I have to admit that I was surprised to learn that the samurai were actually masters of the art of shodown antology, or the “shodown” as it is spelled. This is my take on the practice of shodown antology. I believe it is one of the most important aspects of Japanese aesthetics.
Shodown antology is a system of painting that combines the use of a brush with the use of a shadow. A brush is used to mimic the appearance of a brushstroke and a shadow is used to mimic the appearance of a shadow. The effect is created by overlapping the brush’s shadow and the paint to create the illusion that a character’s outline is made up of the brush strokes. This allows for the creation of the illusion of three-dimensional figures.
There are many variations on samurai shodown. Many artists use it to create the illusion of scale and depth, but we’re not going to focus on those variations. What we want to highlight is the “shadow illusion” that is often used in shodown. The shadow illusion is created by overlapping the brush and the paint to create the illusion that a characters outline is made up of the brush strokes.
The shadow illusion is one of the most popular styles in shodown and is often used to create the illusion of three dimensional figures.
It’s quite difficult to get a good shadow illusion look on a computer, but if you look at some videos on YouTube you can see what we mean. They’re not all great, but they do get you thinking about the mechanics of the painting process. The shadow illusion is also really useful because it allows us to see the movement of the characters, which is usually invisible until you look closer. I have to say that you look better by having a strong line on your subject.
The shadow illusion works in two ways: it makes the shadow look more realistic, and it creates the illusion of depth. But what really makes it a great idea is that, when combined with the way you paint a shadow, it actually makes the illusion of three dimensional figures. Shadow is a great way to make objects look three dimensional, so you don’t really have to cheat and go three dimensional. All you have to do is paint the background white and the foreground black.
If you’re interested in shadows, I can recommend a book I’ve been reading about this. It’s called “The Shadow Illusion”. You can find it here.
I think I just started a series of posts on this, but it turns out that you can apply the technique to any kind of shadow you paint too, not just shadows.
So long as you don’t forget that your shadow is something that is not a shadow, it’s a whole different ballgame. Shadow is one of those things that can be applied in so many different ways. Shadow can be applied in a single stroke, or in multiple strokes, or as a color filter. I think the best way to describe this would be a little like drawing with a pencil.
The technique is called “antology,” which in the visual arts means “to apply color to a subject,” and I’m pretty sure that has more to do with antics than it does with how you paint. Antics are generally done on the fly, in the moment, and they often involve blending.