GROUNDED COSTUME DESIGN
GROUNDED COSTUME DESIGN
During my bachelor project i realized that I struggle the most with designing characters and costumes. I didn’t want it to stay that way, so here are the results of my training.
To get better at designing costumes I followed an online course from Adam Middleton on Learnsquared. Throughout the course I learned a lot about the ideation process and the necessary steps to create an interesting and grounded/realistic costume design. I also picked up a few new techniques and skills in Photoshop and Blender.
The costume designs and charaters below are part of my worldbuilding project The Ebbtide Journals. I would be happy to see you in the next step of the journey!
THE CRAB HUNTER
The Crab Hunter is the chosen guardian of the Cliff Villages, entrusted with protecting the sacred Wizard Crabs that sustain the clan. For years they track and care for a single beast before carrying out the ritual hunt that honors its life and provides for the people. Recognized by their crimson hunting garb and ceremonial weapons, the Hunter is both revered and feared, for no greater honor exists than to deliver the sacred killing blow.
Only one Hunter serves each village at a time, selected and trained from an early age to inherit the role. Their knowledge of the desert, tides, and the ways of the crabs is unmatched, making them indispensable guides beyond the cliffs. Yet devotion to the hunt demands a life apart, and many Hunters become symbols of their people long before they are treated as one of them.
THE PILGRIM
Only a few are chosen by the elder council to become Pilgrims, an isolated but revered order devoted to restoring humanity’s lost glory through the collection of books and knowledge. Chosen for their courage, knowledge, and strength, they travel under the protection of the Moon Spirit across lands reclaimed from the sea in search of survivors, forgotten cities, and especially libraries. All Pilgrims share three defining tools—stilts to move through flooded terrain, large backpacks for supplies and salvaged books, and masks marking them as servants of the moon goddess, forbidden to reveal their faces to anyone but the keepers of books.
THE ENVOY
Under the protection of the Librarians, Envoys travel freely between every district of Kaars, carrying messages, supplies, and, above all, knowledge. As aspiring Librarians, they serve as the vital link between the Pilgrims, the outer districts, and the Great Library, transporting recovered books that their collectors are forbidden to deliver themselves. All Envoys wear the identical Mask of Ebb and Flow and carry sealed moon-shaped packs, concealing not only their cargo but also their identity.
No one outside the Librarians knows who hides beneath the mask, and the bearer may change from one journey to the next. Respected throughout Kaars and unhindered by its laws or borders, an Envoy represents the uninterrupted flow of knowledge. To obstruct one is to stand against the Librarians themselves—a crime few survive.