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He took off his helmet and a Norman archer made a lucky shot that put out Harolds eye and ended the battle.It should be noted that, with the helmets of the time, it wasnt necessary for Harold to take off his helmet, either to be seen or to get his eye shot out. Clothes can betray our greatest joys and our deepest insecurities. And well dip back in time to look at medieval armor and how it was used and crafted. An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. 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. Why this arguably works better is the details of getting dressed tell us multiple details about Gem. Lots of gear would have been looted. Dont worry, thats not a trick question. Adorable. Its something readers definitely appreciate, which I found with Pariahs Lament. Richie also runs The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed, a podcast devoted to helping writers improve their craft. Sweaters or jumpers? - Geometry. As a result, feudal England became rife with young murderous men. If you write historical fiction, youre probably way ahead of me. I'm sort of into historical armor so would get a kick out of finding an excuse to talk about vambraces/rerebraces, spaulders, etc. Copyright 2023 Richie Billing | Fantasy Writer. Fancy dresses. I never thought of there being a uniform for Midwestern ladyness. Think the previously mentioned Fifth Element and Hunger Games clothing versus Star Trek, Star Wars and so on clothing. Its okay if Todds checks his designer watch three pages after you mention his silk tie. 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. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts Ragged clothing description generator - Fantasy name generators 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. Or are you writing a spy character who dons Lululemon to infiltrate an upscale yoga studio? A four-layer, bubble-gum pink taffeta skirt. 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. When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. A knight, by definition, was a lord. 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. Using a squared, pixelated look or circuitry patterns usually works great too, which can even be combined with layered clothing to create the circuitry feel. Sneak around? Maybe a bracelet represents a character's relationship to her mother. Character description may change over the course of a story to emphasize a characters arc. Well cover everything from helmets and plate armor to chainmail. 2012 - I love to wear baggy trousers in summer. Only when youre keeping secrets in fiction, you can make them even darker and deeper than any you might ever have in real life. 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. Thus his plain dress is, ironically, indicative of higher status. As a friend told me, Wear jeans and glasses and have a favorite pen. Strips of leather were boiled in water, though some sources record oil and wax being used, and even animal urine. What backstory or character motivations could combinations of appearance and reality suggest? Really, the topic of this article is not how to describe clothing in writing as much as it is how to tell a story with clothes. 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. These are deep questions. A common (wood) elvish theme is to have lots of green tints, flowery elements and intricate embroidery. In some cases because they simply didn't have the technology for it, in others because it was too expensive and/or time consuming for the average person. The surrounding culture dictates what they cant wear if they want to be seen as free-thinking individuals. To navigate your way through this guide, just click the links below. That also will help readers really experience things through their eyes. His writing offers a masterclass in how to describe clothing in stories. A lowly one at that, but one very much capable of climbing the ladder. With all that armor, its often assumed the medieval knight was immobile. The reader does not need the full outfit in one go. 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. Figurative language . 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. In 2021 his debut novel, Pariah's Lament, an epic fantasy, was published by Of Metal and Magic. As well see below, medieval armor developed through necessitypeople needed to protect themselves from those wicked blades and needle-sharp darts. You can immediately show a character is wealthy with descriptions of fine clothing. 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. - 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. Like all forms of exposition, your goal is to deliver this information without pulling the reader out of the story. Read these tips on how (and why) to describe clothes with examples from well-known novels: 1: Use clothing to show status and position 2: Build (or thwart) character expectations with clothing descriptions 3: Describe clothing to contrast characters' personalities 4: Show clothing to avoid over-relying on telling With the major shapes in the thumbnails defined, choose the one that best exemplifies the feeling you're looking for. The image you create has to play a role in the narrative.Consider the character arc. Or one who was forever wearing poorly-fitted clothing that appeared to be handed down from friends? In Gabriel Garcia Marquezs Love in the Time of Cholera (1985), we learn of a doctors status through his being the only person at an event who is not smartly dressed: Although it was not customary for invitations to request special attire, least of all for a luncheon in the country, the women wore evening gowns and precious jewels and most of the men were dressed in dinner jackets with black ties, and some even wore frock coats. This includes items like steel-toed boots, heavy denim, or tech-forward, snag-resistant superhero spandex. Reddit - Dive into anything I like the way you wrote this information. Its fun to play with power in clothing, because it's a relative concept. Nov 28, 2022 - Explore Anung V's board "Character description" on Pinterest. Costume is a large part of a character. You may have imagined a man in an expensive suit or a woman in designer clothes. For example, if a character is going on a date, you could write: Gem wanted to look sexy for her date downtown (but not easy), so she changed into more comfortable clothes. 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. 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 . I can only imagine the pain of the chafing! So let's delve deeper into the details of how to actually figure out what your character wears. The aim is to arm you with what you need to enrich your tales with brilliant detail. Such simple things, but the clothes really helped show Jesus plight. Smart: Neat and tidy clothes but not necessarily formal. You may have seen steelworkers doing this after forging the likes of blades and horseshoes. 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? 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. One specific form of descriptive writing that particularly affects setting and characterization is the portrayal of characters' clothing. Fully geared up, you were a walking fortress. Or it could be that they want to be charmed by their own image when they look in the mirror. But if you do want some guidelines, inspiration or just help this guide'll hopefully provide it. See more ideas about fantasy clothing, anime outfits, character outfits. Select the most striking details and move on. 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. 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. Shoes made with bendable displays already exist, allowing you to change your shoe's design on the fly. I tried to add as much variety as possible, but without turning the whole description into a mess. As with body armor, great efforts were made with the designs of helmets. Who doesnt like being comfortable when killing? William the Conquerors society was shaped with war in mind. Clothes that are loose and hanging in folds. 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. This is often enough to make something look more futuristic, especially if used on something that looks glossy, shiny and/or smooth. This article was very helpfulcan you post some examples of showing versus telling when describing clothing? They're the ones who are always there to lend a helping hand, crack a joke, or provide some much-needed emotional relief.And let's be real, sometimes they dont go unsung. Most picture the knight when we talk about plated armorrigid tin men that can withstand all manner of blows. Give your wealthy character a pair of Louboutins and dress your non-wealthy characters in hand-me-downs. Baggy jeans. But the biggest challenge can sometimes be simply making something look futuristic or historic fantasy-ish, which is the main focus of this guide. In reality, a medieval lord could pretty much do what they liked. The last minute change suggests an indecisive nature. That said, once you describe how a person dresses you shouldn't really keep doing it unless it is relevant to the plot. These elements are very important when taking into account the previous point. Dr. Urbino in Marquezs example above fits the latter category. Its a bit OCD of me. Need help with clothing description in Fantasy | Royal Road Not a Dabble user? What I would like to ask is how you would go about describing very specific details on more complex clothing? 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. Game of Thrones/A Song Of Ice And Fire is one series that wonderfully explores fantasy armor and weapons. Describing clothes? : r/writing - reddit What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. The easy way to describe the setting is when the characters interact with it, e.g. Have fun with it. The important thing to remember is to remain in the character's point of view.