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 Nihonga: Leave the void generous and push the subject to one side.
- Type
- Set in Nihonga's manner (Let the relation between the seal and the void set the center of gravity.), and let Sumi-e's lettering (A light mincho or brush letters, sparingly) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Nihonga's material (Choose the grain size of the mineral pigment and build layers with glue.); bring in exactly one thing from Sumi-e (Ink, unbleached paper, absorption, bleed).
- Colour
- Build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 and admit one accent from #eee9dc, #24231f, #8c887c.
Where they fight
- Both belong to East Asian Painting, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- Nihonga Do not confuse it with Japanese styling. The substance of this framework is the choice of material and technique.
- Sumi-e Not a black brush texture dropped in. Design the stroke order and the meaning of the emptiness.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Nihonga (Style, 1880s–) and its accent from Sumi-e (Technique, Tang dynasty–present). Structural cues: The grain and color of mineral pigment; Layers built up with animal glue; The white of the silk or paper ground; Contour line and flatness preserved. Accent cues, used sparingly: Ink gradation; Dry-brush scratch; Vast emptiness; The speed of one stroke. Composition: Leave the void generous and push the subject to one side.. Type and lettering: Let the relation between the seal and the void set the center of gravity.. Let one material quality come from the second style: Ink, unbleached paper, absorption, bleed. Mood: Calm, Luxury, Intimacy. Color: build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 with a single accent drawn from #eee9dc, #24231f, #8c887c. 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
- Nihonga 1880s– / Style / East Asian Painting
A modern framework that redefined Japanese painting from the side of its materials, mineral pigment, animal glue, washi and silk, in response to the influx of Western painting. Its character is a compromise led by material, keeping traditional technique while modernizing subject and composition.
- Sumi-e Tang dynasty–present / Technique / East Asian Painting
With only ink gradations and emptiness, keeps a subject's presence, speed and distance rather than its shape.
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