Notan

Nōtan (濃淡^?) is a Japanese design concept involving the play and placement of light and dark as they are placed next to the other in art and imagery.

Uses

This use of light and dark translates shape and form into flat shapes on a two-dimensional surface. Nōtan is traditionally presented in paint, ink, or cut paper, but it is relevant to a host of modern day image-making techniques, such as lithography in printmaking, and rotoscoping in animation.

See also

• Gestalt psychology
• Yin and yang

References

• Composition: A Series of Exercises in Art Structure for the Use of Students and Teachers by Arthur Wesley Dow (1899)
• Notan: A Virtual Art Academy® building block by Barry John Raybould, MA (2004/2010) Course on Notan
• Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design by Dorr Bothwell and Marlys Mayfield (1968/1991)
• The Interaction of Color by Josef Albers (1963)
• Perception and Imaging by Richard D. Zakia (1997/2001)

External links

• Notan: Design in Light and Dark by Sharon Himes