Clothes are an interesting topic! I think the most important thing when designing clothes is the character they're going on.

First thing to consider is what they *need*, like, do they need/want a ton of pockets? Maybe if they collect knick knacks or have a bunch of different weapons, or if they simply like keeping things on them to fidget with they could use a few extra pockets! You can choose if these pockets are more hidden (maybe they're embarrassed about it) or just out in the open. Do they move around a lot and need a simpler outfit? If they get injured a lot maybe a backpack to carry some supplies would be a good idea. Species also plays a bit of a factor, like, if they have wings they might prefer to wear backless shirts or shoulder-less shirts or just wrap something around them and around the front.

Time period is important too, so a general idea of clothing fashion and how they go together and/or why they were designed that way is important too. Of course, general rule of thumb is to keep clothes to their time periods if you're doing anything realistic.

Is the character more practicality orientated, or do they just tend to put on whatever's closest in their closet? Or do they spend hours getting ready for things or value looking put together and clean?

Color palette is important as well, it's important to make sure your characters colors don't look too off balance. I usually already have a color palette in mind, I just need to put it onto the lineart, and if it looks too unbalanced I can always redirect color with patterns and such.

Sorry if this is coming off as preachy or something lol, I don't really assume you haven't thought of all of this Im just listing off all I can think of.


I can find you an example of my process for thinking of things I guess-- I mostly use pinterest for ideas.

ex: I'm designing a god of fall/autumn (for just a little au of mine) and I automatically knew I wanted them to be a nine tailed fox because their brothers and sisters (other seasonal gods) all have some sort of wings. But since foxes are commonly associated with fall I really wanted to use a fox as a basis instead of some sort of winged creature.

I knew I wanted to use a color palette that was yellow, orange, dark red, and dark purple-- sort of like rainbow corn without the green.

Although fox spirits are very commonly associated with east-asian folklore, I wanted to try and distance myself from what you typically see in most nine-tailed fox designs (kimonos/yukatas, fans, parasols. i know its traditional but it's also used quite a lot) for the base outfit.

Unfortunately, I probably *will* go for some sort of robe-esque garment for them because I really liked how this this looked. I know that I cant have any cloaks or capes because of their tails, no hoods because of their ears, and that I wasn't going to be drawing the fabric fading into leaves because that'd be way too much time and effort.

I still haven't decided if I want them to have a fennec fox mask, or no mask at all, I like the bigger ears, but at the same time I could just draw those and ditch the mask.

Akin to modern day autumn fashion, I want to go for a layered look with the clothes-- since people who live in colder states have to bundle up as winter comes. For pattern details I really liked the idea of mixing in the sorts of patterns you find on cable knit sweaters and this only cemented itself when I found this hair style which has a sort of braid that almost looks like one of these sweater patterns. This meant that they had to have longer hair, so I looked up a few things and decided to do their hair in a purple to orange color (< this minus the yellow). I considered an ombre or highlights but decided on an underdye (so its purple ontop and orange underneath) so that the colors will show up on the braid roughly like this.

I haven't decided if I want to give them a more masculine or feminine silhouette, after all, since I was trying to escape the robe look I'm considering a sort of baggy pants as well, but im not sure if I should go for a looser or tighter top-- honestly, I think the character would prefer a looser one.

I know that for details they're going to have thick ropes in those knit patterns on their hip (like a wallet chain almost lol), because of their colors dark purple gems and probably gold or copper metals. Definitely going to have to sneak in leaf motifs/imagery/shapes in somewhere. Oh! And randomly the other day I got really attached to them having a fancy sort of fall-themed scythe, but it wouldn't be practical to carry a scythe everywhere, so it transforms into a small branch they put in their hair. This was just... me indulging myself lol. But, their head is already pretty crowded, so ill refrain from putting anything else there-- I may need to give them some sort of glove for their hands for when they're using their scythe, shin guards might be helpful-- but it depends on what bottoms I choose for them. Oh, because of my knit-pattern motifs, im sure I can fit a bunch of tassels in as details!


I don't know if this helps at all lol,, just kind of a rundown of how I like to solidify/ theorize my design concepts and how I add details to them after I roughly know what I want.

When I chose outfits for characters it's because the clothing is meant to tell you more about the character past what they say/tell the audience


.what is there job/role
1) my angel character who first wears a priest outfit, which later becomes more like a general/military fancy uniform as they become the villain
2) my monster character who has to wear tags to show they are a monster since they can otherwise look human

.what does it say about their personality?
1) a character who wears clothing good for function versus those who wear their outfit for looks and status
2) an amnesiac who once wore something completely different compared to the new person they have become

.where and what time-period is this?
1) this is also a good means of showing the passage of time if the character and setting have those kind of time skips

.what is your social status in this world?
1) one character wears only gypsy pants, a chain is attached to their ankle but because the pants exist the character can hide the chain, they wouldn't care for fashion but would probably chose more layers if given the chance due to the environment
2) in contrast to another character in the same story world who wears fancy hats and suits because although people seek them out for a good time, they are seen as a person because they are not a slave, they are allowed the freedom and comfort to care about their looks


If the clothing is not important for story-telling purposes I tend to forget to draw it and end up with a lot of naked people tbh


my sister has a bartender/magician character in a fantasy/magic pirate setting who likes to show skin, I think there was something about magic rocks(which should be usable but not super obvious) So I tried to make an outfit that if I looked at would make me thing "yeah, that looks like someone who performs card tricks" but from a fantasy setting

my dnd character is a cleric under the god Caiden Cailean(the god of freedom, also referred to as the "Lucky Drunk", "Drunken Hero", or the "Accidental God")
Because he doesn't care for looks over function he has a very plain color scheme and plain outfit, but this is also used to misdirect the viewer from the expected norm, because rather then standing out and being flashy or dark colored as is a common trope for 'evil' aligned characters his outfit is meant to not stand out

another dnd character I made in the case I lose the one being used is a dwarf raised by human gypsies, because she was raised by humans(performers specifically) she shaves her beard and wears more aesthetic outfits with brighter colors

outfit talk a month later pt 2.

i finished the ref and design for the character I was describing just in time for artfight!

heres what the final version ended up looking like :)



If i hated myself a little bit more i would have alternated between that dark maroon and yellow for the ropes/tassels but the design was already busy as is :')

More opportunity to add patterns and designs onto the chest covering/loin cloth as well! Could do patterns on the bottoms of the pants, ends/edges of the sleeves etc.

Is anyone here doing artfight? :eyes:

Oh my, that is beautiful! I love how harmonious the colours are, and the tassels are just the cherry (cherries?) on top!

You on team Bloom, I take it?
(Or Wither, since the theme's autumn?)

I'm on team wither :Dc

Very happy with the theme choices this year, and the release video was absolutely stunning~

Also doing Artfight! I'm on Team Wither but I do Friendly Fire ehe :eye:

You can find me under CeruleanCrow!

I'm just Sv3n on artfight!

I do mostly revenges cause I might not have time for friendly first ;w;

Discussion: what are some methods you use when drawing hands? Feel free to go as in depth as you'd like!

Edit: I forgot to ping! Currently trying to figure out how to edit pings into a post

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=102145&page=6#59 Author: StormheartsReturn Time Posted: 8/3/2022 at 10:52 AM Discussion: what are some methods you use when drawing hands? Feel free to go as in depth as you'd like! Edit: I forgot to ping! Currently trying to figure out how to edit pings into a post

I have found that it is impossible to edit pings into a post, so I've put them here ;v;

bringing attention to the discussion above!