Besides knowing who we design for we also have to know what the rules for designing are within the universe of our characters. A man's padded undercoat worn under a doublet and over a shirt; a woman's (often padded) under-tunic or the skirt of her riding habit. 2023 NOW NOVEL CC. Character description may change over the course of a story to emphasize a characters arc. And of course, location provides a clue for what it takes to be comfortable in the world of your story. Details about fit, cut, and material go a long way when describing the clothing of a character who longs to attract. All cultures have dress codes to some degree, some more so than others and some more stricter than others, but every culture has a range of styles that would be considered normal, 'out there' and unacceptable to most. Knights were, indeed, hard to defeat in battle. I tend to avoid describing clothing. Excuse the on hold background music. A possible source of conflict for a story, perhaps! Fashionable: Clothes representing a current style in fashion. - Make things look glossy, smooth and clean. Sometimes they're more interesting and lovable than the main characters themselves and end up stealing the show., Secrets. You could introduce magical enchantments or ability-granting traits. They give you the chance to offer comic relief, a dash of wisdom, and just some good old fashioned friendship., Sidekick characters. Well, mostly. He's had over a dozen short stories published in various magazines and journals, with one adapted for BBC radio. We often express ourselves through our clothing, at least when we have the freedom to do so, so knowing who we're designing for is the first step in creating the perfect outfit for a character. Sweaters or jumpers? Get free books, an invite to my exclusive writing group, writing tools and guides and much more when you join my community. Also, don't feel like you have to include every point I've made. Cookie Notice 100 Male Fantasy Outfit Concepts & Designs ideas | fantasy clothing Clean, powerful strikes were needed to disable a foe wearing mail. These are deep questions. They can be important too.If you want to breathe life into your stories, it's time to give tertiary characters a little love. But thats the case wherever you go. From lowly serfs to great warriors, all could wear and fight effectively in chainmail. Choose A Chapter The Fantasy Genre And Medieval Armor Chain Mail Plated Armor Helmets Other Types Of Armor The Medieval Knight 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. Only the most sophisticated, Dr. Urbino among them, wore their ordinary clothes. Great article. Why this arguably works better is the details of getting dressed tell us multiple details about Gem. To illustrate this in a way we did with the futuristic shirt example let's take a standard medieval tunic and turn it into a fantasy-themed version. His writing offers a masterclass in how to describe clothing in stories. Adding them with intention can help increase tension, make twists hit that much harder, and keep your reader engaged., How to Describe Clothing in Writing Without Boring Everybody, Tertiary Characters: Giving Your Background Players Life, Sidekicks: The Loyal Companion Your Hero Needs. 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. clothed and we should definitely be using them to portray our characters personalities. They also wear talismans, jewelry, and other objects. Some wore a trapper a covering of full chain mailand down the line, some horses even had their own plated armor. Another similar and perhaps way more popular example of this is Steampunk. 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. Most picture the knight when we talk about plated armorrigid tin men that can withstand all manner of blows. Conveniently, a lot of high status positions come with outfits or accessories that telegraph a persons position in the hierarchy. Thanks Benjamin! Struggling with describing clothes for a fantasy setting. : r/DnD - reddit "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.". Game of Thrones/A Song Of Ice And Fire is one series that wonderfully explores fantasy armor and weapons. In battle, you are trying to strike a moving target, so mail was sufficient as most blows were glancing ones. Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. On occasion, Abi pretends to be a poet. Troubles with Clothing in Fantasy + Some Ideas - Brielle Andela Below, well take a look at the armor found in the fantasy genre, covering everything from chain mail to helmets. By playing around with this you quickly create very subtle, but more unique fantasy-themed items. The line could be thin or thick, glowing, metallic-looking or just plain, padded or smooth, patterned, decorated or simply a seem. Examples of the latter are The Fifth Element and The Hunger Games. Stiff with embroidery, strewn with pearls, encrusted with gemstones, they seem to stand by themselves. We therefore see in the fantasy genre characters equipped with grand helmets and beautiful pieces of plate armor. 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. Not to pile on, but dont forget to make sure you know which materials wereand werentavailable in the world of your novel. 60s-inspired. A common (wood) elvish theme is to have lots of green tints, flowery elements and intricate embroidery. Heres a cool video on making leather fantasy armor by YouTuber, Prince Armory. Odds are, youve got a character who dresses to stay alive. I mentioned my online writing group at the beginning of this guide. I once wrote about imbuing everyday objects with meaning because talisman create great opportunities for symbolism! Fancy dresses. Well also take a look at female fantasy armor and those used by knights, potential designs, and ways to help you find inspiration for creating your own. The senses were deadened: sight limited, sound muffled, breathing stifled (depending on the type of helmet). They are more common around the chest and torso in Asian cultures though, so keep that in mind when adding diagonal lines. Any suggestions on how to properly do this? In battle, you are trying to strike a moving target, so mail was sufficient as most blows were glancing ones. In both of these it was mostly the rich who had the extravagant clothing, which brings back the earlier point of how culture influences what a character might wear. The aim is to arm you with what you need to enrich your tales with brilliant detail. Ive always wondered that too! But it can also be fun to play with the confidence and ease that comes with wealth. This is great! If you arent keeping at least a few secrets from your friends and loved ones, are you really living? How to design clothes with a sci-fi feel | Creative Bloq In this section, Ive included some more guides on creating fantasy armor designs that you may find useful. Here are some classic characteristics you can draw out through clothing description. If you want futuristic fantasy simply follow the sci-fi/futuristic tips more or mix and match both sides. Here, for example, Hilary Mantel describes a Cardinals residence being plundered by the Kings men in 1529 England, in her historical novel Wolf Hall. Whats the respected uniform, and does your character wear it? Join Kickstart your Novel and get professional feedback on your first three chapters and story synopsis, plus workbooks and videos. Richie Billing writes fantasy fiction, historical fiction and stories of a darker nature. In pre-thermometer times this was difficult as you can imagine, so instead, armorers observed the colour of the heated steel. There's also the element of technology that has to be taken into account. Chausses / Chauces (15th century) Pantaloons; padded hosen for the legs, often worn under chainmail or plate armor. As well see below, medieval armor developed through necessitypeople needed to protect themselves from those wicked blades and needle-sharp darts. For example, if a character is going on a date, you could write: Gem wanted to look sexy for her date downtown (but not easy), so she changed into more comfortable clothes. Your character might also have a job or hobby that requires protective clothing. 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. In pre-thermometer times this was difficult as you can imagine, so instead, armorers observed the colour of the heated steel. Clean, powerful strikes were needed to disable a foe wearing mail. Use the Character section of the Idea Finder to develop quick story ideas and flesh out your storys cast. Its fun to play with power in clothing, because it's a relative concept. We even have the technology to create clothing without seems. A scarf for example might be too hot for some areas, but it's obviously easy to leave those out. It gives you an idea of the capabilities that armor can have. 28 First of all, beautiful dress and mask! 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. Youre not infodumping. 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? 160 Best Character description ideas | character description, fantasy Strips of leather were boiled in water, though some sources record oil and wax being used, and even animal urine. Achieving glory in battle was one way of earning a knighthood. Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed, We mentioned gambesons above. 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. It's your creation, your imagination and your time you use and spend, so make sure you use and spend it on something you enjoy. Or theyll be living off soda crackers and peanut butter for the next week because they drained their checking account for a suit to impress at their job interview. Or it could be that they want to be charmed by their own image when they look in the mirror. For example, fur usually wasn't used as a piece of decoration for clothing and if used at all was often worn around the neck and shoulders or underneath other (often hide) clothing to keep warm. Clothes can betray our greatest joys and our deepest insecurities. ). Those outfits can become iconic. Or is it really important for a reader to know the specific pattern? Chapters 1 and 2 were pretty decent and I started chapter 4 with him dressing for the party. Characters can also comment on or react to one anothers clothing, as long as the exchange reveals something about the world or relationship. What exactly are you trying to communicate about the character, setting, or situation? 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. A knight, by definition, was a lord. Is your central conflict a life-or-death situation? I tried to add as much variety as possible, but without turning the whole description into a mess. Understanding how to describe clothing in a story well will help you create fuller, richer character portraits. Even the non-conformists are influenced by societal norms. Lets talk about how to describe clothing in writing organically. Think armor, bulletproof vests, and bandoliers. Changes in characters clothing can help revealcharacter development. 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 . The only cloak in the world made with silk spun by the cat-sized spiders that live in the forbidden mountains. That fancy Ming dynasty dress looks completely different with exposed shoulders and that medieval set of pants look completely different if you turn them into shorts with exposed legs. An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. Without decriptions of the clothing it's a bit boring, the novel becomes a list of people the reader can't imagine doing things. 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. Medieval clothing description generator - Fantasy name generators A coat of mail was a complex web of metal rings, each locked with an iron rivet. I thought if I did that at the beginning of a chapter it would be better but I worry it will turn readers off. Lets take a look at how clothing description indicates your characters identity, goals, and culture. This can be a very effective way if your universe is based on an existing culture. Just click the button below to find out more. But it makes a good story. Subtle clothing changes can signal character development quite effectively in some scenarios. How to Describe Clothes in English - ESL Advice I don't mean make your characters walk around naked, but exposing (or covering) body parts in ways we don't today helps make ordinary clothing look different, which in turn helps sell the idea of it being futuristic. 80s-inspired. This article was very helpfulcan you post some examples of showing versus telling when describing clothing? Whereas a more confident or attention seeking person might seek out the edges of what's socially acceptable more or just wear more stylish and potentially more colorful or flamboyant clothing. Think touchable fabrics and the light scent of lavender soap. Very informative. In reality, a medieval lord could pretty much do what they liked.