One specific form of descriptive writing that particularly affects setting and characterization is the portrayal of characters' clothing. Earlier I mentioned how it's important to try and keep a feel of unfamiliarity to futuristic clothing. Military service was always well-rewarded and violence applauded. 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. Writing Tips on Describing Clothes - Pen and the Pad Thanks I will be following your blog from now one I just came across it today. Conveniently, a lot of high status positions come with outfits or accessories that telegraph a persons position in the hierarchy. Figurative language . A self-conscious kid tries to disappear inside their oversized sweatshirt. How to create a fantasy costume design | Creative Bloq Reddit - Dive into anything Now turn the edges a different color or make them light up and you immediately have a more futuristic looking suit. Pingback: A fantasy writers guide to weaponry Richie Billing. Make it mandatory to hold up a piece of clothing. Is this purely for cinematic effect or would some leaders remove their helmets to show their faces to their soldiers? Your article is really great. Clean, powerful strikes were needed to disable a foe wearing mail. Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed last week. As such, the contemporary tales that have followed, like Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Dungeons and Dragons and everything in between, have paid homage to that era. SHIRT AND PANTS | Fantasy-Writers.org Follow edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:43. 160 Best Character description ideas | character description, fantasy The line could be thin or thick, glowing, metallic-looking or just plain, padded or smooth, patterned, decorated or simply a seem. Chain mail is a great piece of fantasy armor to use in your stories purely because of its flexibility. As time marched on, small plates of leather or iron were added to the mail to protect key areas, such as vital organs. 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. Dragon scales, fiery furs and feathers and other elements can quickly turn a standard item into a fantasy one. 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. What Clothes Say About Your Characters - The Write Practice They give you the chance to offer comic relief, a dash of wisdom, and just some good old fashioned friendship., Sidekick characters. One very important aspect of describing attire well is understanding why youre describing it in the first place. Coats of plated armor soon came about, which consisted of a series of plates linked on top of one another. Details about fit, cut, and material go a long way when describing the clothing of a character who longs to attract. Describing clothing - Creative Writing Forums Fashionably elegant and sophisticated. 100 Words to Describe Clothes - grammarhow.com 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. Obviously clothing is extremely varied, especially dresses. Further reading How To Write Fight Scenes. In this section, Ive included some more guides on creating fantasy armor designs that you may find useful. This idea of knights becoming lords was introduced in England by William the Conqueror. These images all go a lot further than white socks, green dress, and most of them dont require a lot of extra words. And if you were skilled at surviving and killing, it was a good way to make a living. How to Describe Clothing in Writing Without Boring Everybody But Ive also noticed that artful clothing description does make a character, a setting, and even a moment more engaging. 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. 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. Another quick way of making standard clothing fantasy themed is by converting clothes form the relative future to one that could be created in whichever time period your universe falls under. But the biggest challenge can sometimes be simply making something look futuristic or historic fantasy-ish, which is the main focus of this guide. As with body armor, great efforts were made with the designs of helmets. But there is so much more to the experience of clothing than that. 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. Or is it really important for a reader to know the specific pattern? Before I delve into the more detailed aspects of creating clothing there's one final thing to keep in mind and that is that fashion repeats itself. A velvet scrunchie. Maybe a bracelet represents a character's relationship to her mother. Use the Character section of the Idea Finder to develop quick story ideas and flesh out your storys cast. Baggy. You can quickly convey a number of things about your characters based on the clothing they wear. Clothing tells your reader a lot about your characters goals and motivations within a given scenario. What your character wears reveals where they come from, how they rank in society, how they want to be perceived, and even how they feel about themselves. And what does she put that cap on for? Clothes can betray our greatest joys and our deepest insecurities. Characters Wear More Than Just Clothes. You may have seen steelworkers doing this after forging the likes of blades and horseshoes. In battle, you are trying to strike a moving target, so mail was sufficient as most blows were glancing ones. Dr. Urbino in Marquezs example above fits the latter category. Non-visual senses are big, too. It really doesnt take much. A person who doesn't want to draw attention to themselves would dress completely differently today than they would even a few decades ago. 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. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. It may be apocryphal, but Harold Godwinson is said to have done just that at the battle of Hastings in 1066. But if you do want some guidelines, inspiration or just help this guide'll hopefully provide it. Most clothing throughout history consisted of longer pieces of fabric and with minimal tailoring and cuts. At least in most cases. Finally there's all the little things that can make an outfit look more futuristic. And if you want more, this documentary is excellent. 100 Male Fantasy Outfit Concepts & Designs ideas | fantasy clothing Like Dostoyevsky, think how something as small as a characters change of clothing can affecttheir own or others behaviour. Like all forms of exposition, your goal is to deliver this information without pulling the reader out of the story. When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. Once blue, it is quenched a second time, permanently fixing its hardness. Clothes that are loose and hanging in folds. The appearance of armor was a big deal for knights. Here, for example, Hilary Mantel describes a Cardinals residence being plundered by the Kings men in 1529 England, in her historical novel Wolf Hall. The image you create has to play a role in the narrative.Consider the character arc. You can also fulfil (or contradict) impressions your characters (or readers) form based on appearances. How to Describe Clothing in a Story (with Examples) | Now Novel Have fun with it. 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. Its okay if Todds checks his designer watch three pages after you mention his silk tie. Fully geared up, you were a walking fortress. 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. Ready to sketch vivid characters for your novel? Is your central conflict a life-or-death situation? First and foremost we need to know who we're designing for. Stiff with embroidery, strewn with pearls, encrusted with gemstones, they seem to stand by themselves. 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. So as a way of trying to control them and their behaviour, the code of chivalry and honour was introduced. 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. Use fashion and clothing history archives if necessary. And here are some great concepts for female fantasy armor. Your articles are always very informative. 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. Is your character trying to attract positive attention? Describe these in passing to add visual colour and authenticity to your character descriptions. 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. Blend in? - Use nudity. I once wrote about imbuing everyday objects with meaning because talisman create great opportunities for symbolism! 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. If youre good at talking clothes, you can sit this one out. Katerina is affronted by Amalias fine dress because it is new and shows pride. Sweaters or jumpers? Blunt, Once quenched, the steel was re-heated to make it more resilient. But put me in a job interview wearing the same outfit, and youd probably start making new guesses about my intentions. Something like this: As you can see, a knights armor is made up of a lot of different pieces. In Dostoyevskys Crime and Punishment, the poor, Tuberculosis-stricken Katerina Ivanovnas husband is trampled to death by a horse-drawn cart. 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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. If you tell your readers about Nanettes light pink cardigan and string of pearls, you dont have to say much about the shoes and skirt and silk blouse. You can weave clothing description into your process when using our story planner for writers. How to Describe Clothes in English - ESL Advice 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. Fancy dresses. You can use visual description to make a character more vivid in the readers minds eye. Jeans and a tee it was. 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? Fashion trends come and go and they often return later, albeit in a slightly different form. Pingback: A fantasy writers guide to Castles and Keeps: part one Richie Billing. One does not refer to "a garb". Characters wear more than just clothes. The important thing to remember is to remain in the character's point of view. Why this arguably works better is the details of getting dressed tell us multiple details about Gem. They work, they're safe and in many cases have become a standard. Fancy clothing description generator - Fantasy name generators With the major shapes in the thumbnails defined, choose the one that best exemplifies the feeling you're looking for. Think noble King Arthur and his knights of the roundtable. This may seem like a tricky thing to do as there's so much out there already, but it can often be as simple as simply changing a texture, the patterns used or the amount of fabric. I would be great to expand it with armor from other areas, Samurai armor, for example. As well see below, medieval armor developed through necessitypeople needed to protect themselves from those wicked blades and needle-sharp darts. If you arent keeping at least a few secrets from your friends and loved ones, are you really living? Impress someone with my indifference? I love to wear baggy trousers in summer. I'm talking about the jagged, triangular shapes you find on some stealth planes or the digital camouflage patterns. And if you dont write historical fiction? 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. Medieval clothing description generator - Fantasy name generators "Garb" or "dress" (without an article) is a rather drab abstract noun for what a person is wearing. 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. - Diagonal lines: Diagonal lines aren't all that common in historic clothing and they usually only came in the form of neck lines, the edges of unbuttoned jackets or from large pieces of fabric being held up (think ancient Rome). An owl in new ribbons, ha-ha-ha! 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 . How were women treated in the Middle Ages? It's what we're slowly doing today. Delighted to hear youre finding this useful. 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. 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. A pair of starched Wranglers. Dont worry, thats not a trick question. 80s-inspired. Youll be blown away by the number of awesome things on there. Impoverished with children to care for, she uses her last money to give her husband a dignified funeral. Not quite. There is simply more characterization, not only of Gem but the other characters, too. Not to pile on, but dont forget to make sure you know which materials wereand werentavailable in the world of your novel. Understanding how to describe clothing in a story well will help you create fuller, richer character portraits. They also wear talismans, jewelry, and other objects. 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 Victorian author Charles Dickens is widely regarded as a master of characterization, for good reason. Do all your characters embrace it? You can even use different pieces of clothing to cover up body parts differently. Mail was particularly effective against glancing blows. Reeking of piss on the battlefield was another weapon in the arsenal I suppose. Casual. Leonidas in 300, for instance, almost certainly wore a helmet in the battle with the Persians! The train hums and throbs in place as people rush to pile in.. 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. Yet Dr. Urbinos status as a respected doctor is earned he has nothing to prove by dressing smarter. What would high stakes clothing look like in your story? The rope belt is solely decorative and a status symbol. 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. How to Give Your Characters Style: Describing Clothing in Writing Great article. The more people that join this thriving group the better it becomes. So have fun with that. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Those warriors came from the people who lived on the lands under the watch of the knights. It gives you an idea of the capabilities that armor can have. 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. Once blue, it is quenched a second time, permanently fixing its hardness. He is old but stylish. 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. I never thought of there being a uniform for Midwestern ladyness. What are some ways to describe a character's clothing? If done right you could even use these elements alone with clothing of today to sell a futuristic look. 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. Hopefully, you now have more wardrobe ideas for your characters than just red shirt, blue pants. But what about the process of actually sharing these details in your novel? 2012 - Again, I don't mean make your character walk around naked, but add elements of covering up or exposing certain areas of the body. One way to deal with clothing is to not try to be unique. I dont mean camisoles and cardigans. The last minute change suggests an indecisive nature. The bully Gradgrind is the type whod wear a waistcoat concealing an eyeglass for catching people out. 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. Black and white usually does the trick as well. Whether its a matter of indulgence or survival, feeling good is a deeply relatable goal. Plain: Ordinary clothes of one color like gray, beige, or black. Of course there are more ways to alter historic designs and the middle ages aren't the only period to draw inspiration from. If you stopped to think about it, you may even notice yourself imagining things as specific as age, hobbies, and ambitions. I mentioned my online writing group at the beginning of this guide. Another similar and perhaps way more popular example of this is Steampunk. For example, headphones aren't really a piece of clothing, but they definitely affect our style. In other words, research. 28 First of all, beautiful dress and mask! That cloth ribbon tied around their waist? Although such armor exists in fantasy worlds, its important to understand how things work in the real world, even at a basic level. Heres a cool video on making leather fantasy armor by YouTuber, Prince Armory. Cookie Notice What would you think about a wealthy character who looked as though he shopped at thrift stores? That fancy Ming dynasty dress looks completely different with exposed shoulders and that medieval set of pants look completely different if you turn them into shorts with exposed legs. Thank you for reading our blog! The answer to this question gives you a ton of clarity. I saw Jesus Christ Superstar a long time ago and Jesus was in a sharp black suit. The aim is to arm you with what you need to enrich your tales with brilliant detail. This one is simple, right? for any particular parts of an outfit. Clothing creation guide - Roll for Fantasy Each lesson breaks down the analysis of one component of a fashion collection, progressing from a consideration of the designer's technique and influences to the . Make sure you know whats hot and whats not in your specific setting, as well as what specific words the locals would use. Helmets were arguably the most distinctive feature of an armored knight. These shallow details help us go pretty deep on character. And lets not forget the trusty steed. A common (wood) elvish theme is to have lots of green tints, flowery elements and intricate embroidery. Do they need a ghillie suit to blend into the natural environment? What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. The same goes for other types of technology that could realistically be incorporated into the design of your character's clothing. Knights werent as immobile as people assum, though I can imagine in a quagmire itd be tricky to get up. Ideas are forever being shared and discussed. Consider this example from Hard Times. 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.
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