It can be as simple as making a dress shorter, a jacket longer or sleeves wider and longer. Ive always wondered that too! We therefore see in the fantasy genre characters equipped with grand helmets and beautiful pieces of plate armor. Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. Describe these in passing to add visual colour and authenticity to your character descriptions. A few small details of clothing may distinguish your characters from each other, highlighting their personalities. Yet Dr. Urbinos status as a respected doctor is earned he has nothing to prove by dressing smarter. Lets take a look at some individual pieces of armor. How long do they need their clothes to last? Which is to say, if you write from the point of view of a character who thinks of clothing only in terms of the simplest descriptors, that's just fine. Mention the familiar swooshing of the neighbors tracksuit as he runs by the house every morning or how the aunts jacket always smells like cold air and pine needles. My story feels like its set more in medieval times, but I don't want my characters running around in full out tunics and. 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Can you imagine tweaking this to make your own set of fantasy armor? We see the contrast between the characters friends reaction and the advisory words of Gems aunt. Were trying to avoid, Isabell gazed out the window, and by the way, she was wearing a white terry cloth robe.. Choose A Chapter The Fantasy Genre And Medieval Armor Chain Mail Plated Armor Helmets Other Types Of Armor The Medieval Knight - Use nudity. This is a fun one. But it can also be fun to play with the confidence and ease that comes with wealth. Finally there's the aspect of fashion to take into account. There's also the element of technology that has to be taken into account. Theyre the lifeblood of any relationship. The answer can guide you towards certain fashion trends to inspire your characters wardrobe. Leather could be stitched into coats, or added to mail to provide added protection. I mentioned my online writing group at the beginning of this guide. This one is simple, right? Who is your character at the beginning of the story, and how can you dress them to establish their normal? In 2021 his debut novel, Pariah's Lament, an epic fantasy, was published by Of Metal and Magic. What would high stakes clothing look like in your story? Slog through another meaningless day in a world where nothing matters? Great points. 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. The more people that join this thriving group the better it becomes. Earlier I mentioned how it's important to try and keep a feel of unfamiliarity to futuristic clothing. Maybe theyre hoping to impress the cool kids or please their parents. What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. But it makes a good story. The front part of helmets, or the visors, were there to raise or open so the wearer could breathe during taxing hand-to-hand combat or scan around the battlefield. But the biggest challenge can sometimes be simply making something look futuristic or historic fantasy-ish, which is the main focus of this guide. What exactly are you trying to communicate about the character, setting, or situation? Once blue, it is quenched a second time, permanently fixing its hardness. 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. But they could also dress in modest, inexpensive-looking clothes. When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. A coat of mail was a complex web of metal rings, each locked with an iron rivet. - As far as colors go they often seem to be either toned down or bright and happy (or even over the top), depending on the style. Or else that she feels shamed by her Aunt and thus decides to be good. An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. Okay, maybe not.Secrets in real life can be a little trickywe all have thembut they have a way of blowing up in our faces, depending on how big they are.Your characters are really no different. Heres a video showing the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of leather armor against arrows. In battle, you are trying to strike a moving target, so mail was sufficient as most blows were glancing ones. Make them earn any sightof skin, Aunt P always said. Odds are, youve got a character who dresses to stay alive. Think the previously mentioned Fifth Element and Hunger Games clothing versus Star Trek, Star Wars and so on clothing. Think noble King Arthur and his knights of the roundtable. You can weave clothing description into your process when using our story planner for writers. Finally there's all the little things that can make an outfit look more futuristic. Creating new clothing styles for fictional worlds can be a daunting task, there's just so much out there already and so many elements to play around with to create a fun and unique style, no matter whether the art form is visual or not. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7bbcc198c936bc1af3fbda128514c44fcfc10f0513ea31cad7c21ae61ba0ab0.jpg. William the Conquerors society was shaped with war in mind. Otherwise they wont take you seriously as an artist.. Characters Wear More Than Just Clothes. 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. If your character comes home and immediately sheds three layers of down and fleece, Im going to assume theyre not in San Antonio, Texas. The complete opposite is true for fantasy and historic clothing. 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. The aim was not to cause any impediment to movement. I never thought of there being a uniform for Midwestern ladyness. Nylon and polyester fabrics weren't invented until almost the mid 20th century for example. Sometimes they're more interesting and lovable than the main characters themselves and end up stealing the show., Secrets. A pair of starched Wranglers. Play with the question of presentation and power! They are more common around the chest and torso in Asian cultures though, so keep that in mind when adding diagonal lines. If youre trying to learn how to describe clothing in writing, youre probably like me: Youve only pretended to know what organza is. 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. In the historical fiction books Ive read, none of the heroes took off their helmets unless they were knocked off, or bashed in. or the world theyre desperately resisting. The same goes for other types of technology that could realistically be incorporated into the design of your character's clothing. I mean what your character wears provides a clue to how they see themselves, how they want to be seen, and even how others see them. Chausses / Chauces (15th century) Pantaloons; padded hosen for the legs, often worn under chainmail or plate armor. You can go for standard quasi medieval fantasy clothing. Someone jumps down from a boundary wall wearing dark clothes and clutching a bag, that's enough of a clue they're a burglar, and if the protagonist now has to chase them then a description of the form those clothes take down to the buckles on the shoes is going to break the flow. This is great! A self-conscious kid tries to disappear inside their oversized sweatshirt. The fantasy genre borrows an awful lot from medieval history. But even regular elements can help with this. But for writers like me who get stuck in the white socks, green dress rut, heres a quick reminder: Details about fabric, fit, quality, and color are super effective when it comes to creating a sense of character, place, or moment. A warrior had to fight the enemy, and to fight his armor as well would be too distracting. Compare this, then, to Dickens description of Gradgrinds wife in the following chapter (Gradgrinds wealthy but poverty-claiming friend has just told Mrs. Gradgrind he was born in a ditch): Mrs. Gradgrind, a little, thin, white, pink-eyed bundle of shawls, of surpassing feebleness, mental and bodily; who was always taking physic without any effect, and who, whenever she showed a symptom of coming to life, was invariably stunned by some weighty piece of fact tumbling on her; Mrs. Gradgrind hoped it was a dry ditch? It took a while to get ready, with the help of somebody else needed, usually squires, who began with the feet and worked up from there. If you stopped to think about it, you may even notice yourself imagining things as specific as age, hobbies, and ambitions. 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. But let's take a step back and look at what kind of clothing is usually associated with futuristic settings. As time marched on, small plates of leather or iron were added to the mail to protect key areas, such as vital organs. - Use lines to break up a piece of clothing and create a kind of mosaic. That also will help readers really experience things through their eyes. Your character might also have a job or hobby that requires protective clothing. A lowly one at that, but one very much capable of climbing the ladder. Which was, indeed, a little weird straight off! Stylish: Elegant and sophisticated clothing to grab attention. 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 can be a very effective way if your universe is based on an existing culture. Katerina is affronted by Amalias fine dress because it is new and shows pride. The rope belt is solely decorative and a status symbol. - Mix cultures. Like Borges would say, What also worries me is that in Chapter 3 I used a lot of descriptions of the house, like the main characters room and then I had him go to various other rooms, looked at pictures of his family he has yet to meet so chapter 3 had the least story development or social scenes but the ones it had were good ones and I ended it with a scene that creates more development and story hype. When youre shopping for yourself, you know what you like but you dont know how to describe it. Also his mother was poor and anyone who knew that might wonder how he could afford such clothing so it hints at the actual story. 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. Technology goes beyond simply what kind of clothes could be made though, it also relates to how technology is incorporated into style in general. That cloth ribbon tied around their waist? In Gabriel Garcia Marquezs Love in the Time of Cholera (1985), we learn of a doctors status through his being the only person at an event who is not smartly dressed: Although it was not customary for invitations to request special attire, least of all for a luncheon in the country, the women wore evening gowns and precious jewels and most of the men were dressed in dinner jackets with black ties, and some even wore frock coats. And when Mother Nature gets involved, even the best suit of armor can have problems. Ideas are forever being shared and discussed. But thats the case wherever you go. - Break up clothing into more separate pieces and give them their own styles. Military service was always well-rewarded and violence applauded. Now on the other end of the spectrum we have fantasy clothing and more history based clothing. Lets take a look at how clothing description indicates your characters identity, goals, and culture. But as the show moved forward the suit got more ragged the jacket was open, then gone, the shirt cuffs undone, half the buttons undone and I think by the end when he was on the cross the shirt was gone. Chain mail is a great piece of fantasy armor to use in your stories purely because of its flexibility. And if you need a place to organize your complex responses, I recommend Dabbles Character Notes feature. We naturally link clothing and identity, which is why wardrobe is such an effective tool for building a vivid character. Im struggling to properly figure out how to describe clothing for a fantasy setting Im trying to create. When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. See more ideas about character description, fantasy fashion, fantasy clothing. It took leaving the Midwest to recognize it. 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. Richie also runs The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed, a podcast devoted to helping writers improve their craft. Thank you for reading our blog! A velvet scrunchie. One way is to avoid what we call filter words. The reader does not need the full outfit in one go. The fact Gem goes with jeans and a tee could suggest that she trusts her aunts advice. By playing around with this you quickly create very subtle, but more unique fantasy-themed items. This article was very helpfulcan you post some examples of showing versus telling when describing clothing? So below, well take a look at the relationship between the genre of fantasy and medieval armor. ^.^ With these two changes alone you already have an item that didn't exist in medieval times, but is familiar enough to work in a fantasy setting. Only the most powerful strikes could pierce such armor. Like Dostoyevsky, think how something as small as a characters change of clothing can affecttheir own or others behaviour. Not quite. If you arent keeping at least a few secrets from your friends and loved ones, are you really living? Similarly, find out (or, if youre creating a fantasy world, create) the garments your characters would wear in a particular time and place. But status can be communicated in more subtle ways, too. Youre not infodumping. Maybe a bit of both. Required fields are marked *. If youre good at talking clothes, you can sit this one out. With all that armor, its often assumed the medieval knight was immobile. True, it all depends on your purpose. Your article is really great. The bully Gradgrind is the type whod wear a waistcoat concealing an eyeglass for catching people out. Without decriptions of the clothing it's a bit boring, the novel becomes a list of people the reader can't imagine doing things. A scarlet pantsuit. Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed, We mentioned gambesons above. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 'There is a blog for every aspect of the writing journey.' How does their attire reflect what they want, what they fear, or where theyre going? Once blue, it is quenched a second time, permanently fixing its hardness. 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. Or it could be that they want to be charmed by their own image when they look in the mirror. Now, if you write historical fiction, its important to research the clothing of your chosen era. Get an image of a blank shirt and simply draw the lines on it, it'll form a great base to work with. Now this won't work for every piece of clothing of course, not everything has buttons or edges that allow for simple changes we don't already use today, so here are a few ways that are commonly used to make things look more futuristic: A jacket or coat of mail was usually worn with a hood, or coif, of the same material to protect the head and neck. The image you create has to play a role in the narrative.Consider the character arc. So we've covered ways to make clothing look both futuristic and historic, but these are all just guidelines and mostly based on what's been done before. The answer to this question gives you a ton of clarity. Nov 28, 2022 - Explore Anung V's board "Character description" on Pinterest. What the description shows is that many of the inviteesplay at status through fancy dress. Youre still not off the hook. Another type of cheap armor, one up from gambesons, was boiled leather, also known as cuir bouilli. And right at the heart of it were the leaders of societythe medieval lords. Thanks Benjamin! The pieces around the vital organsthe chest and headwere thicker and heavier than those on the arms and legs to try and reduce weight as much as possible. The jacket has a narrow, rectangular neckline which reveals part of the fancy shirt worn below it and is worn with a light rope belt, which is held together by a simple knot. And what weve covered here today is only just the tip of the iceberg. Clothing is one of the easiest and most immediate ways to establish an historical setting. 2023 NOW NOVEL CC. The tragedy of Azincourt, for example, occurred because of a poorly-chosen battleground that had flooded. Am I trying to blow the interview? But they werent administrators. 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. So here are some more ways to alter a design while sticking with familiarity and a more historic feel: 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. If all else fails use Google images and find some visual aids and inspiration sources, they can work wonders. Fashion photographer Bill Cunningham said, Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life. Try applying this philosophy to clothing descriptions in your writing and see what happens. Thanks I will be following your blog from now one I just came across it today. 1. The reason we fuss over physical descriptions is not because its so important that the readers imagination gets it right. Never hose for men and probably never puffy breeches. s a fantastic image that Thomas Feichtmeir, AKA Cyangmou has put together. The appearance of armor was a big deal for knights. I would be great to expand it with armor from other areas, Samurai armor, for example. Even the non-conformists are influenced by societal norms. His writing offers a masterclass in how to describe clothing in stories. But your reader is going to picture something whether you guide them or not. They looked something like this: One of the main defensive strengths of plated armor came from its curved design, which deflected both blades and arrows. With historical fiction one interesting aspect is to bring back the reader to that time period. Glasses, headsets, lenses, jewelry, belts and so on can all help sell the futuristic look. Through fashion terms you can understand the fundamentals of the fashion industry. Or is it really important for a reader to know the specific pattern? Copyright 2023 Richie Billing | Fantasy Writer. When shes not writing, Abi is most likely hiking, reading, or texting her mother pictures of her houseplants to ask why they look like that. Also, don't feel like you have to include every point I've made. I once wrote about imbuing everyday objects with meaning because talisman create great opportunities for symbolism! 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. From time to time we may use affiliate links to help with the costs of running the site. Your main character just put on some makeup and changed into a fancy dress, complete with heels and a tiny handbag. If sturdy is a top consideration, your character might be expecting trouble or adventure. Shoes made with bendable displays already exist, allowing you to change your shoe's design on the fly. There's a few other elements to keep in mind as well, but in most cases it's best not to worry at all, let your imagination go wild and simply create and enjoy what you want to create. What is a good way to do Show not tell in a first person POV state? Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts 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. 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? Ha-ha! Such simple things, but the clothes really helped show Jesus plight. Plain: Ordinary clothes of one color like gray, beige, or black. Hello, I am attempting to write my first fantasy novel (and my first novel), and I'm having difficulty visualizing what kind of clothes my characters should be wearing. Adorable. In most cases simply copying the style of whichever era you've based your story on is enough, but it can be fun to create your own styles and in some cases it'd make sense to have your own styles as well. Great article. But they are a common element used in fantasy clothing in all sorts of works of fiction. "White tunics" have been worn from 2016 to a good forty thousand years ago. Maybe a bracelet represents a character's relationship to her mother. One thing Ive always wondered is if someone wearing plate could fall down just right in a muddy battlefield, and get stuck there in the same way a large flat rock gets stuck laying in mud. This is a heavy generalization of course and entirely based on Western culture of today, but these rules may not apply at all in a fictional universe, no matter if it's futuristic or based on a historic setting. Do they need a ghillie suit to blend into the natural environment? It would have been extremely warm too. And its in designs that you can really go wild with your own fantasy armor. Clothing description in a story is useful because it often gives additional information about a character that you might otherwise tell. In a book, none of that is true. 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. Who doesnt like being comfortable when killing? As with mail, steel was the best material due to its hardness, which was obtained by heating the steel to extreme temperatures and then submerging it into cold water, a process known as quenching. 80s-inspired. Make sure you know whats hot and whats not in your specific setting, as well as what specific words the locals would use. Our imaginations can do a surprising amount with just a few key details.
how to describe fantasy clothing
