Also sorry to bother but also where do you get the inspiration for drawing people's outfits?? The detail is amazing. I always love it when people use real-world inspiration for fictional cultures bc I feel like it's a way of honoring the people who have come before, and I always want to know more about the inspiration/cultures. And again, I feel like you've done such an excellent job with that!!
First of all, thank you again for your kind words! To answer your question, I'd say it's a mix of a lot of things. At times, I incorporate real world historical fashion (or elements of them), but other times it's more a manifestation of naturalistic elements I feel symbolizes the character (especially with the Ainur). I also try and emulate the feel of the PJ movies to give my art some continuity with the designs in the films. Sometimes, though, it's purely on the principle of "I don't know what this is, but it looks cool to me" balanced with what feels practical đ
Although it'll all depend on the age I'm depicting & whom I'm depicting, I would say the one main real world inspiration I constantly draw from (especially for elves) is Korean culture/hanbok--probably because I'm Korean myself & obsessed with hanbok lol. For accessories, I'll often take inspo from the Three Kingdom Period, and for general structure & silhouettes of clothing I take most often from Joseon dynasty hanbok. Although what I end up drawing isn't strictly historical/accurate most of the time, I like to incorporate some elements that are sort of distinctive to hanbok, such as the white inner collars called "dong-jeong", the wide square sleeves, and the layered strips below the waist, etc. The tasseled earrings I draw often are straight from the earrings worn during the Joseon dynasty.
With the Noldor, I'll be more heavy with/ stick more strictly to the hanbok elements (something about how hanbok is very structured but made to form more natural siluettes to accommodate--rather than restrict--different shapes and spontaneous movements of the body & interactions with nature feels very Noldor to me), whereas with the Sindar/Teleri I also like to mix in some elements of Ancient Greek clothing as well.
