Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Last year, I asked Rafael Jaen, a noted costume designer and assistant professor of costume design at the
University of Massachusetts, these two questions about costume design for avatars:
1. As a professional costume designer, what would you suggest to the irst-time avatar builder?
2. How would you get to the “core” of the costume design and give the irst-time designer a place to
anchor their concepts?
His replies to me were as follows:
I take a two-step approach; the irst step is to get into the character's spine; what are her/his motivations, underlying
emotions, secrets and outward qualities. Will they need costume items that foreshadow these? I think of Blanche
Dubois' entrance in Tennessee Williams'
A Street Car Named Desire
, the description of her dress looking like a
“moth driven to the lame” symbolizes her undoing.
The second step is to look at the character's givens, including philosophy (or religion), socioeconomics, envi-
ronment, weather, historical period, etc. These aspects translate directly to a character's silhouette. Expanding on
the previous example, when we irst look at Blanche we realize that she is of a different socioeconomic class and
an earlier fashion silhouette; she is out of place.
The idea is to endow the character with emotions and qualities using visual design language (such as color,
texture, and mass) to communicate the character's history and destiny at irst glance.
As you design your avatar's costume, you may want to collect images from your research and make a
“look book” of period clothing photographs and illustrations. Slowly, you may formulate a “backstory,”
a biography if you will, about the avatar. In this story, you may decide on the age, the gender, the social class,
and a host of other details that support and compliment the meaning of your avatar.
If you desire to make an avatar that is a “new-and-improved” virtual representation of yourself, think a
moment before you start shopping for clothes and shoes. Your avatar can represent your personal interests
in a very visual way. For instance, if you are into English blues musicians, your avatar may look like one, or
you may have an interest in mythology and horses and decide to combine the two subjects with an avatar that
looks like a centaur. Likewise, you can wear or carry the tools of your trade. Attributes such as a hard hat,
a tool belt, a briefcase, or a crossbow all indicate your interests and possibly your profession.
12.3.1 W
here
To
s
hop
for
y
our
a
VaTar
In the online marketplaces, you will ind the clothes, hair, skin, shoes, or other avatar components you
need. Also, do not overlook the trade fairs, such as the Hair Fair, Fashion for Life in Second Life and other
worlds. The Asset Store (http://unity3d.com/asset-store/) in Unity is illing with high-quality content as
well. Another place to check is your own standard avatar inventory; there are often overlooked goodies
in there.
12.3.2 m
aKing
y
our
o
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C
loThing
and
a
CCessories
Eventually, you may decide to create your own clothing and accessories for your avatar. There is a great
collection of tutorials in the Second Life wiki (http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Clothing_Tutorials). At this
site, you will ind the standard templates for clothing from Linden Labs and other sources. Making clothing
for your avatar is a complex process, but extremely rewarding.
