Because I'm more of a control freak than I thought, I'm hijacking this post to add artist's notes and resize things to their proper heights.
Academy Uniform Rough Designs (Fahim, Kasia and Noemi)
Notes: Because Noemi's the heroine, I of course designed this uniform first, even though the story explanation would make it so that the Military uniform came first and this School Uniform was derived from it (this is a military-owned research academy, after all, though it does offer a degree of autonomy). The key features of the uniform are the exposed arms and various climate-conscious fabric decisions. Exposing the upper arm is important as members of the Imperial Military tattoo the Imperial double-stripe on their shoulders. The students who are entering the military directly after the Academy are already tattooed, and it's a symbol of pride.
The broad vertical stripes down the sides of the uniform are directly part of the Imperial Military Uniform motiff. Even the female students who choose to wear skirts continue this side-stripe motiff. Boots are heavier, meant to allow for outdoor research, though some fashion-conscious (?) students wear them in unique ways.
While completely covering one's arms is generally avoided in Imperial culture (the arms are similar to how we might view our hands or face when it comes to people covering them up in warm weather); completely uncovering the Right Arm is reserved for the Imperial Military, and students are not allowed to fully bare their right arms until they've graduated and been fully initiated into the military.
A wild Isolde appears, complete with combat accessories.
Notes: The left image is Isolde's military uniform (and the basic female design, though armor is added here). You can't see it too clearly, but her right arm is completely bare, as it traditional for the Imperial Military. The side-stripes are a dark blue and the rest of the uniform is white. The left sleeve has a patch cut out on the shoulder area where Isolde's tattoo is visible.
The top is shortened to allow the soldiers's skin to breathe in the tropical climate, but Isolde doesn't like exposing much flesh, so she wears a mesh holster under it and it extends over the pants. The pants are slit down the side from the knees down to allow soldiers' skin to breathe, but Isolde wears the laces tight and her boots over the slits.
On the right is her common Mercenary outfit, which doesn't conform to any uniform standards. There are some slits on the sides of the shorts and the entire length of the boots as her only concession to the heat of the Island climate. However, I imagine that her post as a mercenary is in a slightly cooler area of the temperate climate and might be able to get away with covering that much flesh.
The long scarf is actually made of a cheap light material and she often finds it useful to have some disposable lengths of cloth around to use for bedding or bandages.
Katarine, looking spiffy.
Notes: She ties her long hair back with a ribbon, and I know that her hair shouldn't be moving like that in this pose, but I wanted to show off the ponytail.
Her mercenary outfit is meant to parallel Isolde's and Faulheit's a bit. The dress is slit half-way up the front and back to allow for freedom of movement, but it obscures her leg positions in battle, making it harder for her opponent to predict her moves. I was thinking her fighting style placed an emphasis on this kind of agile footwork.
Faulheit, looking a bit emo.
Notes: He's supposed to look lazy and tired. But his outfit is designed to parallel Katarine's. They both added the same type of Flow-enhanced armor pieces to the front clasps of their shirts. All three of these mercenaries wear their detached sleeves a bit higher than the Academy students, since all three are former-Military and have to cover their double-stripe tattoos.
Faulheit's pants are loose and baggy to allow his skin to breathe in the island climate. His gloves are the kind used by archers that only cover the areas of the hands and fingers that are constantly drawing bowstrings to prevent cutting/slicing.
Now we know why Eirwen digs Mirek.
Notes: Yeah, Mirek is kinda buff. This doubles as the basic design of the Guardians' uniform.
My original plan when I envisioned it was that the Guardians of modern times descended from a much older sect of warriors, pre-Empire, that developed the techniques during the time of the First Practicioner. The group was all-male, of course, placing an extreme importance on strength (and a bit of vanity, with the 'ideal' Guardian being a soldier in perfect physical condition). Mirek is one of the few Guardians roaming around who so closely resembles the image of the 'ideal' Guardian, so he tends to attract a lot of attention among those interested in Guardians. After the rebellion, Mirek held onto the uniform out of both a lack of other clothing to wear and some of its practicality. The uniform features a large number of rune-encrusted Flow-enhanced armor pieces that are rather expensive to replace, and Mirek's only useful skills are battle-oriented, so he needs all the armor pieces he can get.
More on the basic uniform: When the original Guardians became a branch of the Empire's Military, their outfit was mildly altered to include the Imperial side-stripes and the cut-out patch where all Military members must display their double-stripe tattoo. The rebel Guardians have tended to repatch this opening, both in defiance of the Military and the cultural trend against completely covering one's arms.
Military uniform base. Complete with missing sleeve to cover war injuries.
Notes: The male version reminiscent of Isolde's design above. The bared Right Arm developed as both a symbol of strength among soldiers, and also as a pragmatic compromise between uniform and tropical climate-wear.
The side-stripes and cutout patches are standards, and the pants are again slit from the knees-down to allow their skin to breathe. Shorter boots are also common in even hotter areas of the islands.
The outfit is a little plain to allow various adornments or armor to be worn on top of it.
This is also the basic design for Aurel.
Ilona. With 100% less full frontal then male Guardians.
Notes: When the Guardians were integrated, a tight-fitting black shirt was added to the female uniform to preserve feminine modesty.
Like all Guardians, Ilona has been growing a warrior's braid since she joined the force. In fact, she's dedicated enough to have not cut her hair (aside from her bangs) since she joined the group, potentially allowing her to use any strand of hair for her warrior braids.
Noemi, looking pretty.
Notes: Putting it all together here. It's a static pose to show off her outfit and hair. I could actually use this directly as an in-game portrait once I color it. Note that I'm striving to make sure all of the designs incorporate the Flow-enhanced (rune-inscribed) armor pieces throughout as a method of stylistically connecting the culture a bit. Noemi's feature on her ribbon and on the sides of her top, providing a bit of magical protection.
