Tonal Composition and Notan
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| notan/ˈnəʊtn/ | The design of light and dark shapes — the drawing works or fails at thumbnail size. |
| thumbnail sketches/ˈθʌmneɪl ˈsketʃɪz/ | Small, quick drawings used to explore possible compositions before developing an artwork. |
Design in two values
- Notan 明暗构成 is the design of light and dark shapes — the drawing works or fails at thumbnail size.
- Reduce the scene to 2-3 flat values; if the pattern reads, the composition is strong.
- Thumbnail sketches 小稿 (5-8 cm) test several value plans in minutes.
Strong pattern or noise?
Judge each value plan the way a scorer's first glance would.
Notan is the design of ____.
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Notan = the light-dark pattern.
Group, don't scatter
- Connected value shapes feel designed; scattered spots feel like noise.
- Link the shadows into families; let the lights form one readable pattern.
- Place the darkest dark against the lightest light at the focal point.
Notan: connected dark shapes read clearly; scattered spots read as noise
Scattered small darks usually read as noise rather than design.
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Connected value shapes feel designed.
Select all parts of a working value hierarchy.
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Equal everything = no hierarchy.
A value hierarchy
- One dominant value, one secondary, one accent — the hierarchy organises the page.
- Decide the hierarchy in the thumbnail, before any rendering exists.
- Keep the thumbnails in your journal: planning evidence for the Sustained Investigation.
Small 5-8 cm test drawings of value plans are called ____ sketches.
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Thumbnails test composition fast.
Match the plan to its verdict.
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The thumbnail already knows.
Do not start rendering before the notan works. Hours of beautiful hatching cannot rescue a value pattern that reads as static at arm's length.
Three thumbnails of the same courtyard: (a) dark mass L-shaped against light sky — reads instantly; (b) darks scattered in six spots — noise; (c) half-half split — static. You just chose composition (a) in four minutes.
Notan designs the light-dark pattern before detail exists: 2-3 values, connected shapes, a clear hierarchy, and the strongest contrast saved for the focal point — all tested in thumbnails.
Write from 3 two-value thumbnails
- A student makes 3 small plans using only black and white.
- The third plan is chosen.
Before a finished drawing, a student makes 3 thumbnails in only black and white and chooses the third. What are the thumbnails for?
A small plan is cheaper to change than a finished drawing.
Why make the 3 thumbnails?
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The thumbnails decide the light and dark pattern first.