Spotlight on: Notans
Notans are studies of how light land dark elements of an image interact using only black and white.
Find out more in this short film below!
Notans are one of the fantastic techniques I learnt whilst training with the Royal Drawing School, thanks to support from Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice grant.
How to draw a Notan:
A little more about Notans…
NOTANS IN PRACTICE
Notans are a Japanese design concept that balances lights and dark elements in an image.
I’ve found a few brilliant ways to use Notans in my day to day drawing practice and one of them is creating source material for use in the studio as I develop a composite image of a journey through a landscape.
Here I’m working from a photograph of the rescue huts found on the Lindisfarne causeway here in Northumberland.
I’m going to use a series of these Notan drawings to create a composite image of the landscape later.
HOW TO DRAW A NOTAN
As you look at the image you’re drawing, or the scene if you’re drawing from observation, soften your focus to help you see the darkest dark and the lightest light.
To start with you’re looking for the areas with the biggest contrast between light and dark.
Draw the darkest areas in black ink. Charcoal and thick brush pen work well too.
FINDING BALANCE
You’ll end up with lots of white space – that’s going to represent the lightest light in the image.
To balance the composition, or pick out key features, you might decide to include something in black ink that isn’t strictly the darkest area, or leave something out that isn’t the lightest.
THE FINISHED NOTAN
Notans are quick sketches that really help you to see the composition of an image. I’ve found they help me to see if an image is working; if the arrangement of shapes, light and dark are in balance or interesting to look at.
As you finish the Notan, draw a line around the outside to define the space it inhabits.
And they you go; a finished Notan.
Spirit of Place: A two day landscape drawing workshop
5 & 12 November 2024, 10am - 4pm
DRAW Studio, Stocksfield NE43 7HY
£119.89 per person including materials, light refreshments, free access to Padlet for 30 days and a tip sheet for creating Notans. PLUS, 10% discount on prints.
For full details and to book follow the link below: