# Ligne Claire (リーニュ・クレール)

> The uniform-outline style Hergé established in Tintin: no cast shadows, every element drawn with the same weight of line — a democratic picture plane that made clarity itself an aesthetic.

- IndexStyle No.457 — https://indexstyle.org/styles/ligne-claire
- Kind: Style · Family: Illustration Styles · Era: 1929–
- Mood: Calm, Trust, Play
- Color cues: #e9e6dd / #67635d / #171615 (cues taken from reference works, not a fixed palette)

## Defining characteristics

- Uniform-weight outlines
- The absence of shadow
- Flat color
- Background and figure treated equally

## Best used for

- Comparing primary sources and canonical works
- Extracting principles that transfer to other media

## Research method

This entry records a historical style; derive the treatment from its sources rather than a fixed recipe:

- Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
- Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
- Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process

## What to avoid

Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.

## Application checklist

Before calling a piece an application of this style, check it against the defining characteristics:

- [ ] Uniform-weight outlines
- [ ] The absence of shadow
- [ ] Flat color
- [ ] Background and figure treated equally
- [ ] At least one reference work below has been studied directly
- [ ] The caution above ("What to avoid") has been addressed

## Related styles

- **American Comic Book Style (アメリカン・コミックの様式)** — The grammar of exaggeration born from four-color printing and Ben-Day dots: bold outlines, primary-color costumes, speed lines and bursting onomatopoeia printing American myth on cheap newsprint. → https://indexstyle.org/styles/american-comic-style
- **Ukiyo-e (浮世絵)** — Fixes a passing moment of daily life or landscape into strong composition with contour, flat color and daring crops. → https://indexstyle.org/styles/ukiyo-e

## Further study

- Hergé's Tintin
- Joost Swarte's naming
- the contemporary clear-line lineage

## Reference works

- Musée Hergé — https://www.museeherge.com/

## AI interpretation

An AI-generated interpretation image exists for browsing convenience only — it is not a reference work: https://indexstyle.org/ai/ligne-claire.jpg

## Source of record

- Musée Hergé — https://www.museeherge.com/

## Machine surfaces

- JSON: https://indexstyle.org/api/styles/ligne-claire
- Image-generation prompt (legally clean): https://indexstyle.org/styles/ligne-claire/prompt.txt
- MCP: https://indexstyle.org/mcp (tools: search_styles, get_style, compose_styles; prompts: image-prompt, apply-style)

## 日本語

エルジェ『タンタン』が確立した均一な輪郭線の様式。影を落とさず、どの要素も同じ太さの線で描く民主的な画面が、明晰さそのものを美学にし、欧州漫画から現代イラストまで流れ続ける。

特徴: 均一な太さの輪郭線／影の不在／平面的な彩色／背景も人物も同格の描写
注意: 表面的な記号へ還元せず、時代・地域・技術・制作主体の文脈を確認する。