Sarah Clarity Studios

Chapter 1: Necklines & Collar Systems

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Necklines & Collar Systems — Tops: Shirts, Blouses, Tunics

Why Collars, Plackets, and Yokes Matter

Necklines and collar systems do more than frame the face—they set the garment’s language for class, era, and function while managing rigging realities around the most animated area of the body. Collars guard or reveal the neck for combat reads, plackets govern donning speed and closure logic, and yokes distribute tension across the shoulder complex. For concept artists, these structures are silhouette levers and storytelling signals; for production artists, they are high‑traffic, high‑collision zones that must remain readable and stable as the head turns, breath cycles, and gear straps compress cloth. This article maps the major collar families—stand, shawl, and mandarin—then connects them to placket and yoke design so your tops survive both close‑up cinematics and gameplay distance.

Anatomy of the Neckline Region

The neckline is an aperture stabilized by seam placement, interfacings, and grain direction. Collars attach along the neckline seam, often with a stand component that raises the collar away from the neck to prevent collapse. Plackets are reinforced bands where closures live, turning a cut edge into a stable column. Yokes are structural panels that take load from the collar and distribute it to the back and shoulder girdle, preventing distortion in the chest and armhole. In stylized worlds, you can simplify these parts visually, but their logic must remain: where the neck meets torso, you need a firm scaffold or intentional drape.

Stand Collars: Architecture and Authority

A stand collar uses a separate stand piece—an annular band that holds the collar up—plus a fall (the part that folds over). In military, formal, and tailored contexts, stand collars signal discipline and protection. In motion, the stand resists collapse during head turns and keeps points from chewing into the jawline, which helps with facial readability. Design the stand height according to camera: in third‑person, taller stands carve a bold silhouette; in close‑ups, lower stands avoid jaw intersection and lip sync occlusion.

Construction‑wise, a good stand follows the neck curve with a slight drop at the center front to avoid choking. Interfacing stiffness determines how crisp the roll line is; heavier interfacing preserves shape under capes or armor straps. For production, model the stand as a slightly thicker shell with an interior collision buffer. Bake a subtle roll at the collar break so speculars catch consistently. If using cloth sim, pin the neckline seam and limit stretch across the stand to preserve height; let the fall carry most of the motion, not the stand.

Shawl Collars: Flow, Comfort, and Cinematic Curves

A shawl collar is cut in one with the lapel, forming a continuous curve that wraps around the back neck and rolls to the front without points. It reads as softness and hospitality in civilian looks or refined ease in fantasy orders and mage robes. The power of the shawl is its sweeping S‑curve around the clavicles; that curve frames the face beautifully and can carry ornaments, piping, or trim that glow in rim light.

Shawl collars rely on bias cutting and a graceful roll line. On the concept side, draw the roll line first—start at the notch area and let it arc toward the back neck—then design the collar width as a consistent band that thickens subtly near the chest for drama. On the production side, preserve the roll with inner facings and a low‑stretch bias; the collar edge should be slightly heavier to keep the fold poised in idle. For rigs, separate the shawl into a lightly dynamic outer edge and a more constrained inner neckline so face animations never tug the whole collar. In gameplay, the curved edge is a great place to embed faction tape, embroidery, or glow trims that communicate class and rank at distance.

Mandarin (Band) Collars: Minimal, Agile, and Camera‑Safe

Mandarin collars—also called band collars—omit the turn‑down fall entirely, leaving a clean band around the neck. They signal agility, modernity, or monastic restraint depending on fabric and trim. Because there is no point or lapel to flap, mandarin collars are extremely camera‑friendly for fast action and tight rigs with straps, quivers, or high backpacks.

Conceptually, think of the mandarin as a stand that has been formalized: height and closure placement do the storytelling. A high band with a center‑front hook suggests ceremonial armor; a short band with an offset tab reads as tactical. For production, maintain an inner radius clearance so the collar never clips the Adam’s apple during head tilt. Use segmented weighting or a small bone ring so the band deforms smoothly with neck bend without accordion artifacts. If wind is present, allow only subtle flutter at the top edge; the band should remain a steady silhouette anchor.

Plackets: Closure Logic and Readability

The placket is the garment’s control panel. Center‑front plackets communicate symmetry and tradition; offset or concealed plackets signal modern tech or stealth. Button spacing establishes cadence—wider spacing reads casual, dense spacing reads formal or protective. Zippers and snaps shift the tone toward utilitarian or tactical. For concepting, align placket thickness with the collar choice: a firm stand collar pairs with a visibly reinforced placket; a shawl favors a softer, rolling front; a mandarin often uses a clean, minimal band with hidden snaps.

In production, treat the placket as a semi‑rigid strip: restrict stretch along its length, add collision thickness for fingers and gear, and ensure closures sit on even intervals that won’t swim in animation. If using decals for buttons, anchor them to placket UVs that don’t shear. For cel‑shaded or painterly styles, render the placket as two value planes with a crisp edge highlight—this keeps closure logic readable at distance without modeling every fastener. Remember that large chest emblems or harness buckles should resolve compositionally with the placket so the torso doesn’t fragment into fighting verticals.

Yokes: Load Paths and Shoulder Mobility

Yokes are structural panels at the upper back or front that redistribute tension from the collar and sleeves. A classic western back yoke stabilizes the shoulder blades; a front yoke can reduce drag lines over the chest for fitted blouses. In fantasy and sci‑fi, yokes double as armor interfaces, sensor mounts, or decorative appliqués that break up large planes.

Design yokes to follow musculature and movement lines: back yokes that mirror the trapezius and scapular motion will crease more gracefully; forward‑curved yokes can guide drop folds away from the armhole to keep armpits clean. In production, give yoke seams a slight bevel to catch specular and telegraph structure. If the garment carries a heavy cloak or rig, the yoke mesh can be thicker and carry attachment points; that way forces land on the yoke and not directly on the neckline, which reduces collar chatter in animation.

Neckline Shapes and Their Reads

Beyond collar families, the base neck aperture shapes—crew, V, split‑neck, keyhole, square—offer storytelling dials. A high crew with a mandarin band says disciplined utility; a deep V with a shawl says elegance or charisma; a split‑neck on a tunic suggests craft and handwork. When drawing, trace the clavicle arc and sternum line first to anchor the opening; then stage the outer collar geometry over that aperture. Keep skin breakups intentional so jewelry, pauldron straps, or pectoral tattoos don’t fight the collar edge.

Material and Interfacing Choices

Different materials change the same collar’s personality. Crisp poplin or laminated leather makes stand collars sharp and authoritarian; washed linen or brushed wool rounds edges into a kinder silhouette. Shawl collars thrive on fabrics with body and drape like wool jersey, velvet, or bias‑cut satin. Mandarins prefer stable weaves with light interfacing. In shader terms, stands and mandarins need consistent specular edges along the top seam; shawls need soft, rolling highlights along the roll line. Avoid heavy micro‑normal noise near the throat—it muddies skin/cloth separation during dialogue shots.

Pattern Logic That Aids Simulation

Pattern logic is production logic. Place grainlines so they support the collar’s intent: straight grain for stands and mandarins to resist stretch, bias for shawls to encourage roll. Add undercollar seams or facings to hide thickness and provide a clean edge for outlines. Where capes or scarves layer over collars, create hidden vents or gussets so the stack compresses without clipping. On animated characters with extreme neck movement, include a tiny “ease wedge” in the neckline that can open a few millimeters under load; this prevents candy‑wrapper twisting.

Collision, Skinning, and Camera

The neck region is prone to clipping with hair, beards, and shoulder armor. Reserve a collision priority order: skin → hair → collar → chest gear, or whichever fits your project. For mandarin bands, add an inner collision ring that deforms more than the outer ring to maintain a clean silhouette. For shawls, separate the inner roll from the outer edge with different weights so cinematics can preserve the elegant curve even while the chest breathes. Always test extreme yaw and pitch; if the jaw intersects the collar in profile, lower the stand height or scallop the front edge.

Cultural and Period Variants, Respectfully Applied

Collar systems carry deep cultural and historical meanings. Mandarin‑style bands show up across East and South Asian garments; shawl‑like edges appear in Victorian dressing gowns, ecclesiastical vestments, and Indigenous robe traditions; stand collars are common in military uniforms worldwide. Treat references with respect: map the original construction and closure logic before stylizing, credit your sources, and avoid mixing sacred motifs with combat gear without narrative justification. When in doubt, include a short rationale in your sheet for how the world logic supports the adaptation.

Readability Across Distance and LODs

At long shot, collars read as frames around the head and as directional arrows on the chest. Preserve the top edge silhouette, the closure cadence, and the yoke bevels as you reduce detail. Lose button holes and topstitching first; keep the roll line and stand height. For emissive trims or faction piping, route them along collar edges and yoke seams so they telegraph structure even when textures compress.

Deliverables That Downstream Teams Love

From concept, provide a neutral front/side/back with collar callouts: stand height, roll line, closure type, placket width, yoke shape, and intended materials. Include a two‑pose mini‑sequence—head turned left/right, chin down/up—to show deformation expectations. Add a swatch bar with interfacing levels and shader notes (edge highlight width, specular roughness on top edge, micro‑normal intensity). From production, document the bone or sim setup for the neck region, the collision order, and any corrective shapes for extreme poses. A shared vocabulary—stand, fall, roll line, break point, band height—keeps the collar consistent from sketch to shipped asset.

Troubleshooting and Tuning

If collars collapse in motion, increase interfacing (stiffness) or redistribute weight to the yoke. If mandarin bands clip the jaw, reduce height at center front or add an anatomically scooped edge. If shawl collars lose their elegance at distance, thicken the edge highlight and simplify inner shading. If plackets ripple under breathing, lock lengthwise stretch and reduce button count. If yokes cause shoulder stiffness, soften the seam curve and move the yoke break away from the acromion to restore sleeve mobility.

Final Notes

Good collar systems feel inevitable: the way they stand, roll, and close should look like the only possible answer for that character, job, and world. When you anchor your style to sound placket logic and yoke structure—and you respect the head/neck rig—you’ll frame the face with confidence, keep silhouettes clean, and give players a readable, memorable upper‑torso design that works in both hero shots and fast gameplay.