Besides knowing who we design for we also have to know what the rules for designing are within the universe of our characters. Its hard to really appreciate just how sickeningly awful medieval warfare would have been. 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. - Geometry. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 'There is a blog for every aspect of the writing journey.' Through fashion terms you can understand the fundamentals of the fashion industry. - Break up clothing into more separate pieces and give them their own styles. But they are a common element used in fantasy clothing in all sorts of works of fiction. The more people that join this thriving group the better it becomes.
160 Best Character description ideas | character description, fantasy (Find out more). Well, mostly. You may have imagined a man in an expensive suit or a woman in designer clothes. A scarlet pantsuit. It's easy to try this out too, at least the simple line version. What the description shows is that many of the inviteesplay at status through fancy dress. Pfoo, the owl! 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. Its a good time.
Fancy clothing description generator - Fantasy name generators Using this site means trees will be planted. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Mantel describes the cardinals vestments: They bring out the cardinals vestments, his copes. - 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. Imagine your own armored knights storming through the battlefield like iron giants. 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. 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. Maybe your character is snuggled up in their fleece pajamas while the blizzard rages outside. Think armor, bulletproof vests, and bandoliers. Only in certain situations is a description even needed. In battle, you are trying to strike a moving target, so mail was sufficient as most blows were glancing ones. 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. As a result, feudal England became rife with young murderous men. Dragon scales, fiery furs and feathers and other elements can quickly turn a standard item into a fantasy one. This includes things like a pilots uniform, a tiara, or a Pink Ladies jacket. 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. 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. Most picture the knight when we talk about plated armorrigid tin men that can withstand all manner of blows. Metallic works well too, but make sure any metal bits or metallic looking bits are smooth and clean looking too, otherwise it might look too historic. His writing offers a masterclass in how to describe clothing in stories. Clean, powerful strikes were needed to disable a foe wearing mail. For fantasy stories to be more believable, we need to understand how it interacts with our characters, especially if theyre enchanted. The bully Gradgrind is the type whod wear a waistcoat concealing an eyeglass for catching people out. That was the theory. 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. The answer to this question gives you a ton of clarity. At the end of the day, they were professional slayers, swords for hire. If it fits your universe it usually works, so don't be afraid of doing something different. Your main character just put on some makeup and changed into a fancy dress, complete with heels and a tiny handbag. He is old but stylish. To illustrate this let's take a standard men's suit as an example. Ha-ha! It illustrates brilliantly the differences between fantasy armor and the boring armor of reality, in this case, Gothic armor. 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. Theyll see it automatically. How to Give Your Characters Style: Describing Clothing in Writing Written by MasterClass Last updated: Aug 19, 2021 3 min read Creating vivid descriptions for a story or character is a mark of a great writer. Get it right, and you transport your readers to a vivid world. The geographical setting might suggest that your characters are expected to abide by strict rules for modesty or are celebrated for being wild and free. What is a good way to do Show not tell in a first person POV state? Thanks Benjamin! We even have the technology to create clothing without seems. ), Your character and communitys financial resources.
SHIRT AND PANTS | Fantasy-Writers.org Reddit - Dive into anything 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). 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. I really loved this article, but I have one question, it was very helpful. Lots of gear would have been looted. Much of the clothing we wear today were either rare or completely nonexistent a hundred years ago. ), The geographical location of your story. The fantasy genre borrows an awful lot from medieval history. Well come to this below. 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. All this to say: there is substantial storytelling power in a coral Life is Good t-shirt. Since it's a friends' get-together, let's wear casual attire. Chausses / Chauces (15th century) Pantaloons; padded hosen for the legs, often worn under chainmail or plate armor. Earlier I mentioned how it's important to try and keep a feel of unfamiliarity to futuristic clothing. But the biggest challenge can sometimes be simply making something look futuristic or historic fantasy-ish, which is the main focus of this guide. Choose A Chapter The Fantasy Genre And Medieval Armor Chain Mail Plated Armor Helmets Other Types Of Armor The Medieval Knight With the major shapes in the thumbnails defined, choose the one that best exemplifies the feeling you're looking for. Some had pointed snouts, the purpose of which was to deflect arrows when walking into arrow storms. And here are some great concepts for female fantasy armor. The final design with all its layers will often hide elements of the clothing that a client may want to see later. Beyond medieval Europe, you have the Far East, the Romans, Viking Before you know it youll have designed a full set of fantasy roman or viking armor. In 2021 his debut novel, Pariah's Lament, an epic fantasy, was published by Of Metal and Magic. You could even move the buttons to the side and have it close diagonally instead. Can you imagine tweaking this to make your own set of fantasy armor? I have a hard time describing my thoughts on content, but I really felt I should here. And what weve covered here today is only just the tip of the iceberg. The shrewd king essentially licensed out parcels of his land as rewards to his warriors in exchange for their military service. When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. They can be important too.If you want to breathe life into your stories, it's time to give tertiary characters a little love. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. I dont mean camisoles and cardigans.
How to describe clothing in a story: Creating characters And of course, location provides a clue for what it takes to be comfortable in the world of your story. "A dress" (or using "the" to refer to a particular "garment") means an item of clothing that is normally worn by women. Details about fit, cut, and material go a long way when describing the clothing of a character who longs to attract. How were women treated in the Middle Ages? 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. How long do they need their clothes to last? See more ideas about character description, fantasy fashion, fantasy clothing. In this section, Ive included some more guides on creating fantasy armor designs that you may find useful. Very informative. Although such armor exists in fantasy worlds, its important to understand how things work in the real world, even at a basic level. Theyre just too important defensively. 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. If you write historical fiction, youre probably way ahead of me. For example, think about a wealthy person and how that person might dress. Is your character trying to attract positive attention? They could withstand high-velocity strikes from a javelin or lance, driven home by somebody charging forwards on horseback. At a quarter to six, Gem pulled off the low-cut top Emma had wolf-whistled and clappedat when theyd met for their usual weekend catch-up. You can quickly convey a number of things about your characters based on the clothing they wear. is because we get stuck on what things look like. Good for the mobile knight. Blades hacking, slicing and puncturing, cutting open gaping wounds and severing limbs and heads from bodies. 60s-inspired. Do not describe a character's clothing except as that point of view character would do so. To navigate your way through this guide, just click the links below. We see the contrast between the characters friends reaction and the advisory words of Gems aunt. But even regular elements can help with this. This article has compiled 100 different words you can use to describe clothes, and below the main list of 100 words we've explained our reasoning for a lot of the top picks from that very list, for your personal enjoyment. Even things like tattoos, hair colors, eye colors and so on can help with this. I second the idea of describing the reactions of the characters to the city. "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.". Each suit was tailored to the individual. To navigate your way through this guide, just click the links below. Youll be blown away by the number of awesome things on there. When you use clothing to define who your character is, remember that it can also clarify how they feel about themselves and how they fit into the world around them. Im writing a little in the Epic Fantasy genre and there were quite a few useful notes I wasnt aware of here. Heres a cool video on making leather fantasy armor by YouTuber, Prince Armory. The tragedy of Azincourt, for example, occurred because of a poorly-chosen battleground that had flooded. 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. Lets take a look at how clothing description indicates your characters identity, goals, and culture. Its about building a life and a world, and that is something you can do. Particularly in genres such as historical fiction and fantasy, clothing can help to create other worlds (or a long gone era of our own). The aim was not to cause any impediment to movement. It really doesnt take much. Sometimes the simplest changes are enough to create something completely new and ideal for a particular universe. Black and white usually does the trick as well. Or one who was forever wearing poorly-fitted clothing that appeared to be handed down from friends? The time period of your story. Your character might also have a job or hobby that requires protective clothing. What would high stakes clothing look like in your story? Fashionable: Clothes representing a current style in fashion. 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. Really like your article. Elsewhere, Mantels novel is full of descriptions of garments for specific, era-appropriate purposes: Riding cloaks, town coats, and other clothing people of means would have worn at this time. Fancy dresses. Its all in the craft.Its good that youre here to learn how to describe clothing in writing, because its a powerful tool. Glasses, headsets, lenses, jewelry, belts and so on can all help sell the futuristic look. I love the way clothes can describe a character. Or else that she feels shamed by her Aunt and thus decides to be good. Most clothing throughout history consisted of longer pieces of fabric and with minimal tailoring and cuts. Required fields are marked *. The fact the clothes seem to stand by themselves indicates just how heavy they are with jewels and embroidery. Consider whether your characters attire might serve as a symbol, highlight a theme, or represent a conflict. Get free books, an invite to my exclusive writing group, writing tools and guides and much more when you join my community. Or at least they know what century theyre in. Ill add it to my to do list . An owl, a real owl! This is often enough to make something look more futuristic, especially if used on something that looks glossy, shiny and/or smooth. Thanks, Teresa, and for sharing that great example from the stage. When youre shopping for yourself, you know what you like but you dont know how to describe it. Achieving glory in battle was one way of earning a knighthood. 2012 - 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. At least in most cases. These detail could suggest that your character is miserly or down-to-earth despite their wealth. Heres a superb glossary, with pictures, of all types of armor. Blunt, Once quenched, the steel was re-heated to make it more resilient.
What are some ways to describe a character's clothing? Mail was lightweight and flexible. Thats a good example of using clothing to reinforce the narrative of a characters arc. When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. Who's your rebel, and how does their clothing reflect their defiant spirit? In Dostoyevskys Crime and Punishment, the poor, Tuberculosis-stricken Katerina Ivanovnas husband is trampled to death by a horse-drawn cart. These small but mighty players can add depth, complexity, and a fresh perspective to your plot. A possible source of conflict for a story, perhaps! Separate and enlarge it, turn down the Opacity of the layer . Our characters are always (mostly!) The appearance of armor was a big deal for knights. They also wear talismans, jewelry, and other objects. One way is to avoid what we call filter words. The only cloak in the world made with silk spun by the cat-sized spiders that live in the forbidden mountains. She also writes for film and television with her brother and writing partner, Phil Wurdeman. Mantel creates a vivid sense of the wealth that the church amassed in these times. Which brings me to my next point. Here, for example, Hilary Mantel describes a Cardinals residence being plundered by the Kings men in 1529 England, in her historical novel Wolf Hall. Again, I don't mean make your character walk around naked, but add elements of covering up or exposing certain areas of the body. Similar to how pixelated designs tend to look more futuristic so do designs full of geometrical shapes. A coat of mail was a complex web of metal rings, each locked with an iron rivet. But let's take a step back and look at what kind of clothing is usually associated with futuristic settings. Thanks, Sana. In other words take what exists and apply it differently. Yet Dr. Urbinos status as a respected doctor is earned he has nothing to prove by dressing smarter. Great idea. When describing clothing in writing, consider: You can also use this aspect of clothing description to paint a vivid picture of the world you imagined. I like the way you wrote this information. How does their attire reflect what they want, what they fear, or where theyre going? You really can tell a lot about a person by what they wear, or what they dont wear.
How to Analyze a Fashion Collection - Bloomsbury Fashion Central This description generator will create a mostly random description of either a dress or a suit, fit for formal occasions and other fancy needs. 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. You could introduce magical enchantments or ability-granting traits. These were worn on their own by those wanting greater speed and flexibility, but also by those unable to afford stronger armor. This article was very helpfulcan you post some examples of showing versus telling when describing clothing? By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. - Gadgets, hair styles and accessories. Dostoyevsky describes how Katerinas landlady, Amalia Ivanovna, dresses for the funeral: the table was properly laid at the time and fixed, and Amalia Ivanovna, feeling she had done her work well, had put on a black silk dress and a cap with new mourning ribbons and met the returning party with some pride. From time to time we may use affiliate links to help with the costs of running the site. Improve this answer. Its a bit OCD of me.
Clothing creation guide - Roll for Fantasy [Find more articles on character description in our complete guide to character creation.]. (Huh.). In pre-thermometer times this was difficult as you can imagine, so instead, armorers observed the colour of the heated steel. The last minute change suggests an indecisive nature. Make sure you know whats hot and whats not in your specific setting, as well as what specific words the locals would use. Sometimes they're more interesting and lovable than the main characters themselves and end up stealing the show., Secrets. Share. 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. One very important aspect of describing attire well is understanding why youre describing it in the first place. 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. This can be a very effective way if your universe is based on an existing culture. Embarrassed by her own inability to dress in finery for the occasion (and by being upstaged), Katerina resorts to scathing mockery of Amalia.
Creative Words to Describe Outfit & Clothing - INK Changes in characters clothing can help revealcharacter development. 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. Clothing is one of the easiest and most immediate ways to establish an historical setting. 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. Well cover everything from helmets and plate armor to chainmail. What backstory or character motivations could combinations of appearance and reality suggest? Clean, powerful strikes were needed to disable a foe wearing mail. PsstDoes Your Character Have a Secret? There's also the element of technology that has to be taken into account. Delighted to hear youre finding this useful. So sometimes all it takes to create futuristic clothing is to take a trend that has passed, alter it slightly and you're done. But it makes a good story. One of her poems is (legally) stamped into a sidewalk in Santa Clarita, California. Youre not infodumping. Well also take a look at female fantasy armor and those used by, Mail was particularly effective against glancing blows. But there is so much more to the experience of clothing than that.
Writing Tips on Describing Clothes - Pen and the Pad However, you can tell your reader interesting things through a mismatch: A wealthy character might show off their expensive clothing. Give your wealthy character a pair of Louboutins and dress your non-wealthy characters in hand-me-downs. Finally there's the aspect of fashion to take into account. Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. So here are some more ways to alter a design while sticking with familiarity and a more historic feel: Once quenched, the steel was re-heated to make it more resilient. 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. Maybe theyre wearing an article of clothing that once belonged to someone theyve lost. The eye slits were narrow to prevent all sizes of arrowheads from finding their way through. It was my understanding that they quenched in oil, not water. - "Digital look". Odds are, youve got a character who dresses to stay alive. 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. 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. It's also an indirect way to describe their physical appearance by examining how the clothes fit them.