How often do you change your characters clothes?

[JKNNKL]

OMG IF ITS FROM HNM I HAVE THE CAP OF THE THIRD PIC OF THE BROWN haired GUY LMAOOOOO

[Stickly]

Whenever they're expected to. Change to pajamas at home, change to gym clothes for sports, etc.

[heterodont]

Eh, I don't really change the outfits of my characters much at all? I give them outfits that fit their character/personality/backstory and try to make it as iconic as possible vs constantly changing outfits. I don't have a problem against it - I just much rather have them have One Iconic Outfit. Realism be damned.

I'm kinda obsessed with clothing and matching irl that it'd do more harm than good because I'd end up never getting anything done because I'm too preoccupied with deciding if x shoe would pair well with y shirt.

[AnnaLandin]

do you change their clothes?

For the main characters, no. Grassblades is about a homeless wanderer and the orphan who tags along with them; they literally HAVE no other clothes, and have to make do with washing/mending what they've got.

Some minor characters do get costume changes occasionally, though.

I do have some oneshot comics as well, but they don't have costume changes at all, since they take place over the span of maybe a few hours.

(yes) how often do you do it and why?

Sometimes, when there's a good reason for it! Like when I flash back to something that happened a long time ago, or if they show up in one scene, and then show up in another that canonically takes place days or weeks or more later.

Grassblades is set in a world where people in general have fewer sets of clothes to change between; it's a fantasy setting with no textile mills. So they change more rarely, and the variation tends to be smaller.

do you find hard to make clothes look fashionable?

No, not really! I have a metric ton of reference photos saved that I can go dig through and find inspiration, so it's not that challenging. It's like with anything else you learn to draw; you have to find out what it looks like first. You wouldn't expect to be able to draw a bicycle without looking at a picture of one first - it's the same with fashionable clothing.

It's a matter of practise, really. Just keep trying until you learn how.

can you leave a link to your comic?

It's right up there ^ but if you don't wanna scroll up - here's a link to all of my series.

do you think clothes make the character?

Not as such, no, but distinctive fashion and colour choices will make your character stand out, and help your readers remember them.

[NickRowler]

I do give my characters a new outfit for each new day. I sort of do it for a sense of "realism". Plus it helps show the passing of time. Coming up with new outfits is difficult tho.

My MC however always wears the same outfit even as a child. I did this for two reasons, 1) his name is Crow and his outfit looks like a crow, and 2) he is weird and stubborn. He's suppose to be childish, he's content with just doing what he wants even if that means not changing and growing up.

Here's my comic: Crow's Worth

[anitacomics]

To be able to change your characters' clothes you really need to have their face recognizable every time, so I'd suggest not to make them change until they're consistent. You can anyway try keeping their hair and main color always the same, and changing the shape of the clothes!

Changing their clothes often also requires that you remember and/or check exactly how they're dressed page after page, and this is another reason why most popular characters don't change at all: it's easier for the artist to avoid mistakes.

I layed out a set of outfits for my main characters based on their different activities: the school in DAWN OF THE DAD requires a uniform, so they must change when they're out chilling with friends, or at home, or they just woke up. I set a series of outfit that's roughly the same everytime, so for example the main character always wears dark jeans and a purple sweater when she's at home.
In short, they change but I don't need to decide how they're dressed everytime

[Vanesalisa]

all the time because it's fun because I get to research what clothes would they wear next

[Rhombik]

That's a super interesting question. I have thought about it but not too much until now.

do you change their clothes?
The main character is a robot from another planet so he is naked for the most part. So are all the animals that come and go.

But there are four kids... I guess I do change them a little but mostly just the colour.

(yes) how often do you do it and why?

Off the top of my head, they all have about two outfits (not counting times when they are in their pajamas or school uniform or something) which I swap about. This has mostly got to do with the fact that the clothes might clash with the background.

I did used to get annoyed when I watched Cartoon Network and they never changed clothes though so maybe this has affected me on some level.

do you find hard to make clothes look fashionable?

I haven't been trying but... Now you mention it, one girl has an over-sized top and leggings and this is all my little students wear.

can you leave a link to your comic?

https://tapas.io/series/Gombik-Comics

Not all of them have made their way from my desktop computer to Tapas yet. I wanted a buffer for when work dumps an intensive course or a pile of paperwork in my lap. Updates are Wednesdays and Sundays.

do you think clothes make the character?

I think the clothes help to differentiate the characters and often tell you a little something about them. Even in a more realistically drawn comic, I'd try to keep either the colour scheme or the clothes themselves the same.

[nolongerusetheforum]

My character is a stick-man, they are practically naked lol.

[feuersichel]

My main character changes her clothes quite a lot. The others don't. It's kinda part of a "joke".

[Migue]

I guess it always depends on the context of the story.

If the story is set in a regular city or town and your characters are more or less normal folks whom doesn't wear an uniform everyday, it's good to change clothing like almost everyone does. You know, not wearing the same thing you wore yesterday, dressing acordingly to the occasion, wearing proper stuff for the climate, just to mention some examples.

But I think that when the story is set in a more fantastic realm it's fair if the characters don't change their clothes that often. I mean, I'm sure that Frodo only took three white shirts and two pants in his quest to destroy the ring.

[scarlet_wings_kaili]

I change their clothes every time it's a new day XD
What I do is I make a wardrobe for them. Something like this:

[thomasfallaeriksen]

Usually when a new chapter starts. The story jumps between different realities so it helps show that the characters are in a different realm.

[Wishjacked]

My characters usually change clothes whenever a real person would change clothes… so day-to-day, in and out of pajamas, etc. There are exceptions, of course…. one of my characters only owns two (almost identical) pairs of pants and one pair of shoes, for example, so those elements of his clothing never change. Sometimes I'll have a character wear the same shirt two days in a row, especially if they're a minor character and it's obvious from context that time has passed. But for the most part, I'll change their clothes whenever it makes sense from a time-passage standpoint!

I love fashion design and I think clothes help flesh out a character a lot… it can tell you about their hygiene, how they want to be perceived by others, their interests, their financial status, etc. etc. It's one of my very favorite parts of storytelling and design. (Too bad my comic is peopled almost entirely with goofy teenagers on summer vacation… I end up designing a lot of t-shirts when I'd rather be coming up with fancy dresses HAHA)

[popsiclestick]

these are a couple of old turnaround/outfit ideas that i did for my comic. I change my characters clothes from day to day, but they tend to stick to certain colour schemes which help reinforce the character, I guess? They tend to wear similar things most days - like with Archer, the first, usually in an off-white shirt with darker pantaloons, (which also says a lot about his character as he hasn't got a lot of cash for much else) but I like changing the cut subtly and just adding interesting details to make each outfit different.

[Louistrations]

I change the clothing and hairstyles a lot, probably more often than I should. Like a lot of people have already mentioned, each of my characters have a set colour palette so hopefully it doesn't throw people off too much.

[Aspie_Gamer]

Life of an Aspie has for the most part had my characters wear the same old clothes that is school uniforms given the high school setting. On weekends though or in Susan's case in the most recent chapter where she was still suspended for beating up the resident Alpha Bitch, I've drawn the appropriate characters in casual clothing that speaks to their personality or tastes. i.e Susan's a tomboy and therefore doesn't dress girly where Mizuki does because well...she's a girly girl.

[danrafter]

That's an interesting question. I usually have my characters change their clothes if a day passes. But I do have some characters wear the same clothing all the time because they are supposed to represent certain archetypes. That happens in my horror/comedy Slash in Love here. I haven't gotten to these characters yet in the first few pages I've posted, but there are some characters in my comic who represent the traditional stereotypes of '80s slasher movies: the brainy girl, the party girl, the punk girl. They always wear the same clothes because they are supposed to be stuck in their stereotypes.

So, it does depend on the characters and what their roles are in a comic.

Dan

[Merle]

how often do you do it and why?
Change them every day - so almost every new scenne. Because I try to make the story as realistic as possible

do you find hard to make clothes look fashionable?
Uhm...not really. It´s more like having a certain style of clothing. I sometimes look clothes up online ans figure out which would fit a certain characters....but then again, I honestly make more statement with the colour they are wearing (the boy, for example wears more red/purple than the girl, which actually stands for his confidience).

can you leave a link to your comic?
No. Haven´t figured out how to.
do you think clothes make the character?
NO! haha. The can suport certain characteristics and shurely are a very sublte way to give of a vibe. The certainly don´t make them. If I had a comic with only naked people in them, would they have no character?

Interesting topic tough...

[bear1]

My characters change clothes from arc to arc.
The reason behind it is simple...I love drawing different clothes (especially dresses and all that overly girly stuff XD)
And since I don't have the money to buy a new outfit every week (or don't look good in some clothing styles) I might as well enjoy those styles on my characters. Besides that I think it might be exciting for the audience to see a new outfit with every story