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 Sōsaku-hanga: Use the rectangle of the block itself as the frame
- Type
- Set in Sōsaku-hanga's manner (Cut hand carved letters into the block as part of the image), and let Ukiyo-e's lettering (Brush letters or a disciplined mincho fitting the subject; no meaningless Japanese) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Sōsaku-hanga's material (Keep the grain of the wood and the cut marks, and do not erase uneven printing); bring in exactly one thing from Ukiyo-e (Keylines and few color blocks; use the paper as one of the colors).
- Colour
- Build on #f1eeef, #e7b180, #252525 and admit one accent from #e6d7b5, #285b7e, #c9a260.
Where they fight
- Sōsaku-hanga and Ukiyo-e share no intent, so the contrast has to become the subject rather than something to smooth over.
- Sōsaku-hanga and Ukiyo-e both belong to Japanese Woodblock Prints, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
- Sōsaku-hanga and Ukiyo-e stand roughly 254 years apart. Keep one of them recognisably period rather than letting both drift into the middle.
Caution
- Sōsaku-hanga Roughness itself is not the goal. The substance is the choice of what you take on with your own hands.
- Ukiyo-e Not a kit of 'Japanese-style' signs. Research the artist, carver, printer, period and subject.
Image prompt
Produce four original images that take their structure from Sōsaku-hanga (style, 1904–1960s) and their accent from Ukiyo-e (style, 17th–19th century). ## What to make Make the kind of thing Sōsaku-hanga exists for: making prints that keep the trace of the hand as a value, or showing making in the first person rather than by division of labor. Choose one subject and hold it across all four. ## Structure comes from Sōsaku-hanga - Coarse lines that keep the marks of the knife - Self drawn, self carved, self printed - Tolerance for distortion and uneven inking - Subjects personal to the artist Composition: Use the rectangle of the block itself as the frame. Type and lettering: Cut hand carved letters into the block as part of the image. ## Accent comes from Ukiyo-e, used sparingly - Clear outlines - Flat color - Bold cropping - Overlapping space Let one material quality come from it: Keylines and few color blocks; use the paper as one of the colors. ## Colour and feeling Build the ground on #f1eeef, carry the structure in #e7b180 and #252525, and let a single accent come from #c9a260. These are read off real works, so a direction rather than a fixed palette. Feeling to carry: rebellion, intimacy, technique, exhilaration, calm, nostalgia. ## Where they fight - Sōsaku-hanga and Ukiyo-e share no intent, so the contrast has to become the subject rather than something to smooth over. - Sōsaku-hanga and Ukiyo-e both belong to Japanese Woodblock Prints, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable. - Sōsaku-hanga and Ukiyo-e stand roughly 254 years apart. Keep one of them recognisably period rather than letting both drift into the middle. ## What goes wrong - Sōsaku-hanga: Roughness itself is not the goal. The substance is the choice of what you take on with your own hands. - Ukiyo-e: Not a kit of 'Japanese-style' signs. Research the artist, carver, printer, period and subject. ## 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
- Sōsaku-hanga 1904–1960s / Style / Japanese Woodblock Prints
A movement that rejected the division of labor among designer, carver and printer and declared that one person draws, carves and prints. It chose to leave the trace of the maker's hand rather than technical perfection, taking the opposite road from the shin-hanga of the same years.
- Ukiyo-e 17th–19th century / Style / Japanese Woodblock Prints
Fixes a passing moment of daily life or landscape into strong composition with contour, flat color and daring crops.
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