, Pingback: Killer Diseases of the Middle Ages | Richie Billing, Pingback: Medieval Cannons: The Essential Guide | Richie Billing, Pingback: On Writing: Fantasy Without Magic Of Metal and Magic Publishing, Pingback: The Lives Of Medieval Peasants - Richie Billing. Normally I dont dress characters with such complex clothing that takes more than a few sentences to describe but the vest was inspired by a picture I saw and it took at least a paragraph to describe. I second the idea of describing the reactions of the characters to the city. Lets talk about how to use clothing description as a storytelling tool, how to dress your character for their personality and setting, and how to make clothes interesting to anyone. For example, a shy person will often wear 'regular' clothing, clothing that isn't too bright or outgoing in both design and colors. It can genuinely be tough to come up with cool ideas for epic fantasy armor without drifting back to things that weve seen in the likes of Dungeons and Dragons, The Elder Scrolls and movies like Lord of the Rings. Chausses / Chauces (15th century) Pantaloons; padded hosen for the legs, often worn under chainmail or plate armor. For instance, if I'm reading a story and the narrative mentions jeans right off, I'm thinking mid twentieth century or later (while dungarees would be late nineteenth . All of these advancements will become more and more common as time goes on, so it'd make sense for them to be part of our clothing in the future.