That Iconic Look

The Minimalist art pieces got me thinking...


Do you all think of this as you create a costume/character, or do you combine stuff into a look, which only later becomes iconic?


I've pondered my characters, and I think I only have a few that really have an iconic look that would even be discernible in that format. I think I do more the latter...I try to put something together, but I don't really start out with a concept usually beyond colors and a few costume bits, and sometimes not even that much.

Looking at those minimalistic pieces and then looking at my characters I think all but 1, maybe 2 would be fairly clear who they were, getting that sort of look though is really about having a noticeable central pattern or chest design which is rarely something I have planned out at the start.

I usually just start fiddling with one of the body areas (head, chest, rarely legs) until I find something I like and then I go from there. I think making the iconic look isn't something that I set about doing its just something that builds up from the aesthetics of the character as a whole.

The problem I find with the additional costume slots is retaining that kind of look while still being different from the original and yet recognisable as the same hero, think that’s why my second costumes so far have all been civilian attire, since I've never reached level 30 I've to had to actually redesign a heroic costume...

Depends on what you mean by Iconic, but one of the best ways to make something Iconic is to make it simple and using only things that are necessary. In other words, build up your design and then strip it back to those parts that if you tak them off it feels like something is missing...


This costume if you take of the shoulder pads or change them... it just doesn't look right.

Well, I'm certain that I Don't think about whether the costume I'm putting together will be "Iconic" or easily "minimalized" or anything.. I'm really just Doing it! In fact, its rare that I even have any specific ideas when I go into create a character or costume - probably only a handful of times that I did have something in mind.

But thats not to say I'm just hitting "Randomize" and taking it, either - I pick and choose, and hem & haw over it until I get something I like. I just don't tend to think "Will this be Iconic enough???"

If that makes any sense

Me neither, ussually, the reason that looks the way it does is because I was working off another design... I was just talking about how to get the iconic look the easiest.

I generally just see something or have an idea and work around that until it goes together with what I had in mind, sometimes discarding the original thing i wa working around...

Well except for my original costumes for each character, all my costumes are iconic... I did buy them at Icon.

Personally, it's not even something I take into consideration though. I wanted a demon looking character and a powered armor guy and just went with what I thought looked good. I don't particularly care if they look iconic or not, or even if others dig their designs or not... I like them and that is all I strive for. (Fenian was a bit of an accident... entered that contest where you must use certain colors and just kind of dug the design I came up with even if I have since radically changed it. *shrug*)

But if you are looking to make iconic I think, as mentioned already, simplicity of design is important. You really only want one or maybe two "signature" pieces of the costume - logo, costume piece, whatever that really just "stands" for that character.

Amy - Personally I tend not to use all my costume slots... If I rp'd more I definitely would want a civilian look but the main use I have for additional slots is with Fenian... Sometimes I want the hood she wears down, sometimes I want the hood down and mask off. *shrug*

Then again, sometimes we just do silly stuff like insist everyone in the task force has a certain look and it's nice not to have to change the main costume

It all really depends on the character. When I originally made Burnt Matchstick, I was specifically going for a design that evoked a burnt matchstick - which ultimately is a simple design goal. Other characters are more complicated, and especially characters that are closer to real world people rather than caricatures. If you really think about it, many "iconic" superheroes are really just caricatures, which takes concepts and exaggerates them to the extreme, and when you're going that far to the extreme, it's easier to pick out those details.

((Amerikatt has had an iconic look even before she was introduced in-game. For instance, she has 48 stars on her costume (since she's a Golden Age heroine) and her costume has Red/White/Blue in it (Red + White = Pink; Red + Blue = Purple). I've known for the longest time that she doesn't just represent the U.S.A, but all of North, Central, and South America, thus the more "neutral" purple bodysuit.))

Frankly, I do tend to plan my costumes around a central idea and then strip away the unnecessary until it becomes something that I like. In general, I have three major rules that I follow to make a good outfit.

One: Use a color combination that's unique. Make good use of contrast.

Two: Make the character's silhouette unique.

Three: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

While I don't consider Melanie's design to be really all that iconic, I did design her outfit thinking about these three things. Her red jacket and the shock of orange hair is pretty well instantly recognizable, her ponytail, horns and shoulder spikes give her a unique silhouette. I did not keep to the KISS mantra with her design, which is where she fails. However, the other two factors make up enough of the difference that she's still decent somewhat palatable.

This is why I'm generally critical of the standard red/white/blue patriot outfits as well as the white/blue ice themed ones. Too many other people use those combinations, so you're already down one point of design. Then, if you have a basic bodysuit and uncowled head, you're down another point since the majority of other designs have similar silhouettes. Lastly, too many details in an outfit can confuse your eye instead of drawing it to the areas you want. It's very easy to get caught in the trap of "that looks cool, so I'm gonna add it to my outfit." Most people need to strip 2-3 layers of complexity out of their designs to get it into a very easy to read form.

You don't need to have all three design elements to make an iconic character. But each time you break a rule, your costume needs to be more and more well designed in order to stand out. Some people succeed despite breaking all three rules. It is very possible to do so, but they're the exception instead of the rule.