How do you use clothing, furniture, held objects (how things

Short answer:

By using clothing, furniture, objects, etc., etc. that fit the character.


Long answer:

You first have to establish some kind of personality and background of the character before you can make sensible decisions about his or her appearance. -> What, when, where, why, who, how?

-What kind of occupation or role does he/she have?
This establishes basic environment and potential clothing or accessory requirements.

- When was he/she born/raised?
This tells you not just age & possible physical appearance, but also cultural frame of reference. Did this person experience the Great Depression, the Cold War, the Eighties & collapse of USSR, etc.? How does this shape your characters ideas and tastes?

- Where was he/she born/raised?
In North America, South America? Europe? Africa? In which country? This also sets a cultural background. Again, how does this influence his/her ideas and tastes?

- Who is this person?
After you know where and when this person was born and raised, you can decide in what social and economic class your character was raised. Rich South-African family? Poor Russian single parent family? Middle-class Kansas farming family?

- Why does the character do what he/she does?
Now you can figure out your characters motivation. The underlying motivation, that is. Is the character self-destructing due to shame of family crimes, or overcompensation for a poor childhood?

- How does the character do what he/she does?
By using violence? By using honesty and kindness? Or maybe sly, calculating intelligence? Finally, this too can be reflected in the characters appearance.

Secondly, you have to do research. Educate yourself. Build a visual library. How can you build a believable and original character if you do not know anything about the What, When, Where, etc. How do people from different times and cultures dress? How do they live?

>>2719945

continued.


Some places where I like to look for interesting photos:

- Library of Congress online catalog
- Christie's online catalog and other online catalogues of auction houses. Wonderful stuff...
- Online photo catalogues of various museums. Not just art, but costume, social history, antiquity, etc.
- National Geographic archives

>>2719945
>>2719948
well, that was thorough, ty based anon
Do you ever put thought into stylistic choices, colours or more symbolic things with the character, or do you aim to be as realistic as possible with aesthetic?

>>2719945
>>2719948
nice

>>2722733

Definitely.

Colour, shape, texture, material are all part of the vocabulary of visual communication and help express something related to the character. The stuff I wrote before is more of a guideline to help you figure out what you what you might want to tell the viewer about the character, and should not be used purely literally, as in 'Oh, my character studied in France in her youth, so she must speak with a French accent, carry a croissant, or wear French clothes'.