how to describe fantasy clothing

Youre already obsessing over hat styles and what the undergarment situation was at the time of your story. I tend to avoid describing clothing. Characters Wear More Than Just Clothes. He took off his helmet and a Norman archer made a lucky shot that put out Harolds eye and ended the battle.It should be noted that, with the helmets of the time, it wasnt necessary for Harold to take off his helmet, either to be seen or to get his eye shot out. He's had over a dozen short stories published in various magazines and journals, with one adapted for BBC radio. For example, the corset wasn't popular until the 16th century and while earlier versions can be found incredibly early they weren't common place. Consider this example from Hard Times. The shrewd king essentially licensed out parcels of his land as rewards to his warriors in exchange for their military service. For more information, please see our On the other hand you may wish to add layers for the same purpose. The description will describe a lot of clothing pieces, some of which you may not need depending on where your character lives. Clothing creation guide - Roll for Fantasy Reddit - Dive into anything 100 Male Fantasy Outfit Concepts & Designs ideas | fantasy clothing Sure, it helps your reader to know how you picture a character. s a fantastic image that Thomas Feichtmeir, AKA Cyangmou has put together. So this really reaffirmed that approach for me. Wearing a suit of armor was like being in your own private world. First and foremost we need to know who we're designing for. Think armor, bulletproof vests, and bandoliers. Also, don't feel like you have to include every point I've made. Who doesnt like being comfortable when killing? Richard the Lionheart, for instance, was celebrated amongst his peers for his ability to chop his enemys skulls down to the teeth. Thanks I will be following your blog from now one I just came across it today. The fantasy genre borrows an awful lot from medieval history. Examples of the prior are Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey and to some degree Star Wars and Tron. Clothing description in a story is useful because it often gives additional information about a character that you might otherwise tell. Using a squared, pixelated look or circuitry patterns usually works great too, which can even be combined with layered clothing to create the circuitry feel. A four-layer, bubble-gum pink taffeta skirt. How were women treated in the Middle Ages? Try some colour. The padded material could absorb blows from blunt, A Guide To Writing Stories That Genuinely Helps, "Helped me land my first book deal" - Jack Shannon, Author, Get More Writing Support From Fellow Fantasy Writers, A complete guide to worldbuilding, with a template. Or at least they know what century theyre in. You can weave clothing description into your process when using our story planner for writers. Lots of gear would have been looted. Like all forms of exposition, your goal is to deliver this information without pulling the reader out of the story. I didnt even know how to begin describing this piece of clothing. Youre not infodumping. Ive always wondered that too! I never thought of there being a uniform for Midwestern ladyness. Only the most sophisticated, Dr. Urbino among them, wore their ordinary clothes. The details create an authentic sense of a prominentcardinals dressin the 1500s. It was pretty easy to make, though laborious, and easy to repair. Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. The good news is that attire is not only important, its also kind of fun when you start digging into it. You suddenly know which details to include, which to leave out, and whether to call it a blood-red cloak or a goji berry wrap. To discover more awesome ideas, head over to Pinterest and just search for female fantasy armor. They can tell us what era they live in, and even a persons current state of mind or intent. The same goes for other types of technology that could realistically be incorporated into the design of your character's clothing. Here are five examples: 1. Medieval clothing description generator - Fantasy name generators Which brings me to my next point. If its 1st person you'll describe things from the POV of your character, and I find that that's different than if you're in, for example, 3rd person. We naturally link clothing and identity, which is why wardrobe is such an effective tool for building a vivid character. Technology goes beyond simply what kind of clothes could be made though, it also relates to how technology is incorporated into style in general. How to Describe Clothing in Writing Without Boring Everybody That works. You can use visual description to make a character more vivid in the readers minds eye. One character might demonstrate their power by showing up to prom in a designer gown. They can be important too.If you want to breathe life into your stories, it's time to give tertiary characters a little love. There is simply more characterization, not only of Gem but the other characters, too. Would the fashion designers in your fantasy novel make use of dragon scales? As soon as the actor enters stage right or left, we have an inkling of whether theyre a wealthy landowner or peasant, an elegant heiress or humble flower-seller. The first time I joined my family for our biannual Minnesota fishing trip after moving to L.A. from the Midwest, I found myself constantly losing my aunt and mother. 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.. Just click this link and dont even think about touching your wallet. If you arent keeping at least a few secrets from your friends and loved ones, are you really living? You dont need it to sign up. 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. Even the non-conformists are influenced by societal norms. Smart: Neat and tidy clothes but not necessarily formal. By using fur for decoration you quickly create fictional pieces in no time. An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. Something like this: As you can see, a knights armor is made up of a lot of different pieces. Privacy Policy. It took leaving the Midwest to recognize it. A coat of mail was a complex web of metal rings, each locked with an iron rivet. The aim is to arm you with what you need to enrich your tales with brilliant detail. Troubles with Clothing in Fantasy + Some Ideas - Brielle Andela You can also check out some of my other guides too, like: If you have any questions about this guide on fantasy armor, please get in touch. for any particular parts of an outfit. Some wore a trapper a covering of full chain mailand down the line, some horses even had their own plated armor. One reason clothing descriptions can start to feel like a tedious laundry list (see what I did there?) Thus his plain dress is, ironically, indicative of higher status. The appearance of armor was a big deal for knights. Cookie Notice Other clothing pieces could be various types of hats and scarves, (trench) coats and even something as simple as pockets or buttons used for fastening rather than as decoration to name just a few. Not quite. In this section, Ive included some more guides on creating fantasy armor designs that you may find useful. Besides knowing who we design for we also have to know what the rules for designing are within the universe of our characters. Our imaginations can do a surprising amount with just a few key details. - Use nudity. Which of these clothing types is your character most likely to reach for when starting their day? Clothing tells your reader a lot about your characters goals and motivations within a given scenario. This is often enough to make something look more futuristic, especially if used on something that looks glossy, shiny and/or smooth. Not to mention the social status of a person. If your character comes home and immediately sheds three layers of down and fleece, Im going to assume theyre not in San Antonio, Texas. This is further influenced/confirmed by the show Forged in Fire where the judges were a half step from putting their heads in their hands when a smith put his hot blade in water instead of oil to cool it down. Here, for example, Hilary Mantel describes a Cardinals residence being plundered by the Kings men in 1529 England, in her historical novel Wolf Hall. Another quick way of making standard clothing fantasy themed is by converting clothes form the relative future to one that could be created in whichever time period your universe falls under. Thank you for sharing this valuable information. For fantasy stories to be more believable, we need to understand how it interacts with our characters, especially if theyre enchanted. 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. Some had pointed snouts, the purpose of which was to deflect arrows when walking into arrow storms. Like Dostoyevsky, think how something as small as a characters change of clothing can affecttheir own or others behaviour. If your protagonist is donning a tri-cornered hat, loosening a corset, or strutting through town in a new toga, your reader has a good sense of time period. As far as guidelines go this is the first to be broken though, consider this one more of a starting point rather than something to necessarily end on. These are deep questions. How to create a fantasy costume design | Creative Bloq Not a Dabble user? Understanding how to describe clothing in a story well will help you create fuller, richer character portraits. Earlier I mentioned how it's important to try and keep a feel of unfamiliarity to futuristic clothing. The more you know about real clothing and armor, the more tools in your bag of tricks for describing awesome fantasy pieces. 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. And if you need a place to organize your complex responses, I recommend Dabbles Character Notes feature. And right at the heart of it were the leaders of societythe medieval lords. A band t-shirt. Through fashion terms you can understand the fundamentals of the fashion industry. Particularly in genres such as historical fiction and fantasy, clothing can help to create other worlds (or a long gone era of our own).

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