Thoughts on Fashion/Signature Looks In your Work

[Lady_T_Musings]

Hi y'all,

I was looking through my DeviantArt page of old for some references to the clothes I used to have the denizens of my comic MagicalMashup! wear when it hit me. As much as I’m into fashion, the clothing choices of old that I made didn’t change much form pic to pic.

Looking at my protagonists Junah and Kaelen specifically I found that they were always drawn wearing the same dang thing. Even when the world they exist in is one that changes each day. I’ll give my younger self a little credit since at least Junah had some variation, but Kaelen? Nahhh, he always wore the same v neck shirt and jeans with oversized cloak (still does to this day, but the shirt got stripes and cloak got even BIGGER).

Thinking more about it, I’m sure it’s just something that developed from watching cartoons/Anime and having it embedded in me that characters have A LOOK. That one look is a big part of what defines and makes them recognizable. IDK why I thought young Lady T. was doing something that current me just started making a conscientious choice to change, but sometimes you can surprise yourself when looking back through old work (like how I’ve drawn more comics than I remembered lol).

For my current series MagicalMashup! Fashion changes based on the region, so some folks do have a more static look, but for the most part the story takes place in the cultural melting pot of the world between the magical and practical sides of the world in the Nation of Lufiriya. Attention to what people wear in the in the city is pretty important as it adds to driving the point home on how diverse the people of Lufiriya are as opposed to some of the more closed nations. Not only that, but the extra bits of characterization you can get from attention to wardrobe is pretty swanky. So, for me, clothing changes would be necessary for the students at IMMMA! Well most of them. Kaelen as a character just really is the type to have a closet full of the same clothes with that one acceptation. It’s less fuss and time spent getting ready each day (young me understood that much about his character I like to think lol). Junah on the other hand…If she can dream it she can make it and wear it, so I had to put a little more thought into her outfits.

It’s true that making the decision to include clothing changes is more work, but I feel like it’s worth it to make the world feel like it has a sense of passing time (and let’s be real, more reason to show off body parts I like to draw [shoulders and collars for dayssss] the most). Though instead of trying to go buck wild on the fashion sheets, I just came up with a few outfits per reoccurring character with an alternate Hair style or two (hair really is a whole other ball park though). An element specifically to this comic that I have had some fun designing is how each characters mage cloak manifests. As MagicalMashup! is a story that centers around mages, I want to keep a few of the recognizable elements to that character archetype in the story, so personality accommodating mage cloaks were born!

(The cloaks can literally be a sash if it fits that character better or a cape, depends.)

With all that musing I’m wondering how other creators tackle fashion in their works. Is it an afterthought? Do you keep it simple? Do you have a character look book? Examples are welcome : D!

TLDR: Looked through my OLD DeveiantArt page for fashion refs on characters only to find out how stagnant the clothing choices I made were. Compared young me to old me and how I had some things right and some not so right and how I got really into how changing clothes as it signifies progression of time. Oh and how much I like to show off collarbones and shoulders.

What’s ya’lls approach to fashion and/or signature looks in your works? Feel free to show examples too!

[kaetana]

I absolutely love thinking about this stuff. I regularly change the outfits of my comic characters, to help convey the passage of time as well as based on what's practical to their current situation. It's always fun to come up with new outfits for them that keep consistent with their general fashion sense.

Rowan
Main colors: Purples, browns, gold accents
Staple clothing aspects: Scarf, gloves or bandages covering his hands, prefers short sleeved or sleeveless clothing, concealed weapon

Rowan's first outfit is meant to somewhat resemble “normal” clothes as he's meant to not look like a combatant until he draws the dagger worn on the back of his belt hidden under his coat.

His second outfit is after a 6 month time skip, so it's summer now and the outfit gets a bit lighter to compensate for warmer weather.

In more casual situations he goes down to the most basic elements of his clothing, generally a sleeveless black top and pants.

Bree:
Main colors: Blues, black, silver and teal accents
Staple clothing aspects: Her jewelry and holy symbol choker, general pirate-y look, tall boots, teal sash

Bree has probably the boldest sense of fashion of the trio. Her initial outfit is her in her pirate captain uniform.

After the timeskip, she too has switched over to lighter clothing, still keeping important aspects like the choker she wears her holy symbol on.

Her casual clothing is actually pretty similar to the rest of her outfits, as she already doesn't tend to wear much in the way of armor.

Raul:
Main colors: Reds, black, gold accents
Staple clothing aspects: Always wears gloves, roguish leather armor with something that can be made into a hood

Raul favors darker colors as one might expect from a rogue. He's got a belt to wear his daggers on as well as a cowl neck on his top that can be pulled up into a hood.

After the timeskip he's switched to a sleeveless outfit with a hooded cape and a slightly different dagger belt.

His casual outfit features a sleeveless version of the original cowl neck top, and with his armor and weapons removed (but still wearing the gloves).

I'm already working on the designs for their new combat gear for when they venture out again in my next story arc. I find having to draw their outfits over and over for the comic helps me learn a lot which clothing designs or details are too complicated or annoying to have to draw repeatedly, and adjust my fashion design accordingly for the next sets. ^_^

[Lady_T_Musings]

That's what's up! I'm feeling the variation yet core elements being kept that synergize with each character in your examples!

Yeah It's defiantly a learning process with figuring out what's going to drive you wild after repeatedly drawing it when it comes to details lol. As much as I want to do some lace and embroidery I would like never draw it out save for like a special fully rendered spread deal lol.

[silacinnamon]

Oooh I love seeing how other creators handle fashion in their stories!!

Depending on the story I might design just one outfit for each character, or change it everytime. For my current webcomic each chapter takes place on a single day, so I make new outfits for the characters while planning each chapter, depending on the setting they're in etc.

For example, on chapter 3 they're on a kinda formal situation

And chapter 4 is a lot more casual

(I lost the references I did for the outfits of earlier chapters, sadly ;-; )

I also keep some pinterest folders to have an idea of the style and colours that each character likes to wear! Sami, the protagonist, loves skirts and is always wearing some orange/earthy tones and maybe some blue for contrast.

Oh, and I'm thinking about planning in advance which characters will appear more or less, so I can give more detailes clothes to the ones I'll be drawing just a few times and keep the characters that I'll draw a lot with cleaner designs... x'D

[Lady_T_Musings]

Ohh these character designs and outfits are just lovely <3! I'm also digging how you keep track of each characters fashion preferences too. I also have all these magazine cutouts in a binder that is so old and cumbersome to carry anywhere so I have to keep it in the studio lol. It'd be nice to have fashion refs on the go.

[skippyjoeskilling]

Oh, designing the character's outfits is one of my favorite parts of working on my comics! Clothing is one of the easiest ways to show character, so I think it's super important that the clothes make sense for the person wearing it.

In my comic Nowhere, South Dakota, the characters wouldn't really own a lot of clothing, so for every outfit that appears onscreen (on page I guess) I try to think on what its significance would be, where the character got it and when. I actually have a list of every shirt the main characters wear, so that I can keep track of who wears what. It really simplifies things since once I know where each scene is taking place and what the weather is, I can just check the list and pick what each character is wearing. If they're just in the house watching a movie, the main character Rip might wear boxers and the ARMY sweater his brother gave him. If he's out he'll probably wear a puff jacket and a hoodie.

Anything more complicated than jeans or plain t-shirts (since pretty much everyone wears those) I think about how it can show something about the character. Mike's only graphic tee is for the band Dropkick Murphys. one of the shirts that pops up most often is for the Gathering of Nations PowWow 1994, and since that's an old shirt Rip pretty much only wears it as pajamas. Also, I doubt anyone noticed since it wasn't explicitly pointed out, but after his birthday passed in comic, Rip started wearing a new hat. I dunno, I really think it helps add to the ambience.

I also like to have characters share clothing. Especially if they're dating or live together it's something that would happen naturally, and I think it's a really cute way to show how close two characters are without having to do much work. I know every time I've noticed it in a comic I'm reading I like it, it's like an Easter egg.

Rip wears this shirt in chapter 1 (and a few other times)

and here's Mike wearing it in chapter 15, where it definitely doesn't fit him as well.

I also recommend making Pinterest boards for every character. It's a great way to keep track of a character's personal style, and it means you'll probably have a reference on hand for whatever item of clothing you want to draw.

[gmaximin]

My wife designs fashion, so I don't... but I'm influenced. Since Effy is mainly about being efficient, she dresses for an end, so considering time / place / purpose. She changes outfits in every episodes, even though she wears casual or business most of the time. She even went as far as creating an application to match clothing with potential customer to optimize deal closing in one episode... that she named "clo(th)ing".

Examples:

[yoyoyoshiko]

Since I decided to take a tradition-based stance towards costumed-heroes for my universe, I've also had characters lift inspiration for their costumes from heroes before them. This helps illustrate my story's themes of leaving a positive mark on others, by showing visually who the characters look up to, or in Airstrike's(bottom left) case, who looks up to them.

even the outfits of the background characters help illustrate different character's popularity

Day-to-day fashion is not as important to me with my current comic, but since I'm dealing with superheroes, I have found costume design can convey a lot within the genre.
As with most of my projects, I tend to think partly in-universe when designing. Each character has a lot to say with what they wear and how they present themselves, and the costumes not only serve a purpose, but to some characters, uphold a sense of tradition.
A good many of my character's costumes share visual characteristics: swooping color-shapes on the hips, lines running vertically on either side of the torso, material separation at the shoulder, and chevron/diagonal shapes following the collar bone. Of course, this is very telling of my own hand, and my preferences when drawing probably due to the fact that some of these elements help express character direction, posture and foreshortening. I eventually discovered that it would make a lot of in-universe sense that all of these costumes could have been designed by the same person, for the very simple reason that it would be one particular character commissioning each costume.

There are of course, some characters with a little more control over their looks... Although these still share many of the same shapes as the other costumes(because its still me drawing aahaha), they differ slightly. The first costume is home-made... well-made costumes are likely expensive, and the home-grown hero in his early twenties probably can't afford, and probably doesnt know anyone who makes them. The second hero, is significantly older, and she has both money to spend, and an artistic background. When I designed her, I made a lot of choices that I as an artist don't usually make, to let her stand out just slightly.

[Lady_T_Musings]

I'm loving how organized you are when it comes to keeping track of who has what in their closet. That's pretty cool and I'm also liking that little detail that speaks a lot with having characters that are dating share clothing <3. Lovely examples fyi, everyone looks so natural in your work.

Thinking more and more on the Pinterest boards haha.

[Lady_T_Musings]

I'm digging it! Since your wife does fashion design I'm sure there is a good bit of reference about and of course a direct source if needed ha! Effy looks naturally posh too!!

[Lady_T_Musings]

I'm feeling it! Like representing your fav sports team, but with heroes instead. That's pretty cool though and a nice place to get some clothing inspiration from for background folks and fans.

Totally agree with heroes, costumes can tell a lot about the character and powers too!

Ah that's pretty cool too. Having a lead designer would entail having a stylistic thumbprint that would show up on each design they made. It also makes it so that whenever someone has a costume not designed by the usual designer, they will stand out or not look as cohesive.

Pretty cool stuff and your heroes look fly!

[Jenny-Toons]

A lot of my characters' fashion are based on my own. For most of the time, my fashion has consisted of sweaters, jackets, long skirts, jeans, and leggings.

So I've mostly done the same within my comics. Course, I mixed in a bit of fashion I want to wear or fashion from different time periods (like the 70s or the 80s).

For myself, it was kinda easy to dress my characters up like me. Before this year, my waredrobe wasn't the most chic or heavily stylish. Definitely cute in its own right, but more laid-back, a little bit baggy, and casual. It fit myself, and it honestly fit my characters. Even if they all wear my type of clothes, their different eras and personalities made the fashion differ. You got a different vibe from all of them, even if they're wearing the same style.

Now I'm changing it up. Just recently, I've decided to take on that 1960s Mod look (something I've kinda wanted for a good minute). I decided 2020 would be the year. I haven't drawn my characters wearing this style in my comic yet, but I have added some concept doodles. So far?

They're looking gorgeous as always~

[Lady_T_Musings]

I'm here for it!! What better reference than using your own clothes and style haha. Your outfits look cozy and stylish and like the characters are wearing the clothes (not like just pasted on top, but like actually in them outfits lol).

Everyone is looking mad stylish in your work and I'm loving the flashback to the 60s outfits!! Lovely examples!

[Kittyfox]

For me, I design outfits based on their personalities and roles. Sometimes, I do base them off my own style, but say, if one of the characters is a more shy and soft person, a fluffy turtleneck would fit well, even though I myself never wear turtlenecks. Or, perhaps if they're a (semi-magical) student, a cute school uniform with a skirt and tie.

Oh yeah here are the characters I mentioned:

[Lady_T_Musings]

Cute designs! Yasss I’m feeling that for sure. Clothing that speaks about the character is pretty neat!