Colour-coding heroes and villains

efreysson · Jan 10, 2019

I'm piecing together a space opera setting, and it includes orders of superpowered mystics. I want to give them identifying outfits, but there is the issue of being neither too derivative, nor going too elaborate for the sake of uniqueness. I mean, hooded robes are cool but I think the Jedi pretty much own that one.

I have three variants:

1) The good guys who serve as protectors and guardians.

2) A subset of the above who are pure pacifists and healers.

3) Violent megalomaniacs who have burned their brains out on dark magic.

Putting the bad guys in black is the immediate, obvious move. But that's just it; it's the obvious move. One could play with a bit of subversion and put the heroes in black (to be explained by some cultural worldbuilding), and the evil lunatics in white. Except I already created an order of white-clad villains in another setting. (the white symbolised a warped definition of purity)

I've thought about going for asymmetry for group 1; they have good in them, but also enough darkness to kick ass, so maybe a yin-yang theme in their outfits.

But I'd like to hear what people think. How to symbolise 1) balance, life, energy 2) purity and peace 3) violence, death and rage, through colours or basic patterns/symbols? (I say "basic" because describing complex outfits in prose is hard)

Ari Meermans · Jan 10, 2019

While it might be considered cliche or obvious, there is a certain psychology to the use of color. (I think it's learned through exposure, but I'm no professional so I don't know.) The palest of blues usually signals such things as calm, peace, and harmony while reds indicate passion all the way up to rage. So, a suggestion: preliminarily research the emotions associated with colors and you might find colors which match within the gradations.

ETA: You could do the same for symbols.

The Second Moon · Jan 10, 2019

These are just ideas and I don't know your story like you but...

1) I like your idea of a yin-yang type of theme. Like two colors swirling together.

2) Maybe two half-crescents linked together to from a circle???? This could represent linking good and bad to make peace and unity.

3) This is totally out there but what about a swirl to represent a black hole??? Or maybe the outline of a beast???

Sorry if my ideas are too "out there".

Kjbartolotta · Jan 10, 2019

1) Black & Green
2) Blue & White
3) Red & Gold

ETA- I just realized the villains would have Gryffindor colors (and the heroes Slytherin). So it stands.

frimble3 · Jan 10, 2019

efreysson said:
3) Violent megalomaniacs who have burned their brains out on dark magic.

I'm thinking that very few individuals, let alone groups, are going to describe themselves in these terms. Maybe redefine them as 'seekers of power' (regardless of the cost?)

Kjbartolotta said:
3) Red & Gold

For which the 'Red & Gold' scheme works very well. Bold colours, maybe with spikes, buckles, and diadems/crowns, etc. Definitely some way of indicating rank.

Kjbartolotta · Jan 10, 2019

frimble3 said:
For which the 'Red & Gold' scheme works very well. Bold colours, maybe with spikes, buckles, and diadems/crowns, etc. Definitely some way of indicating rank.

My thought, maybe with a solar/light theme. But then, I personally find anyone using a white/bright/light color scheme to be insidious if not an outright villain (Gandalf included).

efreysson · Jan 10, 2019

Kjbartolotta said:
My thought, maybe with a solar/light theme. But then, I personally find anyone using a white/bright/light color scheme to be insidious if not an outright villain (Gandalf included).

I've noticed you're really rather paranoid towards heroes.

Kjbartolotta · Jan 10, 2019

efreysson said:
I've noticed you're really rather paranoid towards heroes.

Me!? What would make you say that? Not paranoid, but perhaps rather distrustful of self-certainty.

Thomas Vail · Jan 10, 2019

Kjbartolotta said:
1) Black & Green
2) Blue & White
3) Red & Gold

ETA- I just realized the villains would have Gryffindor colors (and the heroes Slytherin). So it stands.

You could trot out a color wheel and look at what colors really really contrast each other.

efreysson · Jan 10, 2019

Kjbartolotta said:
Me!? What would make you say that? Not paranoid, but perhaps rather distrustful of self-certainty.

I just feel I see a lot of "don't trust" from you.

Thomas Vail said:
You could trot out a color wheel and look at what colors really really contrast each other.

Now I'm picturing a fashionista lining the different mystics up and lecturing them on fabulosity.

Kjbartolotta · Jan 10, 2019

efreysson said:
I just feel I see a lot of "don't trust" from you.

At least once a chapter. But I seem to have no trouble trusting the scoundrels and lowlifes.

Woollybear · Jan 10, 2019

Fabrics, weaves, and dyes.

Fabrics vary in their 'feel' when it comes to good vs. bad. Animal furs, leathers, silks, plant fibers like flax or some such. I'm sure there are many options here. Leaves? Bark?

Dyes: Some are expensive and rare, maybe labor intensive to produce and use (perhaps lapis lazuli), and others are common and coarse, like the yellow derived from onion skins.

How about putting the evil folks in richly-dyed animal fur (or fur trim), and the good folks in a plain-weave flax or hemp, probably dyed yellow. And an accessory... like a rope belt vs a woven belt vs a jewel-inlaid belt made from the skins of beasts or the hair of slaves.

I mean, it depends how on-the-nose you want to be, but I'd start brainstorming from type of fabric, weave, and dye.

efreysson · Jan 10, 2019

Patty said:
Fabrics, weaves, and dyes.

Fabrics vary in their 'feel' when it comes to good vs. bad. Animal furs, leathers, silks, plant fibers like flax or some such. I'm sure there are many options here. Leaves? Bark?

Dyes: Some are expensive and rare, maybe labor intensive to produce and use (perhaps lapis lazuli), and others are common and coarse, like the yellow derived from onion skins.

How about putting the evil folks in richly-dyed animal fur (or fur trim), and the good folks in a plain-weave flax or hemp, probably dyed yellow. And an accessory... like a rope belt vs a woven belt vs a jewel-inlaid belt made from the skins of beasts or the hair of slaves.

I mean, it depends how on-the-nose you want to be, but I'd start brainstorming from type of fabric, weave, and dye.

The thought occurs that I could do a partial subversion of the usual here. Yes, putting the shallow psychopaths in really ostentatious outfits would fit, but I could put the good guys in leather and furs, as a sign of them being more down-to-earth, and maybe conducting ritualistic hunts for the materials.

Heck, maybe I can work in spikes or skulls that have some non-evil cultural connotation.

frimble3 · Jan 11, 2019

efreysson said:
Heck, maybe I can work in spikes or skulls that have some non-evil cultural connotation.

Spikes for defence? And, maybe not real skulls, but carved skulls, as memorials to those who have died? (Either loved ones, or victories in battle).
The well-off would have detailed little skulls, of people or animals, in wood, or stone, or bone, like netsuke, little works of art. The poor would still have skulls, but crudely carved, perhaps by the wearer. A roundish shape, with holes drilled for eyes and nose, and a slit for a mouth, would still represent someone's beloved parent.

themindstream · Jan 11, 2019

I think green, or more generally "earth tones" would be significant in space lore for life-symbolism, as might blue, if you assume 'green plants, blue water' to be dominant (which given that's it's space, is not guaranteed to be universal).

Possibly fire (red/orange) for the bad guys. Fire on a ship is especially bad news. Or since you imply they're unhinged, maybe go for ostentatious chaos in their manner of dress.

Roxxsmom · Jan 20, 2019

Every color has the potential for positive and negative associations.

Blue is the color of water, calm and a clear sky but also the color of sadness.
Red is associated with anger and blood, but it can also be associated with love and passion.
Yellow is sunshine, daffodils and and happiness but also can be pus, snot and disease.
Green is a color of life and growth but also associated with bile or poison.
Brown can be of the earth but also excrement
etc...

It might be interesting to turn some of the cliches we've seen most often on their heads. For instance, what if the bad guys wear white to symbolize the obliteration of all or a sort of "blank slate" that they strive to achieve with their totalitarian regime? Or maybe they're convinced that they are the purest of the pure. Think of all the harm that has been done by fanatics who think they are the "good guys." Also, certain color combinations can be arresting. Yellow and black, for instance, is often combined as a warning in nature (think of the stripes on a bee or wasp).

Albedo · Jan 20, 2019

Roxxsmom said:
Every color has the potential for positive and negative associations.

Blue is the color of water, calm and a clear sky but also the color of sadness.
Red is associated with anger and blood, but it can also be associated with love and passion.
Yellow is sunshine, daffodils and and happiness but also can be pus, snot and disease.
Green is a color of life and growth but also associated with bile or poison.
Brown can be of the earth but also excrement
etc...

It might be interesting to turn some of the cliches we've seen most often on their heads. For instance, what if the bad guys wear white to symbolize the obliteration of all or a sort of "blank slate" that they strive to achieve with their totalitarian regime? Or maybe they're convinced that they are the purest of the pure. Think of all the harm that has been done by fanatics who think they are the "good guys." Also, certain color combinations can be arresting. Yellow and black, for instance, is often combined as a warning in nature (think of the stripes on a bee or wasp).

I still think making the armor of the Star Wars Stormtroopers white was a brilliant creative decision. They're somehow more sinister, all brightly lit up like that in the first scene (though realistically white would be a terrible colour in battle). If they were all black, the entry of Darth Vader would have had much less impact, as well.

Layla Nahar · Jan 20, 2019

Red for the bad guys. All the blood they spill...

efreysson · Feb 23, 2019

I'm thinking about this topic again. Specifically, I'm thinking of the non-psycho mystics concluding their trials with a traditional hunt for a large, dangerous animal on their homeworld, and including parts of it into their clothing. Hide for leather, of course, but maybe a mane for a fur collar, or a small cloak. I'm also thinking of a headdress, worn at least for formal occasions, and which might include horns for extra coolness. Also: Facepaint.

Overall my current vision is moving into a somewhat shamanistic direction. While the bad guys would dress all fancy and "civilised".

Enlightened · Feb 23, 2019

Some resources to consider for choosing colors....

Danger/Awareness colors: https://www.bsr-inc.com/awareness-color-code-chart/

Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions (click on color wheel to enlarge it): https://www.cheatography.com/davidpol/cheat-sheets/plutchik-s-wheel-of-emotions/

badducky · Feb 23, 2019

My advice is to keep it simple in the first draft, and as you go it will start to make sense. Try using "filler" colors, for now, just to keep the movie running, and slap tk in front of all of them. So, the bad guys are tkblack, and the good guys are tkwhite and the other team is tkblue, etc. Why this tk? No word in the English language uses that combination of letters and you can CTRL+F+Replace all of them in one fell swoop once you know your world and story better. (I learned the TK trick from Phil Athans, when he was the managing editor of WotC, and I know he's a freelance editor, these days, so you could go get tricks from him, directly, once you've got a good final draft, if you can afford such a thing; naturally, hiring an editor is not required. Just, you know, plugging the guy's service because he taught me a few neat things that I still use, like the TK thing.)

Enlightened · Feb 23, 2019

Big fan of Phil's book, The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction. Might be free at your public library (ebook or physical book) if anyone's interested. Great tip on the "tk" thing. I vaguely recall covering this in journalism school, or something like it, two decades ago.

The_Merovingian · Feb 23, 2019

My humble contribution:

1) balance, life, energy
Green, yellow and whitish colour - harmonised shape like perfect polygon (triangle representing balance, life, energy) - Yin and Yang colour would works too.
If different ranks you can have one of the colour or a mix with one standing out

2) purity and peace
White, light blue / circle-waves / crystals

3) violence, death and rage,
Burgundy, purple and black / skulls (obviously) or anything with sharp angle or disorganized shapes
It would depend if they are primitive/warrior or clever/vicious/soldiers - the later match better with red colour/purple (for the leader) and the shapes should be clean and organised.

That's how I would do it.
But sometime these groups can take symbolic colour from something that is important to them.
For example:
if they live on a planet with purple water, crystals, or with plants predominantly purple - then they will wear cloths with this color, plus flower (water or crystals) shape somewhere on the uniform/flag...
Or if they come from a planet surrounded by 3 moons, you would find the 3 moons symbolised with 3 circles, and if one of the moon is always seen as a Crescent, then you would use this symbol too.

good luck

Colour-coding heroes and villains

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