But if you do want some guidelines, inspiration or just help this guide'll hopefully provide it. Some helmets had chain attached which hung around and protected the neck, called an aventail, and most were padded inside, for added comfort. The shrewd king essentially licensed out parcels of his land as rewards to his warriors in exchange for their military service. Besides knowing who we design for we also have to know what the rules for designing are within the universe of our characters. A simple t-shirt could be cut diagonally in the front, give both shoulder parts a different style from the arms, elongate one side and so on. Dr. Urbino in Marquezs example above fits the latter category. Lets delve further into these ideas about describing characters dress: Think of your characters clothing like an actors costume in a play. Here, for example, Hilary Mantel describes a Cardinals residence being plundered by the Kings men in 1529 England, in her historical novel Wolf Hall. Or at least they know what century theyre in. We naturally link clothing and identity, which is why wardrobe is such an effective tool for building a vivid character. 04. PsstDoes Your Character Have a Secret? Never hose for men and probably never puffy breeches. Thus his plain dress is, ironically, indicative of higher status. How do they change, and how does their clothing reflect that change? Most clothing throughout history consisted of longer pieces of fabric and with minimal tailoring and cuts. I have a hard time describing my thoughts on content, but I really felt I should here. You can immediately show a character is wealthy with descriptions of fine clothing. 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. Richie Billing writes fantasy fiction, historical fiction and stories of a darker nature. 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. Not really. Because like all other character details, its not enough to paint a picture. Copyright 2023 Richie Billing | Fantasy Writer. Which of these clothing types is your character most likely to reach for when starting their day? Another might claim power by striding in wearing torn jeans and a tank top. Its okay if Todds checks his designer watch three pages after you mention his silk tie. Character description may change over the course of a story to emphasize a characters arc. Subtle clothing changes can signal character development quite effectively in some scenarios. 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. Im writing a little in the Epic Fantasy genre and there were quite a few useful notes I wasnt aware of here. It's something we have today as well, but they're oddly uncommon and work great for more futuristic looks. I sincerely hope youve found some inspiration for your fantasy medieval armor. 160 Best Character description ideas | character description, fantasy I saw Jesus Christ Superstar a long time ago and Jesus was in a sharp black suit. Now, if you write historical fiction, its important to research the clothing of your chosen era. Affordable . Abi Wurdeman is the author of Cross-Section of a Human Heart: A Memoir of Early Adulthood, as well as the novella, Holiday Gifts for Insufferable People. Theyre probably less concerned with how they look (unless they want to look intimidating) and more concerned with things like survival or victory. Really like your article. One very important aspect of describing attire well is understanding why youre describing it in the first place. A four-layer, bubble-gum pink taffeta skirt. Maybe a bit of both. 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. Mail was one of the first types of metal armor developed, arguably by the Celts, though other sources say its origins came from Eastern Europe. See more ideas about fantasy clothing, anime outfits, character outfits. 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. Do your main characters tend to steal the show in your novels? It really doesnt take much. Thank you for sharing this valuable information. Its a bit OCD of me. Fashion trends come and go and they often return later, albeit in a slightly different form. They give you the chance to offer comic relief, a dash of wisdom, and just some good old fashioned friendship., Sidekick characters. And medieval warfare was a bloody affair. She also writes for film and television with her brother and writing partner, Phil Wurdeman. Does it Matter What Your Character Wears? - The Write Practice Thanks Liv, Im glad you found this helpful. This pride, though justifiable, displeased Katerina Ivanovna for some reason. - Mix cultures. Were trying to avoid, Isabell gazed out the window, and by the way, she was wearing a white terry cloth robe.. 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. If you write historical fiction, youre probably way ahead of me. That works. I dont mean camisoles and cardigans. - Change lengths. 70s-inspired. Pfoo, the owl! Its hard to really appreciate just how sickeningly awful medieval warfare would have been. s a fantastic image that Thomas Feichtmeir, AKA Cyangmou has put together. The time period of your story. Like Marquez, compare and contrast characters clothes to reveal important details about their social status or position. Its because concrete details are incredibly effective in communicating abstract concepts. Think touchable fabrics and the light scent of lavender soap. Sometimes they're more interesting and lovable than the main characters themselves and end up stealing the show., Secrets. And lets not forget the trusty steed. Clothing description is something I have to actively choose to create, too. Play with the question of presentation and power! Characters Wear More Than Just Clothes. Heres a video showing the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of leather armor against arrows. Further reading How To Write Fight Scenes. You can keep track of your characters signature style, upload photos, note how their style evolves, and keep these ideas right at your fingertips as you write. In Dostoyevskys Crime and Punishment, the poor, Tuberculosis-stricken Katerina Ivanovnas husband is trampled to death by a horse-drawn cart. Other elements you could include are mood-based changes (exists today), clothing that uses lights or glowing elements (exists today), clothing that can be repaired or changed on the go (exists today), smart technology woven into the fabric of clothing (exists today), changing colors (think chameleons) whenever you feel like it (exists today, kind of). Such coats were made from brass or iron, though steel was deemed best due to its toughness. 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One way is to avoid what we call filter words. But let's take a step back and look at what kind of clothing is usually associated with futuristic settings. Thus, "a dress" is inappropriate for a (male) prince, unless he is pretending to be a woman. Who doesnt like being comfortable when killing? In this section, Ive included some more guides on creating fantasy armor designs that you may find useful. Through fashion terms you can understand the fundamentals of the fashion industry. So as a way of trying to control them and their behaviour, the code of chivalry and honour was introduced. I tried to add as much variety as possible, but without turning the whole description into a mess. (Huh.). In pre-thermometer times this was difficult as you can imagine, so instead, armorers observed the colour of the heated steel. You can go for standard quasi medieval fantasy clothing. And above all, people share their writing, get feedback, build friendships and develop greater confidence not just in their writing, but in themselves too. Something like this: As you can see, a knights armor is made up of a lot of different pieces. One way to deal with clothing is to not try to be unique. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. And if you want more, this documentary is excellent. 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. Follow edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:43. 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). We already have spray on clothing technology. The senses were deadened: sight limited, sound muffled, breathing stifled (depending on the type of helmet). What would high stakes clothing look like in your story? [Help] Coming up with Fantasy Outfits : r/fantasywriters - reddit Blunt weapons were effective, causing haemorrhaging and concussion, so padded garments known as a doublet or gambeson were worn underneath to provide added protection. Reddit - Dive into anything We therefore see in the fantasy genre characters equipped with grand helmets and beautiful pieces of plate armor. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. First and foremost, remember that clothing description is still storytelling. Not all trends return and fashion isn't perfectly cyclical. Like Dostoyevsky, think how something as small as a characters change of clothing can affecttheir own or others behaviour. Its not an aspect of character design that bubbles up naturally from the depths of my creative soul. I like the way you wrote this information. The answer can guide you towards certain fashion trends to inspire your characters wardrobe. Fully geared up, you were a walking fortress. How were women treated in the Middle Ages? Describe these in passing to add visual colour and authenticity to your character descriptions. The complete opposite is true for fantasy and historic clothing. What does your character wear to feel safer in their world or in their own skin? The train hums and throbs in place as people rush to pile in.. Do not describe a character's clothing except as that point of view character would do so. It took leaving the Midwest to recognize it. 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. 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. Continued successes could see knights rise higher up the ranks. And well dip back in time to look at medieval armor and how it was used and crafted. 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. 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. Blend in? 80s-inspired. That's why it's valuable to learn these terms. Some had pointed snouts, the purpose of which was to deflect arrows when walking into arrow storms. 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. 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 final design with all its layers will often hide elements of the clothing that a client may want to see later. Creative Words to Describe Outfit & Clothing - INK Chest plates had grand etchings. I'm talking about the jagged, triangular shapes you find on some stealth planes or the digital camouflage patterns. 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. In other words: To describe a fantasy world, use either neutral terms, or made up words. Like all forms of exposition, your goal is to deliver this information without pulling the reader out of the story. 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. That would depend on a few things. This includes things like a pilots uniform, a tiara, or a Pink Ladies jacket. You may have seen steelworkers doing this after forging the likes of blades and horseshoes. Youre still not off the hook. It illustrates brilliantly the differences between fantasy armor and the boring armor of reality, in this case, Gothic armor. 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. 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. How to describe scenery ? : r/fantasywriters - reddit.com (Where do they buy their clothes? You can weave clothing description into your process when using our story planner for writers. For example, a shy person will often wear 'regular' clothing, clothing that isn't too bright or outgoing in both design and colors. Wearing a suit of armor was like being in your own private world. If youre trying to learn how to describe clothing in writing, youre probably like me: Youve only pretended to know what organza is. Troubles with Clothing in Fantasy + Some Ideas - Brielle Andela - "Digital look". Now on the other end of the spectrum we have fantasy clothing and more history based clothing. 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. Here are five examples: 1. This can be a very effective way if your universe is based on an existing culture. The line could be thin or thick, glowing, metallic-looking or just plain, padded or smooth, patterned, decorated or simply a seem. Is this purely for cinematic effect or would some leaders remove their helmets to show their faces to their soldiers? Press J to jump to the feed. They're the Robin to your Batman, the Luigi to your Mario, the Samwise Gamgee to your Frodo Baggins. Not to mention the social status of a person. 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. Can you imagine tweaking this to make your own set of fantasy armor? Youre working essential details into the narrative at the moment when they are most relevant. Fantasy Armor - The Ultimate Guide - Richie Billing As for showing with clothing rather than telling, a writer could say, He was lazy and inattentive to his appearance about a character, or they could say his clothes always looked like hed just pulled them out of a pile in some corner of his bedroom and had thrown them on without a glance in the mirror. Read these tips on how (and why) to describe clothes with examples from well-known novels: 1: Use clothing to show status and position 2: Build (or thwart) character expectations with clothing descriptions 3: Describe clothing to contrast characters' personalities 4: Show clothing to avoid over-relying on telling Why this arguably works better is the details of getting dressed tell us multiple details about Gem. Whats the respected uniform, and does your character wear it? Now, for the feedbackit depends what POV you're writing in. What I would like to ask is how you would go about describing very specific details on more complex clothing? Strips of leather were boiled in water, though some sources record oil and wax being used, and even animal urine. List of Medieval Clothing (91 terms!) - The Medieverse: Tim's Realistic This is great! Some wore a trapper a covering of full chain mailand down the line, some horses even had their own plated armor. The details create an authentic sense of a prominentcardinals dressin the 1500s. I never thought of there being a uniform for Midwestern ladyness. 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. - Convert future clothing to a historic version. It makes for a more entertaining read. We have all sorts of headphone designs to reflect our clothing styles and just wearing or not wearing a headphone will completely change how a character is often perceived. ). 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. Amalias dress thus comes across as insensitive to her; malicious even. I'll make a separate point for sci-fi/futuristic clothing and fantasy/historic clothing. 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? Since it's a friends' get-together, let's wear casual attire. The fantasy genre borrows an awful lot from medieval history. Clothing description in a story is useful because it often gives additional information about a character that you might otherwise tell. One easy way of creating a more customized look is to simply use cultural elements in the standard clothing. Look at this picture, is it insane for an author to try to describe this on a character? See how Dickens contrasts the fact-obsessed, overbearingteacher Thomas Gradgrind and his wifes personalities through (among other details) their clothing description. By playing around with this you quickly create very subtle, but more unique fantasy-themed items. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Heres a superb glossary, with pictures, of all types of armor. To navigate your way through this guide, just click the links below. What are some ways to describe a character's clothing? This is less important for non-visual arts as clothing isn't always described in writing, but it can still be incredibly helpful to have a fully detailed character in your head or written down somewhere for reference and just to make everything feel more real and alive. Does your character need to hide? Look how she sits with her mouth open! But they could also dress in modest, inexpensive-looking clothes. Imagine your own armored knights storming through the battlefield like iron giants. But I find looking back in time to the likes of the medieval period can provide some wonderful and unique ideas. In 2021 his debut novel, Pariah's Lament, an epic fantasy, was published by Of Metal and Magic. Well cover everything from helmets and plate armor to chainmail. Ive always wondered that too! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7bbcc198c936bc1af3fbda128514c44fcfc10f0513ea31cad7c21ae61ba0ab0.jpg. A pair of starched Wranglers. We'll 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. 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. The aim is to arm you with what you need to enrich your tales with brilliant detail. Tell us how the wool of your protagonists sheath dress scratches the skin on the underside of her arm. Once blue, it is quenched a second time, permanently fixing its hardness. But it provided an odd sense of security. Clothing is one of the easiest and most immediate ways to establish an historical setting. its obviously black with a centered zipper is easy but then the various pieces, the shapes, the colors, like two rows of this then a row of that, you get what I mean? Characters can also comment on or react to one anothers clothing, as long as the exchange reveals something about the world or relationship. 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. Join Kickstart your Novel and get professional feedback on your first three chapters and story synopsis, plus workbooks and videos. 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? True, it all depends on your purpose. 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. Pre-empt this by illustrating everything in layers and completing each layer of clothing. Community . Heres how to describe clothing in writing to show your readers the world to which your character belongs. Sure, it helps your reader to know how you picture a character. And as a reader, nothing bores me like an entire paragraph of detailed clothing description.
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