Join Kickstart your Novel and get professional feedback on your first three chapters and story synopsis, plus workbooks and videos. One of the first things I learned when I moved to L.A. is that writers do not dress professionally for big meetings in Hollywood. 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. The fact that It was my understanding that they quenched in oil, not water. That cloth ribbon tied around their waist? Through fashion terms you can understand the fundamentals of the fashion industry. If you want futuristic fantasy simply follow the sci-fi/futuristic tips more or mix and match both sides. Im writing a little in the Epic Fantasy genre and there were quite a few useful notes I wasnt aware of here. We therefore see in the fantasy genre characters equipped with grand helmets and beautiful pieces of plate armor. ), Your character and communitys financial resources. For example, headphones aren't really a piece of clothing, but they definitely affect our style. The aim was not to cause any impediment to movement. Get it right, and you transport your readers to a vivid world. You could introduce magical enchantments or ability-granting traits. Characters wear more than just clothes. 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. show how hard is to escape in a narrow street. Ready to sketch vivid characters for your novel? What matters more to them: fashion or function? 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. In Dostoyevskys Crime and Punishment, the poor, Tuberculosis-stricken Katerina Ivanovnas husband is trampled to death by a horse-drawn cart. Your email address will not be published. - Geometry. To navigate your way through this guide, just click the links below. Advertisements. What are the rules of your characters world? A possible source of conflict for a story, perhaps! Or else that she feels shamed by her Aunt and thus decides to be good. Here are a few different types: We mentioned gambesons above. But they werent administrators. Thus his plain dress is, ironically, indicative of higher status. A common (wood) elvish theme is to have lots of green tints, flowery elements and intricate embroidery. 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. Military service was always well-rewarded and violence applauded. A person who doesn't want to draw attention to themselves would dress completely differently today than they would even a few decades ago. 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. The more people that join this thriving group the better it becomes. Helmets were arguably the most distinctive feature of an armored knight. It took leaving the Midwest to recognize it. Youre working essential details into the narrative at the moment when they are most relevant. - Gadgets, hair styles and accessories. Slog through another meaningless day in a world where nothing matters? Similarly, find out (or, if youre creating a fantasy world, create) the garments your characters would wear in a particular time and place. The reason we fuss over physical descriptions is not because its so important that the readers imagination gets it right. Do they strive to be humble before their god or do they want to spend this one and only life as their bold, ostentatious selves? The fact the clothes seem to stand by themselves indicates just how heavy they are with jewels and embroidery. I tried to add as much variety as possible, but without turning the whole description into a mess. The padded material could absorb blows from blunt weapons and provided some protection from cuts, but against well-forged weapons they were useless. Does your character need to hide? One specific form of descriptive writing that particularly affects setting and characterization is the portrayal of characters' clothing. In a book, none of that is true. But if you do want some guidelines, inspiration or just help this guide'll hopefully provide it. Shoes made with bendable displays already exist, allowing you to change your shoe's design on the fly. That was the theory. Fancy dresses. One way to deal with clothing is to not try to be unique. 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. In other words take what exists and apply it differently. Since it's a friends' get-together, let's wear casual attire. More on that in a bit. 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. Now this won't work for every piece of clothing of course, not everything has buttons or edges that allow for simple changes we don't already use today, so here are a few ways that are commonly used to make things look more futuristic: Who's your rebel, and how does their clothing reflect their defiant spirit? Vividly describing the colors of your character's clothing can enliven ordinary writing. A self-conscious kid tries to disappear inside their oversized sweatshirt. His writing offers a masterclass in how to describe clothing in stories. If you write historical fiction, youre probably way ahead of me. ^.^ - 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. Glasses, headsets, lenses, jewelry, belts and so on can all help sell the futuristic look. Figurative language . Just click this link and dont even think about touching your wallet. The fantasy genre borrows an awful lot from medieval history. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 'There is a blog for every aspect of the writing journey.' Like all forms of exposition, your goal is to deliver this information without pulling the reader out of the story. Not all trends return and fashion isn't perfectly cyclical. Vision in such helmets was extremely limited, but this was the cost of added protection. You can even use different pieces of clothing to cover up body parts differently. Youre already obsessing over hat styles and what the undergarment situation was at the time of your story. Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed, We mentioned gambesons above. To illustrate this let's take a standard men's suit as an example. Not to pile on, but dont forget to make sure you know which materials wereand werentavailable in the world of your novel. Fully geared up, you were a walking fortress. But status can be communicated in more subtle ways, too. 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 clothing itself can be just standard medieval gear, but with these elements they immediately look (wood) elvish. There is simply more characterization, not only of Gem but the other characters, too. 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. You can go for standard quasi medieval fantasy clothing. It's what we're slowly doing today. Sometimes they're more interesting and lovable than the main characters themselves and end up stealing the show., Secrets. Finally there's all the little things that can make an outfit look more futuristic. Its all in the craft.Its good that youre here to learn how to describe clothing in writing, because its a powerful tool. Maybe your character is snuggled up in their fleece pajamas while the blizzard rages outside. Its fun to play with power in clothing, because it's a relative concept. Understanding how to describe clothing in a story well will help you create fuller, richer character portraits. And of course, location provides a clue for what it takes to be comfortable in the world of your story. Fashionably elegant and sophisticated. 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. Continued successes could see knights rise higher up the ranks. With all that armor, its often assumed the medieval knight was immobile. Blunt, Once quenched, the steel was re-heated to make it more resilient. This is often enough to make something look more futuristic, especially if used on something that looks glossy, shiny and/or smooth. 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. In battle, you are trying to strike a moving target, so mail was sufficient as most blows were glancing ones. And what does she put that cap on for? Or is it really important for a reader to know the specific pattern? Even things like tattoos, hair colors, eye colors and so on can help with this. Separate and enlarge it, turn down the Opacity of the layer . Maybe a bit of both. Like Marquez, compare and contrast characters clothes to reveal important details about their social status or position. Non-visual senses are big, too. Nov 1, 2019 - Explore Arisa Nightingale's board "Male Fantasy Outfit Concepts & Designs", followed by 456 people on Pinterest. and our But you may run into difficulties when it comes to the practicalities. As a quick question, in film you see a lot of heroes and leaders not wearing helmets. The good news is that attire is not only important, its also kind of fun when you start digging into it. Our imaginations can do a surprising amount with just a few key details. 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. is because we get stuck on what things look like. Clean, powerful strikes were needed to disable a foe wearing mail. Only when youre keeping secrets in fiction, you can make them even darker and deeper than any you might ever have in real life. As a result, feudal England became rife with young murderous men. Love this topic!! Clothes can betray our greatest joys and our deepest insecurities. I don't mean make your characters walk around naked, but exposing (or covering) body parts in ways we don't today helps make ordinary clothing look different, which in turn helps sell the idea of it being futuristic. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. The easy way to describe the setting is when the characters interact with it, e.g. 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. 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. Baggy. And lets not forget the trusty steed. Jeans and a tee it was. 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. Clothing description in a story is useful because it often gives additional information about a character that you might otherwise tell. 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. William the Conquerors society was shaped with war in mind. Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. 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). Maybe a bracelet represents a character's relationship to her mother. Do your characters care deeply about looking respectable, or are they more afraid of putting on airs? 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. We already have spray on clothing technology. And if you want more, this documentary is excellent. I love the way clothes can describe a character. Sometimes the simplest changes are enough to create something completely new and ideal for a particular universe. Great points. As well see below, one of the best things about using medieval armor in a fantasy story is the freedom to elevate it in some way. Finally there's the aspect of fashion to take into account. Fashion photographer Bill Cunningham said, Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life. Try applying this philosophy to clothing descriptions in your writing and see what happens. 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. Its a good time. Most clothing throughout history consisted of longer pieces of fabric and with minimal tailoring and cuts. Its because concrete details are incredibly effective in communicating abstract concepts. 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. 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. Blunt weapons were effective, causing haemorrhaging and concussion, so padded garments known as a doublet or gambeson were worn underneath to provide added protection. Thank you for reading our blog! Look how she sits with her mouth open! Heres a great visual guide on female fantasy armor by YouTuber Shadiversity. Which of these clothing types is your character most likely to reach for when starting their day? Although such armor exists in fantasy worlds, its important to understand how things work in the real world, even at a basic level. He's had over a dozen short stories published in various magazines and journals, with one adapted for BBC radio. 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. All this to say: there is substantial storytelling power in a coral Life is Good t-shirt. - 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). Are they overalls or coveralls? Select the most striking details and move on. 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. Maybe theyre wearing an article of clothing that once belonged to someone theyve lost. Here are five examples: 1. 04. Im struggling to properly figure out how to describe clothing for a fantasy setting Im trying to create. Another similar and perhaps way more popular example of this is Steampunk. The more you know about real clothing and armor, the more tools in your bag of tricks for describing awesome fantasy pieces. Examples of the prior are Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey and to some degree Star Wars and Tron. 70s-inspired. However, you can tell your reader interesting things through a mismatch: A wealthy character might show off their expensive clothing. With historical fiction one interesting aspect is to bring back the reader to that time period. 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.
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