how to describe fantasy clothing

You can even use different pieces of clothing to cover up body parts differently. In one single piece of clothing description (a pink-eyed bundle of shawls), Dickens conveys how timid and ailing Mrs. Gradgrind is in contrast to her bullish, overbearing husband. Since it's a friends' get-together, let's wear casual attire. If all else fails use Google images and find some visual aids and inspiration sources, they can work wonders. (Cough-cough-cough.) Describe these in passing to add visual colour and authenticity to your character descriptions. Lots of gear would have been looted. 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. The answer to this question gives you a ton of clarity. 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. What are some ways to describe a character's clothing? Never hose for men and probably never puffy breeches. Yet Dr. Urbinos status as a respected doctor is earned he has nothing to prove by dressing smarter. Strips of leather were boiled in water, though some sources record oil and wax being used, and even animal urine. Your main character just put on some makeup and changed into a fancy dress, complete with heels and a tiny handbag. His writing offers a masterclass in how to describe clothing in stories. The padded material could absorb blows from blunt weapons and provided some protection from cuts, but against well-forged weapons they were useless. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. But they could also dress in modest, inexpensive-looking clothes. The aim is to arm you with what you need to enrich your tales with brilliant detail. From lowly serfs to great warriors, all could wear and fight effectively in chainmail. Some helmets had chain attached which hung around and protected the neck, called an aventail, and most were padded inside, for added comfort. - 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. Think the previously mentioned Fifth Element and Hunger Games clothing versus Star Trek, Star Wars and so on clothing. 60s-inspired. Use your first-person narrators senses sight, hearing, touch, etc. They also wear talismans, jewelry, and other objects. A possible source of conflict for a story, perhaps! Try some colour. Describing clothes : writing - reddit I second the idea of describing the reactions of the characters to the city. Adding these other bits of lesser-known fantasy armor to your stories can really add extra depth to your worldbuilding. The aim is to arm you with what you need to enrich your tales with brilliant detail. For a bigger image, just click on the link above. Clothing description also presents an opportunity to play with different points of view. As a result, feudal England became rife with young murderous men. )Secrets might not be something youve specifically thought about when youre drafting a story. Changes in characters clothing can help revealcharacter development. In other words: To describe a fantasy world, use either neutral terms, or made up words. One character might demonstrate their power by showing up to prom in a designer gown. Sure, it helps your reader to know how you picture a character. So have fun with that. Costume is a large part of a character. Fancy clothing description generator - Fantasy name generators Its about building a life and a world, and that is something you can do. Another type of cheap armor, one up from gambesons, was boiled leather, also known as cuir bouilli. Heating to the perfect temperature was key. - Use lines to break up a piece of clothing and create a kind of mosaic. 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. Dont worry, thats not a trick question. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 'There is a blog for every aspect of the writing journey.' 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. By using fur for decoration you quickly create fictional pieces in no time. Most clothing throughout history consisted of longer pieces of fabric and with minimal tailoring and cuts. 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. 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. Plain: Ordinary clothes of one color like gray, beige, or black. Below, well take a look at the armor found in the fantasy genre, covering everything from chain mail to helmets. And of course, location provides a clue for what it takes to be comfortable in the world of your story. If you stopped to think about it, you may even notice yourself imagining things as specific as age, hobbies, and ambitions. 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. 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. How to Describe Clothing in a Story (with Examples) | Now Novel Armor, therefore, wasnt that heavya full suit weighed approximately 50 pounds, which is around 3 to 4 stone. A lowly one at that, but one very much capable of climbing the ladder. I love to wear baggy trousers in summer. 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. 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. Like Marquez, compare and contrast characters clothes to reveal important details about their social status or position. You can use visual description to make a character more vivid in the readers minds eye. Do not describe a character's clothing except as that point of view character would do so. Such simple things, but the clothes really helped show Jesus plight. Get it right, and you transport your readers to a vivid world. And if you dont write historical fiction? Once blue, it is quenched a second time, permanently fixing its hardness. Whether its a beekeeping suit, climbing helmet, knee pads, or sun-protective fabric, what your character wears provides a clue about whats at stake in the coming scene. How were women treated in the Middle Ages? Richard the Lionheart, for instance, was celebrated amongst his peers for his ability to chop his enemys skulls down to the teeth. Can you imagine tweaking this to make your own set of fantasy armor? How to Describe Clothes in English - ESL Advice Community . Like Borges would say, An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. Describing clothing - Creative Writing Forums List of Medieval Clothing (91 terms!) - The Medieverse: Tim's Realistic Once quenched, the steel was re-heated to make it more resilient. Clothing in fantasy novel | Absolute Write Water Cooler You can weave clothing description into your process when using our story planner for writers. Make it look very clean and smooth and it immediately feels more modern. Once blue, it is quenched a second time, permanently fixing its hardness. See more ideas about fantasy clothing, anime outfits, character outfits. 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. You can also fulfil (or contradict) impressions your characters (or readers) form based on appearances. 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. Youre already obsessing over hat styles and what the undergarment situation was at the time of your story. Troubles with Clothing in Fantasy + Some Ideas - Brielle Andela However, you can show and imply a characters intention without spelling it out: Theyd agreed to meet downtown at six. The only cloak in the world made with silk spun by the cat-sized spiders that live in the forbidden mountains. Vision in such helmets was extremely limited, but this was the cost of added protection. Required fields are marked *. Otherwise they wont take you seriously as an artist.. Well come to this below. Heres a superb glossary, with pictures, of all types of armor. 04. Great idea. 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. Earlier I mentioned how it's important to try and keep a feel of unfamiliarity to futuristic clothing. Either way, their goal is to be desirable, whatever desirable means in this situation. We even have the technology to create clothing without seems. I would be great to expand it with armor from other areas, Samurai armor, for example. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7bbcc198c936bc1af3fbda128514c44fcfc10f0513ea31cad7c21ae61ba0ab0.jpg. Let your mind fill in the details, always checking back in with your adjectives to make sure the concept is moving in the right direction. Imagine your own armored knights storming through the battlefield like iron giants. 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. The same goes for other types of technology that could realistically be incorporated into the design of your character's clothing. In writing, the clothes kind of do make the (hu)man. There are some elements which are common among most works of fiction when it comes to clothing, with these elements in mind it becomes a lot easier to turn the clothing we wear today or wore throughout history into a futuristic or more fantasy oriented equivalent. You can quickly convey a number of things about your characters based on the clothing they wear. The description will describe a lot of clothing pieces, some of which you may not need depending on where your character lives. In Dostoyevskys Crime and Punishment, the poor, Tuberculosis-stricken Katerina Ivanovnas husband is trampled to death by a horse-drawn cart. Stealthy clothes bring to mind burglars clad in black outfits and soft-soled sneakers. Those of us who dont get all jazzed about writing clothing descriptions often fail to consider that a good wardrobe has layers. Choose A Chapter The Fantasy Genre And Medieval Armor Chain Mail Plated Armor Helmets Other Types Of Armor The Medieval Knight You may have seen steelworkers doing this after forging the likes of blades and horseshoes. 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. 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. 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. 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 novels protagonist Rodion gives Katerina the last of his money to host a funeral. Maybe a bracelet represents a character's relationship to her mother. Lets take a look at how clothing description indicates your characters identity, goals, and culture. This is often enough to make something look more futuristic, especially if used on something that looks glossy, shiny and/or smooth. Only when youre keeping secrets in fiction, you can make them even darker and deeper than any you might ever have in real life. First and foremost we need to know who we're designing for. I really loved this article, but I have one question, it was very helpful. 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. To discover more awesome ideas, head over to Pinterest and just search for female fantasy armor. 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. [Help] Coming up with Fantasy Outfits : r/fantasywriters - reddit 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. How do they change, and how does their clothing reflect that change? Shoes made with bendable displays already exist, allowing you to change your shoe's design on the fly. Looking for a word - prince's clothes - English Language Learners Stack It's easy to try this out too, at least the simple line version. In this scene, Gradgrind returns home to find his children playing outside: A space of stunted grass and dry rubbish being between him and the young rabble, he took his eyeglass out of his waistcoat to look for any child he knew by name, and might order off. Youre not infodumping. Good for the mobile knight. Let it hang diagonally across their chest and over their shoulder instead. 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. Jeans and a tee it was. If youre trying to learn how to describe clothing in writing, youre probably like me: Youve only pretended to know what organza is. Black and white usually does the trick as well. 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. Most picture the knight when we talk about plated armorrigid tin men that can withstand all manner of blows. The easy way to describe the setting is when the characters interact with it, e.g. 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. 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 band t-shirt. One reason clothing descriptions can start to feel like a tedious laundry list (see what I did there?) And well dip back in time to look at medieval armor and how it was used and crafted. - 'Stealth'. - Change lengths. These elements are very important when taking into account the previous point. We already have spray on clothing technology. The fantasy genre borrows an awful lot from medieval history. 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. 80s-inspired. How long do they need their clothes to last? ), The geographical location of your story. If a knight fell from a horse, he could quite easily pick himself up, not stuck on the ground like a tortoise knocked on its shell. 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. A person who doesn't want to draw attention to themselves would dress completely differently today than they would even a few decades ago. William the Conquerors society was shaped with war in mind. Heres a great visual guide on female fantasy armor by YouTuber Shadiversity. 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. 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 tragedy of Azincourt, for example, occurred because of a poorly-chosen battleground that had flooded. 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. 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. See how Dickens contrasts the fact-obsessed, overbearingteacher Thomas Gradgrind and his wifes personalities through (among other details) their clothing description. Dr. Urbino in Marquezs example above fits the latter category. The senses were deadened: sight limited, sound muffled, breathing stifled (depending on the type of helmet). 50+ Fashion Terms: Fundamental Words Related to Style Maybe a bit of both. 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. The complete opposite is true for fantasy and historic clothing. s a fantastic image that Thomas Feichtmeir, AKA Cyangmou has put together. Lets take a look at some individual pieces of armor. Its okay if Todds checks his designer watch three pages after you mention his silk tie. As knights became fully armored, so did their mounts. Besides, these are all just guidelines meant to spark some inspiration in you. It was pretty easy to make, though laborious, and easy to repair. What would you think about a wealthy character who looked as though he shopped at thrift stores? Now add a thick, layered scarf or attach a hood to this tunic and you're already well on your way to a customized look. But it provided an odd sense of security. 100 Words to Describe Clothes - grammarhow.com For more information, please see our And as a reader, nothing bores me like an entire paragraph of detailed clothing description. Love this topic!! And ninety-nine percent of the clothing descriptions in your first draft are just jeans. I get it. For fantasy stories to be more believable, we need to understand how it interacts with our characters, especially if theyre enchanted. The line could be thin or thick, glowing, metallic-looking or just plain, padded or smooth, patterned, decorated or simply a seem. Will using real-world cultural vocabulary in a fantasy setting You can continue to alter it to add cultural elements, like the previously mentioned elvish elements or you could stick with this and keep it simple. Added on top of that the condition that they had to supply him with soldiers too. Here are a few different types: We mentioned gambesons above. Help your readers feel the relaxed, organic cotton or the memory foam slipper, and theyll feel your characters priorities deep in their own souls. These small but mighty players can add depth, complexity, and a fresh perspective to your plot. 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. Blunt, Once quenched, the steel was re-heated to make it more resilient. 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. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. (Would people living in this area have access to leather goods? Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed last week. The Victorian author Charles Dickens is widely regarded as a master of characterization, for good reason. Again, I don't mean make your character walk around naked, but add elements of covering up or exposing certain areas of the body. Non-visual senses are big, too. You find that its about more than throwing out fashion terms and listing articles of clothing. 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. That said, once you describe how a person dresses you shouldn't really keep doing it unless it is relevant to the plot. On the other hand you may wish to add layers for the same purpose. Technology goes beyond simply what kind of clothes could be made though, it also relates to how technology is incorporated into style in general. You can go for standard quasi medieval fantasy clothing. How to describe scenery ? : r/fantasywriters - reddit.com If you want futuristic fantasy simply follow the sci-fi/futuristic tips more or mix and match both sides. Blunt weapons were effective, causing haemorrhaging and concussion, so padded garments known as a doublet or gambeson were worn underneath to provide added protection. In my case my character is new in town and this description of clothing doesnt come until hes getting ready for the party in chapter 4 and its in the context of getting dressed, there are reasons behind it, the party is a very big deal for him getting his foot in the door with other teens in town and he wants to be impressive or maybe wants lot of attention with all the sparklies. Richie Billing writes fantasy fiction, historical fiction and stories of a darker nature. 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. They give you the chance to offer comic relief, a dash of wisdom, and just some good old fashioned friendship., Sidekick characters. 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. An owl, a real owl! Think of the process like dressing a doll: start at the beginning and up build the layers. But you may run into difficulties when it comes to the practicalities. Follow edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:43. (Hopefully, I dont really know your life, so maybe not. ^.^ Thanks, Sana. 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. A common (wood) elvish theme is to have lots of green tints, flowery elements and intricate embroidery. Look at this picture, is it insane for an author to try to describe this on a character? I'll make a separate point for sci-fi/futuristic clothing and fantasy/historic clothing. Baggy jeans. (Where do they buy their clothes? Think touchable fabrics and the light scent of lavender soap. You can try all Dabbles premium features for free for fourteen days.

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