Your trust fund character might be completely confident showing up to a party in board shorts and flip-flops. Lets take a look at some individual pieces of armor. So here are some more ways to alter a design while sticking with familiarity and a more historic feel: On the other hand you may wish to add layers for the same purpose. Since it's a friends' get-together, let's wear casual attire. Can you imagine tweaking this to make your own set of fantasy armor? Costume is a large part of a character. Ill add it to my to do list . You can go for standard quasi medieval fantasy clothing. For example, headphones aren't really a piece of clothing, but they definitely affect our style. Katerina is affronted by Amalias fine dress because it is new and shows pride. (Find out more). Now turn the edges a different color or make them light up and you immediately have a more futuristic looking suit. In the historical fiction books Ive read, none of the heroes took off their helmets unless they were knocked off, or bashed in. Besides knowing who we design for we also have to know what the rules for designing are within the universe of our characters. 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. Similarly, show how different characters personalities are through apt clothing description. "White tunics" have been worn from 2016 to a good forty thousand years ago. Richard the Lionheart, for instance, was celebrated amongst his peers for his ability to chop his enemys skulls down to the teeth. Medieval clothing description generator - Fantasy name generators 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. Make it look very clean and smooth and it immediately feels more modern. A common (wood) elvish theme is to have lots of green tints, flowery elements and intricate embroidery. How to Analyze a Fashion Collection - Bloomsbury Fashion Central The padded material could absorb blows from blunt, A Guide To Writing Stories That Genuinely Helps, "Helped me land my first book deal" - Jack Shannon, Author, Get More Writing Support From Fellow Fantasy Writers, A complete guide to worldbuilding, with a template. - Make things look glossy, smooth and clean. Do not describe a character's clothing except as that point of view character would do so. Vision in such helmets was extremely limited, but this was the cost of added protection. 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. 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. The more outlandish the fantasy species your character is the more outlandish you can usually be with clothing, but familiarity is usually still a solid ground for a realistic feel, even if the universe and the creatures are completely unrealistic. So have fun with that. 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. Love this topic!! But that doesn't mean you can't deviate from these guidelines completely and do whatever you wish. (Where do they buy their clothes? Now, for the feedbackit depends what POV you're writing in. Fantasy Armor - The Ultimate Guide - Richie Billing We naturally link clothing and identity, which is why wardrobe is such an effective tool for building a vivid character. The aim was not to cause any impediment to movement. Mail was lightweight and flexible. Whether its a matter of indulgence or survival, feeling good is a deeply relatable goal. Clothes can betray our greatest joys and our deepest insecurities. Well come to this below. A possible source of conflict for a story, perhaps! All this to say: there is substantial storytelling power in a coral Life is Good t-shirt. The more you know about real clothing and armor, the more tools in your bag of tricks for describing awesome fantasy pieces. Casual. As with body armor, great efforts were made with the designs of helmets. First and foremost we need to know who we're designing for. Not really. Well also take a look at female fantasy armor and those used by, Mail was particularly effective against glancing blows. At the end of the day, they were professional slayers, swords for hire. In reality, a medieval lord could pretty much do what they liked. It illustrates brilliantly the differences between fantasy armor and the boring armor of reality, in this case, Gothic armor. One character might demonstrate their power by showing up to prom in a designer gown. Its not an aspect of character design that bubbles up naturally from the depths of my creative soul. His writing offers a masterclass in how to describe clothing in stories. Or one who was forever wearing poorly-fitted clothing that appeared to be handed down from friends? Stylish. Is your central conflict a life-or-death situation? Use the Character section of the Idea Finder to develop quick story ideas and flesh out your storys cast. 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. - Christine, on How to describe clothing in a story (with examples), 8 story hook examples (how to grab attention), Story structure examples: How to create payoffs for readers, How to describe to immerse readers (complete guide), How to write deep POV: 8 tips and examples, 9 exposition examples: How to write clear introductions, How to make a plot captivating: 7 strategies, Writing great characters: 5 lessons from modern novels. Share. You dont need it to sign up. Clean, powerful strikes were needed to disable a foe wearing mail. A self-conscious kid tries to disappear inside their oversized sweatshirt. and our Is your character trying to attract positive attention? Dont worry, thats not a trick question. Copyright 2023 Richie Billing | Fantasy Writer. So as a way of trying to control them and their behaviour, the code of chivalry and honour was introduced. The padded material could absorb blows from blunt weapons and provided some protection from cuts, but against well-forged weapons they were useless. Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed, We mentioned gambesons above. No problem! A scarf for example might be too hot for some areas, but it's obviously easy to leave those out. Expensive indeed, and heavystronger horses had to be bred to handle the weight. What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. The unsung hero of so many stories. Clothing tells your reader a lot about your characters goals and motivations within a given scenario. I never thought of there being a uniform for Midwestern ladyness. Adorable. Here are a few different types: We mentioned gambesons above. You suddenly know which details to include, which to leave out, and whether to call it a blood-red cloak or a goji berry wrap. Delighted to hear youre finding this useful. The appearance of armor was a big deal for knights. Thank you for sharing this valuable information. Blunt, Once quenched, the steel was re-heated to make it more resilient. Achieving glory in battle was one way of earning a knighthood. 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. And if you dont write historical fiction? In Dostoyevskys Crime and Punishment, the poor, Tuberculosis-stricken Katerina Ivanovnas husband is trampled to death by a horse-drawn cart. In a book, none of that is true. The time period of your story. Maybe your character is snuggled up in their fleece pajamas while the blizzard rages outside. 100 Words to Describe Clothes - grammarhow.com Other clothing pieces could be various types of hats and scarves, (trench) coats and even something as simple as pockets or buttons used for fastening rather than as decoration to name just a few. Finally there's the aspect of fashion to take into account. 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. In 2021 his debut novel, Pariah's Lament, an epic fantasy, was published by Of Metal and Magic. But thats the case wherever you go. Shoes made with bendable displays already exist, allowing you to change your shoe's design on the fly. Then this is their category. More on that in a bit. Stockings, long gloves, scarves or separate layers of clothing make a huge difference. Not quite. A vintage polka dot dress with a sweetheart neckline. 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 fact, you should be putting lots of thought and development into protagonists because thats who the story is about.But how much thought have you given to your tertiary characters? Join Kickstart your Novel and get professional feedback on your first three chapters and story synopsis, plus workbooks and videos. What exactly are you trying to communicate about the character, setting, or situation? As well see below, medieval armor developed through necessitypeople needed to protect themselves from those wicked blades and needle-sharp darts. The eye slits were narrow to prevent all sizes of arrowheads from finding their way through. You really can tell a lot about a person by what they wear, or what they dont wear. But they werent administrators. Your email address will not be published. A person who doesn't want to draw attention to themselves would dress completely differently today than they would even a few decades ago. Heres a video showing the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of leather armor against arrows. Fancy dresses. But status can be communicated in more subtle ways, too. The fact Gem goes with jeans and a tee could suggest that she trusts her aunts advice. They are more common around the chest and torso in Asian cultures though, so keep that in mind when adding diagonal lines. Borrowed armor wouldnt fit as well as a suit made for the wearer and wouldnt be as well balanced, so someone in borrowed armor would be more likely to have problems moving in his armor. Note that with the camouflage patterns it's best to use this style, but make them less randomized to avoid the military look, unless that's what you're going for of course. You could even move the buttons to the side and have it close diagonally instead. But it provided an odd sense of security. In pre-thermometer times this was difficult as you can imagine, so instead, armorers observed the colour of the heated steel. But the definition of sneaky depends on your characters situation. Sweaters or jumpers? Dragon scales, fiery furs and feathers and other elements can quickly turn a standard item into a fantasy one. Figurative language . Theyre probably less concerned with how they look (unless they want to look intimidating) and more concerned with things like survival or victory. It may be apocryphal, but Harold Godwinson is said to have done just that at the battle of Hastings in 1066. As a friend told me, Wear jeans and glasses and have a favorite pen. This usually involves dresses from some time pre-renaissance and a tunic or shirt paired with trousers for men and women who are doing warrior stuff. Am I trying to blow the interview? Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. Thank you for reading our blog!
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