Compose styles
Rather than blending styles toward a middle, this gives them roles. The first one carries the structure, the next comes in as the accent, and anything after that shows up in a single detail. Where they fight each other, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Lithography: Split areas and lines between plates, planning for colors to overprint
- Type
- Set in Lithography's manner (Draw the lettering onto the stone by hand instead of setting type), and let Plakatstil / Sachplakat's lettering (A short, heavy hand-drawn headline) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Lithography's material (Greasy crayon or tusche on stone, tone held by oil against water); bring in exactly one thing from Plakatstil / Sachplakat (Two to four colors, shadowless imagery, clean contours).
- Colour
- Build on #eadfca, #a24f3e, #373334 and admit one accent from #161515, #d39a29, #efe0bf.
Where they fight
- Lithography and Plakatstil / Sachplakat stand roughly 104 years apart. Keep one of them recognisably period rather than letting both drift into the middle.
Caution
- Lithography Pencil texture is not it, and neglecting density control crushes the tone into a merely blurred image. Learn how oil against water, the stone, damping, the roller and overprinted plates shape line and color.
- Plakatstil / Sachplakat Simplification is not omission. Choose the one thing to keep from what makes the product itself.
Image prompt
Produce four original images that take their structure from Lithography (technique, 1796–) and their accent from Plakatstil / Sachplakat (style, 1900s–1910s). ## What to make Make the kind of thing Lithography exists for: limited editions and art books that must keep the touch of crayon and charcoal, or large posters that need rich tone from a small number of colors. Choose one subject and hold it across all four. ## Structure comes from Lithography - Greasy crayon - Stone or metal plate - Painterly tone - Multicolor overprinting Composition: Split areas and lines between plates, planning for colors to overprint. Type and lettering: Draw the lettering onto the stone by hand instead of setting type. ## Accent comes from Plakatstil / Sachplakat, used sparingly - A single product image - Bold contours - Flat color - A short brand name Let one material quality come from it: Two to four colors, shadowless imagery, clean contours. ## Colour and feeling Build the ground on #eadfca, carry the structure in #a24f3e and #373334, and let a single accent come from #d39a29. These are read off real works, so a direction rather than a fixed palette. Feeling to carry: intimacy, luxury, nostalgia, trust, exhilaration. ## Where they fight - Lithography and Plakatstil / Sachplakat stand roughly 104 years apart. Keep one of them recognisably period rather than letting both drift into the middle. ## What goes wrong - Lithography: Pencil texture is not it, and neglecting density control crushes the tone into a merely blurred image. Learn how oil against water, the stone, damping, the roller and overprinted plates shape line and color. - Plakatstil / Sachplakat: Simplification is not omission. Choose the one thing to keep from what makes the product itself. ## 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.
Related entries
- Lithography 1796– / Technique / Planographic Printing
Uses the repulsion of oil and water to reproduce crayon and tusche drawing from stone or plate, keeping all the softness of the hand.
- Plakatstil / Sachplakat 1900s–1910s / Style / Advertising Posters
Cuts advertising down to the product and its name, delivering meaning at a glance from across the street.
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