Anatomy of Costume

THE ANATOMY OF COSTUME

Clothes Tell Stories!

Remember, the costume is just as much a part of your character as their hair or expression. DESIGN!

Clothing has a voice and give insight on the human life and conditions, of ideas, conceptions and thoughts, of customs and usages, of trade, crafts and fashion in all times everywhere in the world.

Clothes tell stories

It more than just cloth, leather or material - How does a peron wear it? are they comfortable? Mal a'laise?, how does what they wear or how show their personality?

Materials:

know what materials you are drawing. Is it leather? cotton? metal or silk?  Think about how gravity will act on each of these materials and also how they will interact with the softness of your characters. Understand how they fit together. where are the seams? are there zippers? buttons?  is this hand crafted or machine made? Is it heavy? how is it worn or attached? - even if the details arn't there (goodness, we don't necessarily want every button and seam drawn!) understand how it is put together.

If the cloth is thick - where and how will if bunch?

If the cloth is very fine, how and where will it drape?

History:

whether consciously or unconsciously our brain makes connections between ideas and images.  Even if we are seeing something we have never seen before, our brain will search for a frame of reference to make sense of what is seeing. As a designer, you can control this.

Look at reference and Historical costumes: what connotations go with these designs? how can you use or manipulate them?

Ex: Star Wars

Darth Vader - Samurai Armor = power, ruthlessness, skill, fear

Imperial officers - Nazi uniform = evil, unfeeling, stiff, military, slaughter, war

Jedi Robes - Spanish Monks = quiet, calm, serenity, peace, in control, steady, solid, oath bound

Leia - Greek Goddess = Beauty, order, regal, elegant, minimalist, bold 

Han Solo - Cowboy = gunslinger, tough, cocky, suave, witty, heroic

Check this out: for a great source on period dresses used in character design - pay attention to the different handling of different cloth and materials - http://drawthisdress.tumblr.com/