When you say to someone “draw a tree,” what they draw is, no matter how complex, visual shorthand for a tree. The picture does not capture the “being” of a tree. The beauty of the limbs. The complexity of a leaf. The texture of the bark. The sweet clean “tree” smell.
In much the same way, when we say “I’ve made a medieval tunic,” what you come up with is visual shorthand for a tunic and is not nearly as complex or beautiful as tunics actually made in period.
I’m contemplating… How can we cut down on the visual shorthand and increase the “being”of our medieval impression?