Costuming

Chapter 9 The Costumes

By now you probably understand that everything in a story production helps describe the character and the journey they go on. Naturally this is also true about costumes. Remember everything you have learned so far and the things you learned in the design section. Think of the colors and textures that will help define your character and the situation they are in. Since the previous chapter gave you a thorough explanation of the concepts and psychology, now we should be able to focus in this chapter on practical ideas. A few concept points should be added though. We talked in the last chapter about color. Also consider the shape of the costume and what that says about the character. Characters that need to move a lot, like fighting characters should probably have a costume that is easy to move in. A character that is very powerful is likely to have a less mobile costume because they either have other people work for them or they have special powers. Having a costume be big around the knock and shoulders suggests a powerful and threatening character. Think about dracula. For men a big collar or cloak help show power. Also the use of fine fabrics like silk and very rich textured clothes show power while leather and metal show a rough character. For women think of the dress length. A more power female character will more likely be in a long gown while an action character might wear a short skirt or pants. Just like male characters, a more powerful female character will wear finer fabrics. Also, hiding the face makes a character seem mysterious. Dark sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat give a character a sense of mystery.

Make or Buy?

The next question to think about is whether to make, find or buy your costumes. If you are on a really low budget it depends on the kinds of costumes you need. There are ways to make your costumes look pretty good with very little money. If your time period is anything within the last 100 or 200 years, it is probably going to be better to find or buy your costumes. Clothing has not changed a lot in the last 100 years and you can find things that make it look like your story takes place 100 years ago. To find things that look old, try searing in second hand stores. Look at places that sell used clothing. Another factor is that more modern clothing is much harder to make. Ancient clothing is not too hard to create and can be done with very little money and time. It is best to go to a fabric store and buy some fabric. You can learn to make togas, tunics and cloaks. All three can be done for less than $5 and created in about 30 seconds. A toga is a fabric wrapped around the person. A cloak is just fabric draped over the shoulders and a tunic is a piece of fabric with a hole cut out for the head and placed over the character.