Kumadori vs Ukiyo-e
隈取 / 浮世絵
Kumadori comes from Stage Design and Ukiyo-e from Japanese Woodblock Prints. Both are read here as style. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.
Kumadori
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Kabuki makeup that exaggerates muscle and vein in red and indigo lines, diagramming a role's character on the face. With Sharaku's actor prints, the origin of the strong graphic face in Japanese design.
Ukiyo-e
Fixes a passing moment of daily life or landscape into strong composition with contour, flat color and daring crops.
| Kumadori | Ukiyo-e | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1673– | 17th–19th century |
| Family | Stage Design | Japanese Woodblock Prints |
| Kind | Style | Style |
| Cues | Red and indigo kuma lines / Musculature drawn as pattern / White ground / A color code of character | Clear outlines / Flat color / Bold cropping / Overlapping space |
| Best used for | Stage makeup and character faces that state temperament through line and color · Posters and packaging where one strong face has to carry the whole design | Giving daily scenes a symbolic composition · Showing depth by overlap instead of realism |
| Type | Brushed letters that match the stroke energy of the makeup lines | Brush letters or a disciplined mincho fitting the subject; no meaningless Japanese |
| Composition | Crop tight to the face and let brow and eye lines set the axis | Cut the foreground boldly; set a jump in scale against the distance |
| Material | Red and indigo brushed over white, the bristle streaks left showing | Keylines and few color blocks; use the paper as one of the colors |
| Caution | Drawing the red and indigo as pure pattern breaks the code that marks good, evil and the superhuman, leaving a decorated face that states nothing. | Not a kit of 'Japanese-style' signs. Research the artist, carver, printer, period and subject. |