“Clothing is a form of self-expression – there are hints about who you are in what you wear.”

– Marc Jacobs

In the involved and layered marathon that is character creation, the first thing of a character that is (nearly always) shown is their appearance; certainly in a visual medium, such as films or graphic novels, and physical appearance is an essential attribute that carries characters through their stories. It’s a given, of course; most characters require a body to be present and functional in their fictional world, right? Right! Naturally.

This speaks of the physique and bodily traits foremost, of course (like hair, eye and skin colour, height, weight, age and gender) but another important visual aspect is clothing.

A lot of iconic characters are iconic due in part to their attire. Superheroes are a prime example. It’s part and parcel of their persona as a whole. Even characters that fall into more normal categories are given attire that plays a part in the expression of their being (sometimes with dramatic emphasis, like Elle Woods’ outfit in the movie Legally Blonde, or with more subtle nuances, like Han Solo’s no muss no fuss casual vest, shirt and trousers, worn during the original Star Wars trilogy). Clothing is a reflection (and amalgamation) of multiple facets that add a surprising amount of dimension to a character; status, wealth, personal taste, era-set fashion, self-expression (or the deliberate concealment of); a revealing of culture, and even for symbolic purposes (colour also makes for an excellent source of symbolism).

When creating a character, clothing plays an important role, and shouldn’t be brushed over, if you want to get the most value and layering from that visual aspect of your character (hehehe “layering” no pun intended). Even if your character is an everyday individual, and the story setting requires they wear standard, unremarkable clothing (such as a school or workplace uniform) you can still add accessories, colourations or details that help to become an important (and even memorable) aspect of that character’s individuality.

A prime example of a character’s standardised outfit being used in a clever marking of their individuality, is the FBI agent, Seely Booth, from the TV series Bones. As expected, Booth is required to wear a typical and unremarkable black, piece suit, as expected of his job status. But, what makes his clothing more him, is the red “cocky” belt buckle he wears. Very non-standard, and a clever use of a manifested representation of an aspect of Booth’s individuality; namely, his rebellious streak.

With all that in mind, during my process of DnD character creation, I was deliberate in my choice of attire for my different characters. Not only would the outfits need to reflect their Class–which is an important profile segment in the DnD universe, but I also deliberated how the clothing could also play a part in reflecting other aspects; namely character status, fashion sense, level of practicality, and also the use of (some) colours for symbolic purposes.

Then, I went ahead and broke down the clothing into the respective layers in the form of concept art, not only to get a better idea of what and how each character wore their clothes … but also to improve my skill of how to draw clothing and accessories with more realistic accuracy (of how and where pieces and layers sat in relevance to the character physique, as well as each other).

These are the results, and represent all of my currently created DnD characters. Click on individual images to load the full image and get a better view of the details!

For extra DnD info references:

• Miuna Kiel is a Longtooth Shifter female of the Monk (Open Hand) class.
• Tristana Toivo is a Tiefling female of the Rogue-Assassin class/ sub-class.
• Vastien Chevalier is a Water Genasi/ Dhampir nobleman, of the Warlock class.
• Laukad Aduen is a Kalashtar male, of the Cleric (Peace Domain) class.
• Orcas na Farraige is an Each-Uisge male (in human form) and is Vastien’s Patron.
• Bramral Flarefang is a Leonin male, of the Paladin (Oath of Glory) class.

I hope you enjoy these pieces and are inspired to work on your own character clothing ideas!