Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Commedia dell'Arte: Figures ranged across a shallow stage, eyes aligned at mask height
- Type
- Set in Commedia dell'Arte's manner (Hand lettering that tilts with the gesture, at signpainter weight), and let Kumadori's lettering (Brushed letters that match the stroke energy of the makeup lines) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Commedia dell'Arte's material (Leather half-masks, lozenge cloth and white cotton assigned by role); bring in exactly one thing from Kumadori (Red and indigo brushed over white, the bristle streaks left showing).
- Colour
- Build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 and admit one accent from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615.
Where they fight
- Both belong to Stage Design, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
- Roughly 1657 years apart. Keep one of them recognisably period rather than letting both drift into the middle.
Caution
- Commedia dell'Arte Borrowing only the lozenges and the mask loses the rank and temperament the type was meant to signal, leaving a costume party photograph.
- Kumadori 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.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Commedia dell'Arte (Style, 16th–18th century) and its accent from Kumadori (Style, 1673–). Structural cues: Leather half-masks; Harlequin's lozenge pattern; Type-defining costume; Exaggerated gesture. Accent cues, used sparingly: Red and indigo kuma lines; Musculature drawn as pattern; White ground; A color code of character. Composition: Figures ranged across a shallow stage, eyes aligned at mask height. Type and lettering: Hand lettering that tilts with the gesture, at signpainter weight. Let one material quality come from the second style: Red and indigo brushed over white, the bristle streaks left showing. Mood: Play, Rebellion, Nostalgia, Exhilaration. Color: build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 with a single accent drawn from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Commedia dell'Arte 16th–18th century / Style / Stage Design
Masks and fixed costumes let Italy's improvised comedy name each character at a glance. Harlequin's lozenges and Pulcinella's white belong to a system of visual signs that art, fashion and graphics have never stopped quoting.
- Kumadori 1673– / Style / Stage Design
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.
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