How to Draw Medieval Armor

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Jay French from jayfrenchstudios.com. Today, I'm going to show you how to draw medieval armor. We're also going do...show you the difference between fantasy armor and medieval armor. Let's get a basic form in here -- just a body. Now, other than helm, which is actually a term for head armor that covers most of the head, a helmet is actually, in medieval terms, was a partial...more like a...more like a hat. And of course, you have a number of shapes and styles, even in historical. We're just going to do a basic one there. Give it a little bit of a point. The basic elements of medieval armor. Okay. Shush. Okay. Basic elements of medieval armor are chest plate, back plate, and that's your basic starting point. A good one is a cuirass, which is actually a back plate and breast plate that are one piece. Well, not really one piece, but that form one solid piece and have straps on the sides. So basically that there is no gap all the way around the torso. Often, you will have an angle off of the shoulder plates that comes up to protect the neck. Elbow guards often have a big circle on either side, which essentially protects the elbow broadly without restricting its movement. Generally, forearm guards, sometimes also called gauntlets -- even if they don't cover the hand -- are usually form-fitting, have a couple of straps. Same things with the upper-arm guards -- they go all the way around. And in between spots, what you might catch is where there's chainmail that is worn underneath plate armor. And a good way to just overview chainmail is to do some vertical lines. Whoops. Not there. Here. And then do some squiggly lines across. Okay. And generally, in true medieval armor, here you will have the chainmail coming out. A good way to get some realism in chainmail is to do a squiggly line for the bottom edge for any edge, even if it's straight because it is, essentially, links and chains. So even if you're just doing this overview style -- and here's another way to do it -- a whole series of just curves. Takes a little more time, but it gives it a little more of a realistic feel and look. You have solid plates around the thighs -- again, big circles on either side of a knee guard. And here's where you get into a difference with fantasy armor is that you're going to have a lot more flairs. Put some curve to the...to the...to the shoulder guards there. Have more flair at the waist. Instead of making the chainmail skirt straight, which is sometimes is also split. There are also our metal girdles that have been worn around and that are split so you can ride a horse. But instead, for fantasy style, make it angled and have a point. Continue your chainmail. Make the shin guard come up off the knee from our drama. And that's your basic lesson in how to draw medieval armor."