Fot my Sketchbook I decied I wanted to start by making some mind maps around each character so I could get a better undertanding of each of them before I start designing their costumes. Thid also helped me to come up with ideas and focus points to what aspects of each character I wanted my costme to be based around
After creating my mind maps I began making my first, initial design for Falstaff, I lloked at his costume, head to toe so I could focus in on each different element of his costume and why I chose to do them like this.
For his head I wanted some sort of fabric that would be wrapped around it to cover his hair and have a tir falling down his face. I wanted their to be a bit of a blood stain on the top of it to show how old it is and that he doesn't care very much to wash it.
As fulstaff is on the larger scale I designed for his shirt to be buttoned up but his stomach to be pressing out of it, so you can see the tension lines in the shirt and possibly look at having some buttons missing as they have popped off.
Moving onto his jacket I wanted a long, large, velevet, red jacket that comes down to his knees, this excentuates his greatness and adds to the overweight feel of the costume. The coat would also feature a blue color that had been worn down due to how old it is. The sleeves of this coat would be bell bottom sleeves which would be all mucky and have dirt and grime on them.
For his trousers I put him in Breeeches which would have been a dark green wash but as time has gone by they have been lightened in the sun and through wear and tear.
His socks would be woolen however due to how often he wears them there are holes and they have discoloured.
Finally his shoes are small, black, tight shoes which are a bit small for his feet, they are scuffed and hard to walk in which limits his stance. The small shoes against his big legs excentuate how big he is as a person.
I also looked into his face and focused on how I could show age through wrinkles bit also give him sparkling blue eyes as he is a comedic refluef character within Shakespeare's work and I wanted to show this through his young witting eyes despite the fact they constrast with the rest of his face.
For Bardolf I began by looking at his face and the features on it, I wanted him to have his typical big spotty nose and to have a mullet like hair shape. I made his eyes smaller to excentuate his nose and gave a very spikey beard and eyebrows to roughen him up.
For his costume I began with his head and what I chose for him was a top hat which was almost scarecrow like. I had a big green ribbon wrapped around it with a metal patch bolted onrto the hat, this is reference to the face he was a knight and that he tries to keep people remembering him as one.
For his jacket I played with the scarecrow these and have hime a shirt like jacket with a very large color. This is to create comedy within his costume as he takes himself seriously despit the fact he looks ridiculous.
I decided to give him a chunky belt, which would go hand in hand with the fact he was a knight, it features a big metal buckle and it doesnt fit him because he has become so skinny that it falls sideways doen his hips, he still wears it ayway.
Bardolf will be wearing trousers which go fully down his leg and they are made from a thin linin fabric so there are some rips and tears along the knees and the hem of the trousers.
For his shoes I decided I wanted to put him in some flat, cotton shoes that have mouled to his feet and the soles are so worn down so they get his feet all wet and soggy when it rains.
For Misress Quickly she has a full dress that ruffles all along the back and is made from pink and orange shiny fabric. The dress is tight around her arms and come to just above her elbows with frills at the bottom of thge sleeves. The frills also aprear at the bottom of the Dress and around her neckline. The neckline is sqaure and the dress pushes her cleavage up as it is corseted. I put her in this dress as I wanted to excentuate her womenly figure as she is one of the few women who would have been at the Boars head. I wanted her flirty yet stern personlity ro be communuicated through this costume and feel rthat this does that.
The apron she wears is gathered all along the the bodice and sinches in at the waist it in then flows all the way down to a few inches off the bottom of her dress. I decided to make this apron white with a few grease marks smudged down the dress to show she is a busy women and is very dedicated to her job. The apron ties at the back in a haulter neck with a pink ribbon.
For her shoes I decided to put her in some pointed, kitten heels which I think would nicely peeping through, under the dress as I think they would be quite a cute element which woukld show her soft side.
For her fave I put her in a messy bun on the top of her head to demonstrate her practicality and made her face plump with big eyes to show she is a wlecoming lady and she has a lot of light to her.
For Ancient Pistol I was heavily influenced by the vikings and I really wanted to create this vibe within his costume. I decieded to make him ginger and I eanted him to have a bandage wrapped around his head and tied at the back which would keep his hair spiking up the top. Thisn shows his personality as being funny, extraverted and a bit crazy.
I then decided to put him in a shawl which would wrap around his shoulders and chest area in orange, this woul be in an orange tweed material and it would be loosley woven. underneither he would wear a green shirt again loosely woven and it would hang on his shoulders so when he would move his arms around the fabric woud aslo move around with it making his gestures larger and making his personality stand out more.
For his belt, I decided I wanted it to be in leather and have a crochet string handing from the bottom that hugs his waist, this again a slightly 'weird' thing for him to be wearing in the pub which adds to the odd charater that he is. The belt will have big metal bolts in the leather which will contrast to the rest of the outfit which is a lot flowy.
For his bottoms I have decided to put him in a skirt. He is wearing a heavy duty skirt that is pleated in the tfront and have a pannel on the side with big pockets going down it. The skirt is something different and I think it will work well with the belt. I wanted him to have a very different stucture to the rest of the characters and I feel this elements creates that effect.
For his shoes he is wearing some black leather ankle boots which flare at the top and his skirt woukd get sight on them making the pleats uneven which I think adds to his character. Due to the fact that ehen he walks the skirt grazes the boots i have designed them to have the tops of them shredded up a bit and for the leather to have folded.
For my extra character I focused heavily on the breeches to help form the rest of my design. As he is an ex royal who was exiled from engald and came back in disguse as a different person I wanted there to be a slight regal essence within his costume.
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