Inside my Sketchbook - Chainmail

Traditional European 4 in 1 chainmail pattern

Halloween's coming, and recently I decided I wanted some chainmail for my costume. It's a bit close to the date to make anything like a full coat, but I thought maybe I could have some poking out under my sleeves, or a coif, or something. For my costume I'm using pop tabs, they're about the right size, and you can make them look halfway authentic to the casual observer.

I've always understood that making chainmail was a relatively easy process, it was just incredibly time consuming. Consider, all you require is a lot of rings. Taken individually, that's a pretty easy job (although you can see from my sketch, even something as simple as a circle can be tricky for some). The hard part is clipping them together to form a weave you can work with.

I think it was good to practice drawing it though. Whenever I draw chainmail, either for Crescent's Edge or just a sketch, I never go to this level of detail. There's really no need for it, because unless the comic becomes about Medieval Haute Couture,  what the characters are wearing will never be the focus of the episode (that's a lie though, Vrogdish recently found some spiffy armour, and Valdren made a point before about polishing his).

Drawing the pattern is actually very simple. You start with a ring. Then you add another ring. And another. Then you repeat a thousand times over until you get it all finished. It's very relaxing though, and I think it's probably good practice for people like myself who struggle with visualizing complex shapes or patterns. That said, this sketch took as long to draw (it was my first time, so that always takes longer) as tomorrow's comic did.