Then this is their category. I second the idea of describing the reactions of the characters to the city. It can genuinely be tough to come up with cool ideas for epic fantasy armor without drifting back to things that weve seen in the likes of Dungeons and Dragons, The Elder Scrolls and movies like Lord of the Rings. Not all trends return and fashion isn't perfectly cyclical. 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. Further reading How To Write Fight Scenes. What exactly are you trying to communicate about the character, setting, or situation? 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. Character description may change over the course of a story to emphasize a characters arc. This is a fun one. Some had pointed snouts, the purpose of which was to deflect arrows when walking into arrow storms. By using fur for decoration you quickly create fictional pieces in no time. You could introduce magical enchantments or ability-granting traits. I sincerely hope youve found some inspiration for your fantasy medieval armor. Play with the question of presentation and power! [Find more articles on character description in our complete guide to character creation.]. Try some colour. Richie Billing writes fantasy fiction, historical fiction and stories of a darker nature. Theyre probably less concerned with how they look (unless they want to look intimidating) and more concerned with things like survival or victory. Characters Wear More Than Just Clothes. Here, for example, Hilary Mantel describes a Cardinals residence being plundered by the Kings men in 1529 England, in her historical novel Wolf Hall. True, it all depends on your purpose. This article was very helpfulcan you post some examples of showing versus telling when describing clothing? PsstDoes Your Character Have a Secret? It's what we're slowly doing today. 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. Share. Copyright 2023 Richie Billing | Fantasy Writer. It took leaving the Midwest to recognize it. Hi Paige, thank you (and thanks for your question). You can also fulfil (or contradict) impressions your characters (or readers) form based on appearances. Now, for the feedbackit depends what POV you're writing in. But even regular elements can help with this. It may be apocryphal, but Harold Godwinson is said to have done just that at the battle of Hastings in 1066. Just click this link and dont even think about touching your wallet. 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. The image you create has to play a role in the narrative.Consider the character arc. Do all your characters embrace it? Never hose for men and probably never puffy breeches. Earlier I mentioned how it's important to try and keep a feel of unfamiliarity to futuristic clothing. For example, a shy person will often wear 'regular' clothing, clothing that isn't too bright or outgoing in both design and colors. To illustrate this let's take a standard men's suit as an example. These detail could suggest that your character is miserly or down-to-earth despite their wealth. 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 eye slits were narrow to prevent all sizes of arrowheads from finding their way through. 1. Who is your character at the beginning of the story, and how can you dress them to establish their normal? 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? But thats the case wherever you go. The train hums and throbs in place as people rush to pile in.. The final design with all its layers will often hide elements of the clothing that a client may want to see later. Wearing a suit of armor was like being in your own private world. I like the way you wrote this information. Maybe a bracelet represents a character's relationship to her mother. 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. ), Your character and communitys financial resources. A common (wood) elvish theme is to have lots of green tints, flowery elements and intricate embroidery. And if you need a place to organize your complex responses, I recommend Dabbles Character Notes feature. Youll be blown away by the number of awesome things on there. 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. Blades hacking, slicing and puncturing, cutting open gaping wounds and severing limbs and heads from bodies. 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. It was my understanding that they quenched in oil, not water. Or is it really important for a reader to know the specific pattern? Characters can also comment on or react to one anothers clothing, as long as the exchange reveals something about the world or relationship. Nudity was often either a complete taboo or just common place in many cultures throughout history, so by changing these taboos (and others) you immediately create a fictional piece. I can only imagine the pain of the chafing! Just click the button below to find out more. He's had over a dozen short stories published in various magazines and journals, with one adapted for BBC radio. Lets talk about how to use clothing description as a storytelling tool, how to dress your character for their personality and setting, and how to make clothes interesting to anyone. To add to the previous mosaic part stealth technology can provide great patterns. We often express ourselves through our clothing, at least when we have the freedom to do so, so knowing who we're designing for is the first step in creating the perfect outfit for a character. One way is to avoid what we call filter words. Those warriors came from the people who lived on the lands under the watch of the knights. A scarf for example might be too hot for some areas, but it's obviously easy to leave those out. Sometimes the simplest changes are enough to create something completely new and ideal for a particular universe. 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. You find that its about more than throwing out fashion terms and listing articles of clothing. Youre already obsessing over hat styles and what the undergarment situation was at the time of your story. Slog through another meaningless day in a world where nothing matters? This includes items like steel-toed boots, heavy denim, or tech-forward, snag-resistant superhero spandex. And right at the heart of it were the leaders of societythe medieval lords. You can even use different pieces of clothing to cover up body parts differently. That decorative belt? 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. It's part of culture, so it's definitely something to keep in mind since your fictional universes will have some form of culture as well. The good news is that attire is not only important, its also kind of fun when you start digging into it. Fashionable: Clothes representing a current style in fashion. Fancy dresses. - Use lines to break up a piece of clothing and create a kind of mosaic. Follow edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:43. The appearance of armor was a big deal for knights. But the definition of sneaky depends on your characters situation. In writing, the clothes kind of do make the (hu)man. As with body armor, great efforts were made with the designs of helmets. Use fashion and clothing history archives if necessary. Youre more than welcome to join us and wed love to have you on board. That said, once you describe how a person dresses you shouldn't really keep doing it unless it is relevant to the plot. Ill add it to my to do list . If you stopped to think about it, you may even notice yourself imagining things as specific as age, hobbies, and ambitions. The Victorian author Charles Dickens is widely regarded as a master of characterization, for good reason. An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. Thanks I will be following your blog from now one I just came across it today. That also will help readers really experience things through their eyes. I tried to add as much variety as possible, but without turning the whole description into a mess. - Taboos and nudity. Maybe theyre hoping to impress the cool kids or please their parents. Theyre just too important defensively. Dont worry, thats not a trick question. Adding these other bits of lesser-known fantasy armor to your stories can really add extra depth to your worldbuilding. I tend to avoid describing clothing. I dont mean camisoles and cardigans. Sure, it helps your reader to know how you picture a character. This is often enough to make something look more futuristic, especially if used on something that looks glossy, shiny and/or smooth. Love this topic!! (Cough-cough-cough.) Or theyll be living off soda crackers and peanut butter for the next week because they drained their checking account for a suit to impress at their job interview. Its because concrete details are incredibly effective in communicating abstract concepts. Its about building a life and a world, and that is something you can do. As the battle continued through the day, a rumor grew that Harold had died or fled the field, I forget which. Normally I dont dress characters with such complex clothing that takes more than a few sentences to describe but the vest was inspired by a picture I saw and it took at least a paragraph to describe. You can quickly convey a number of things about your characters based on the clothing they wear. Like Dostoyevsky, think how something as small as a characters change of clothing can affecttheir own or others behaviour. Which brings me to my next point. Either way, their goal is to be desirable, whatever desirable means in this situation. - Another way to use color is to make things seem like they're glowing even if they're not and to use gradients. 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. On occasion, Abi pretends to be a poet. 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 .
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