Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. Another type of cheap armor, one up from gambesons, was boiled leather, also known as cuir bouilli. Thanks Benjamin! And if you want more, this documentary is excellent. Maybe your character heads out on the town wearing a daring leopard print jumpsuit, only to have their best friend immediately ask where they got the kitty costume.. If there is one thing I hope you take from all of this, its that none of this is about describing what a character looks like. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. - Change lengths. A few small details of clothing may distinguish your characters from each other, highlighting their personalities. There are some elements which are common among most works of fiction when it comes to clothing, with these elements in mind it becomes a lot easier to turn the clothing we wear today or wore throughout history into a futuristic or more fantasy oriented equivalent. Give your wealthy character a pair of Louboutins and dress your non-wealthy characters in hand-me-downs. Use fashion and clothing history archives if necessary. - Taboos and nudity. Or it could be that they want to be charmed by their own image when they look in the mirror. So let's delve deeper into the details of how to actually figure out what your character wears. How to describe scenery ? : r/fantasywriters - reddit.com Thanks Chuck! With historical fiction one interesting aspect is to bring back the reader to that time period. 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. It may be apocryphal, but Harold Godwinson is said to have done just that at the battle of Hastings in 1066. A vintage polka dot dress with a sweetheart neckline. Its fun to play with power in clothing, because it's a relative concept. Sweaters or jumpers? In battle, you are trying to strike a moving target, so mail was sufficient as most blows were glancing ones. An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. "A dress" (or using "the" to refer to a particular "garment") means an item of clothing that is normally worn by women. 2012 - You can immediately show a character is wealthy with descriptions of fine clothing. - Gadgets, hair styles and accessories. Such simple things, but the clothes really helped show Jesus plight. How do they change, and how does their clothing reflect that change? You find that its about more than throwing out fashion terms and listing articles of clothing. Also, don't feel like you have to include every point I've made. It's easy to try this out too, at least the simple line version. For example, think about a wealthy person and how that person might dress. "Garb" or "dress" (without an article) is a rather drab abstract noun for what a person is wearing. For example, a meticulously dressed character who is discovered in a disheveled and poorly dressed state. Your article is really great. They're the Robin to your Batman, the Luigi to your Mario, the Samwise Gamgee to your Frodo Baggins. )Secrets might not be something youve specifically thought about when youre drafting a story. It would have been extremely warm too. When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. Fashionable: Clothes representing a current style in fashion. I love to wear baggy trousers in summer. I'll allow my fangirl side to shine for a second and use the Legend of Korra as an example of how mixing styles can work amazingly well. These aren't the only elements either, pretty much every part of clothing changes with the times and depend heavily upon what's fashionable at the time. Another benefit to chain mail, a point which can slip the mind of writers, is that it was cheap and efficient, able to accommodate different-sized warriors, unlike expensive plated armor. Both doublets and chain mail were worn in conjunction with plated armor for that added protection, particularly for areas plate could not cover, such as arms and the groin. They could withstand high-velocity strikes from a javelin or lance, driven home by somebody charging forwards on horseback. Stockings, long gloves, scarves or separate layers of clothing make a huge difference. Use the Character section of the Idea Finder to develop quick story ideas and flesh out your storys cast. Without decriptions of the clothing it's a bit boring, the novel becomes a list of people the reader can't imagine doing things. An owl, a real owl! Because it actually is possible. Or at least they know what century theyre in. As a friend told me, Wear jeans and glasses and have a favorite pen. How to describe clothing: 6 simple tips Use clothing to show status and position Build (or thwart) expectations using clothing descriptions Describe clothing to contrast character personalities Show clothing to avoid over-relying on telling Change clothing to highlight character development Use clothing details to create authentic setting If you stopped to think about it, you may even notice yourself imagining things as specific as age, hobbies, and ambitions. If you want futuristic fantasy simply follow the sci-fi/futuristic tips more or mix and match both sides. Because like all other character details, its not enough to paint a picture. First and foremost, remember that clothing description is still storytelling. I really loved this article, but I have one question, it was very helpful. If you look at popular works of fiction you'll find two trends, one is the simplistic and often tight-fit look and the other is the more over the top and extravagant look. Stealthy clothes bring to mind burglars clad in black outfits and soft-soled sneakers. You can even use different pieces of clothing to cover up body parts differently. Does your character need to hide? Also bear in mind that not all clothing descriptions have to be presented as She put on x or He was wearing y. You can draw your readers attention to an item of clothing by having your character draw on their jeans or fiddle with their collar. I second the idea of describing the reactions of the characters to the city. Make it look very clean and smooth and it immediately feels more modern. Heres a cool video on making leather fantasy armor by YouTuber, Prince Armory. Youre working essential details into the narrative at the moment when they are most relevant. She also writes for film and television with her brother and writing partner, Phil Wurdeman. One reason clothing descriptions can start to feel like a tedious laundry list (see what I did there?) Leonidas in 300, for instance, almost certainly wore a helmet in the battle with the Persians! But they could also dress in modest, inexpensive-looking clothes. The shrewd king essentially licensed out parcels of his land as rewards to his warriors in exchange for their military service. Fashion trends come and go and they often return later, albeit in a slightly different form. 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. Its because concrete details are incredibly effective in communicating abstract concepts. Or are you writing a spy character who dons Lululemon to infiltrate an upscale yoga studio? And well dip back in time to look at medieval armor and how it was used and crafted. One of her poems is (legally) stamped into a sidewalk in Santa Clarita, California. Stylish. So sometimes all it takes to create futuristic clothing is to take a trend that has passed, alter it slightly and you're done. We all love a character with a cool set of fantasy armor: the baresark Rek from David Gemmells Legend with his enchanted coat of bronze, or Tomas from Raymond Feists Riftwar Cycle with his gleaming white dragon plate which gifted him incredible power. A few easy changes are to make one side longer than the other, so basically creating a diagonal cut instead of the standard horizontal one. It's what we're slowly doing today. Thanks, Sana. That decorative belt? To navigate your way through this guide, just click the links below. How to design clothes with a sci-fi feel | Creative Bloq This can be a very effective way if your universe is based on an existing culture. One major element that makes creating more futuristic clothing easier is to make sure it doesn't look familiar, to make sure it doesn't look like something you'd come across today. That's why it's valuable to learn these terms. "White tunics" have been worn from 2016 to a good forty thousand years ago. Youre not infodumping. And if you need a place to organize your complex responses, I recommend Dabbles Character Notes feature. Just click this link and dont even think about touching your wallet. Only the most sophisticated, Dr. Urbino among them, wore their ordinary clothes. Your email address will not be published. That works. This usually involves dresses from some time pre-renaissance and a tunic or shirt paired with trousers for men and women who are doing warrior stuff. Some materials are used more than others, some colors are more desirable than others and some accessories are more desirable than others and these all changed throughout time. The same goes for other types of technology that could realistically be incorporated into the design of your character's clothing. Like Borges would say, His writing offers a masterclass in how to describe clothing in stories. What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. Clothing description is something I have to actively choose to create, too. Heres how to describe clothing in writing to show your readers the world to which your character belongs. And lets not forget the trusty steed. As such, the contemporary tales that have followed, like Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Dungeons and Dragons and everything in between, have paid homage to that era. In fact, you should be putting lots of thought and development into protagonists because thats who the story is about.But how much thought have you given to your tertiary characters? I used to be under the mindset that describing attire was boring and it was better to let the reader fill in those details but especially with the novel Im working on now, I have used clothing to portray more about their character. Below, well take a look at the armor found in the fantasy genre, covering everything from chain mail to helmets. Chapters 1 and 2 were pretty decent and I started chapter 4 with him dressing for the party. The landladys dress highlights, by contrast, the downward spiral of Katerinas fortunes, and she responds to the landladys prideful clothing with her own wounded pride: Look at her, shes making round eyes, she feels that we are talking about her and cant understand. Get an image of a blank shirt and simply draw the lines on it, it'll form a great base to work with. In this scene, Gradgrind returns home to find his children playing outside: A space of stunted grass and dry rubbish being between him and the young rabble, he took his eyeglass out of his waistcoat to look for any child he knew by name, and might order off. Its not an aspect of character design that bubbles up naturally from the depths of my creative soul. The reader does not need the full outfit in one go. They also wear talismans, jewelry, and other objects. Nov 28, 2022 - Explore Anung V's board "Character description" on Pinterest. Plain: Ordinary clothes of one color like gray, beige, or black. Similarly, find out (or, if youre creating a fantasy world, create) the garments your characters would wear in a particular time and place. Youre still not off the hook. Why this arguably works better is the details of getting dressed tell us multiple details about Gem. But they werent administrators. If Im wearing lipstick with no plans of going out, one of two things is happening: Im in a great mood or Im feeling like I have zero control over my life and failure is inevitable. Describing clothes? : r/writing - reddit Think the previously mentioned Fifth Element and Hunger Games clothing versus Star Trek, Star Wars and so on clothing. Blades hacking, slicing and puncturing, cutting open gaping wounds and severing limbs and heads from bodies. Reddit - Dive into anything Here, for example, Hilary Mantel describes a Cardinals residence being plundered by the Kings men in 1529 England, in her historical novel Wolf Hall. (Find out more). For fantasy stories to be more believable, we need to understand how it interacts with our characters, especially if theyre enchanted. Added on top of that the condition that they had to supply him with soldiers too. You may have seen steelworkers doing this after forging the likes of blades and horseshoes. Chest plates had grand etchings. - Christine, on How to describe clothing in a story (with examples), 8 story hook examples (how to grab attention), Story structure examples: How to create payoffs for readers, How to describe to immerse readers (complete guide), How to write deep POV: 8 tips and examples, 9 exposition examples: How to write clear introductions, How to make a plot captivating: 7 strategies, Writing great characters: 5 lessons from modern novels. - Another way to use color is to make things seem like they're glowing even if they're not and to use gradients. This includes items like steel-toed boots, heavy denim, or tech-forward, snag-resistant superhero spandex. Maybe your character is snuggled up in their fleece pajamas while the blizzard rages outside. 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. Thus, "a dress" is inappropriate for a (male) prince, unless he is pretending to be a woman. "He was wearing a spandex tank top" is an improvement from just mentioning that your character's wearing a shirt; but consider adding the element of color: "He was wearing a black-and-yellow-striped spandex tank top.". Pingback: A fantasy writers guide to Castles and Keeps: part one Richie Billing. for any particular parts of an outfit. 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'm sort of into historical armor so would get a kick out of finding an excuse to talk about vambraces/rerebraces, spaulders, etc. You may have imagined a man in an expensive suit or a woman in designer clothes. Thanks Liv, Im glad you found this helpful. Excuse the on hold background music. The only cloak in the world made with silk spun by the cat-sized spiders that live in the forbidden mountains. Which brings me to my next point. However, you can tell your reader interesting things through a mismatch: A wealthy character might show off their expensive clothing. When youre shopping for yourself, you know what you like but you dont know how to describe it. Youre more than welcome to join us and wed love to have you on board. The aim is to arm you with what you need to enrich your tales with brilliant detail. See more ideas about fantasy clothing, anime outfits, character outfits. This may seem like a tricky thing to do as there's so much out there already, but it can often be as simple as simply changing a texture, the patterns used or the amount of fabric. Subtle clothing changes can signal character development quite effectively in some scenarios. And what does she put that cap on for? Amalias dress thus comes across as insensitive to her; malicious even. This one is simple, right? Meanwhile, the character who works two jobs while going to school full-time might scour the Goodwill rack for a designer tag to help them fit in at the same party. As knights became fully armored, so did their mounts. Instead of saying, for example I saw that the station gate was coming down and the last train was about to leave, you could say The station gate is already screeching closed. This article was very helpfulcan you post some examples of showing versus telling when describing clothing? The clothes a person wears tellsus many things: their status in life, for example, or their cultural affiliation or identity. Richie also runs The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed, a podcast devoted to helping writers improve their craft. To make it futuristic you could change where the buttons are, they're normally quite low and form a v-neck line when buttoned up, how about moving them to the top and creating an upside down V shape at the bottom. 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 surrounding culture dictates what they cant wear if they want to be seen as free-thinking individuals. Maybe theyre hoping to impress the cool kids or please their parents. 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. - Use lines to break up a piece of clothing and create a kind of mosaic. They should be doing that. Theyre probably less concerned with how they look (unless they want to look intimidating) and more concerned with things like survival or victory. Improve this answer. Im struggling to properly figure out how to describe clothing for a fantasy setting Im trying to create. It really doesnt take much. The senses were deadened: sight limited, sound muffled, breathing stifled (depending on the type of helmet).
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