# Sumi-e × Zhe School — composed image prompt
# IndexStyle — https://indexstyle.org/compose?ids=sumi-e+zhe-school
# Sumi-e carries the structure and Zhe School appears as the accent.
# Style descriptors only. This prompt names no artist, studio, brand or work.

Produce four original images that take their structure from Sumi-e (technique, Tang dynasty–present) and their accent from Zhe School (style, Ming dynasty, 15th–16th centuries).

## What to make

Make the kind of thing Sumi-e exists for: presence and depth from few elements, or giving quiet brands and cultural projects room to breathe. Choose one subject and hold it across all four.

## Structure comes from Sumi-e

- Ink lines and tonal variation
- Wet, dry and broken brush marks
- Relations between painted forms and the ground
- A range from fine outlines to ink masses

Composition: Reserve as much for the unpainted as for the subject. Type and lettering: A light mincho or brush letters, sparingly.

## Accent comes from Zhe School, used sparingly

- Large landscapes reinterpret Southern Song models
- Strong ink masses and energetic lines
- Figures, mountains and paths connect a narrative
- Bold forms and swift strokes organise light and dark

Let one material quality come from it: Distinguish broad ink areas from sharp lines, balancing energetic strokes with narrative clarity.

## Colour and feeling

Build the ground on #eee9dc, carry the structure in #8c887c and #24231f, and let a single accent come from #7D7059. These are read off real works, so a direction rather than a fixed palette.
Feeling to carry: calm, luxury, intimacy, exhilaration, technique.

## Where they fight

- Sumi-e and Zhe School share no intent, so the contrast has to become the subject rather than something to smooth over.
- Sumi-e and Zhe School both belong to East Asian Painting, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
- Sumi-e and Zhe School stand roughly 750 years apart. Keep one of them recognisably period rather than letting both drift into the middle.

## What goes wrong

- Sumi-e: Not a black brush texture dropped in. Design the stroke order and the meaning of the emptiness.
- Zhe School: Bold ink painting alone does not qualify. Check references to Southern Song models and exchanges with the Wu school rather than classifying by birthplace or profession alone.

## Across the four

Keep the roles fixed in all four. Vary the framing, the scale and the arrangement so the set shows what this pairing can do rather than four versions of one picture.

## Constraints

- Do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work.
- Do not reproduce the composition of an existing work.
- Produce original compositions in the general period languages described above.

Design specs for each entry: https://indexstyle.org/styles/sumi-e/design.md · https://indexstyle.org/styles/zhe-school/design.md