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 Sumi-e: Reserve as much for the unpainted as for the subject
- Type
- Set in Sumi-e's manner (A light mincho or brush letters, sparingly), 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 Sumi-e's material (Ink, unbleached paper, absorption, bleed); bring in exactly one thing from Ukiyo-e (Keylines and few color blocks; use the paper as one of the colors).
- Colour
- Build on #eee9dc, #24231f, #8c887c and admit one accent from #e6d7b5, #285b7e, #c9a260.
Where they fight
- Sumi-e and Ukiyo-e stand roughly 1032 years apart. Keep one of them recognisably period rather than letting both drift into the middle.
Caution
- Sumi-e Not a black brush texture dropped in. Design the stroke order and the meaning of the emptiness.
- 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 Sumi-e (technique, Tang dynasty–present) and their accent from Ukiyo-e (style, 17th–19th century). ## 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 gradation - Dry-brush scratch - Vast emptiness - The speed of one stroke Composition: Reserve as much for the unpainted as for the subject. Type and lettering: A light mincho or brush letters, sparingly. ## 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 #eee9dc, carry the structure in #8c887c and #24231f, 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: calm, luxury, intimacy, exhilaration, nostalgia. ## Where they fight - Sumi-e and Ukiyo-e stand roughly 1032 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. - 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
- 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.
- 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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