Notan Generator

What Is Notan?

Notan is a Japanese design concept meaning "light-dark harmony." It reduces an image to just two values - black and white - to reveal the underlying abstract pattern of a composition.

"The notan is the foundation upon which all pictorial art is built." - Arthur Wesley Dow

When you strip away color, detail, and subtle gradations, what remains is the essential structure of the image. A strong notan pattern creates visual impact that viewers feel even if they can't articulate why.

Why Artists Use Notan

Notan studies are essential for planning paintings and evaluating compositions:

• Evaluate composition strength - A boring notan usually means a boring painting
• Plan before painting - Solve composition problems in 2 minutes, not 2 hours
• Analyze master works - See why famous paintings "work" at a fundamental level
• Simplify complex scenes - Find the essential shapes in overwhelming references
• Check your own work - Squint at your painting? A notan does this automatically
• Design thumbnails - Quickly explore composition options before committing

How to Read a Notan

When looking at a notan, ask yourself:

• Is there a clear dominant value (mostly light or mostly dark)?
• Do the shapes interlock in an interesting way?
• Is there variety in the sizes of light and dark shapes?
• Does the pattern lead your eye through the composition?
• Would this work as an abstract design on its own?

If the notan looks dull or confusing, the final painting probably will too. Fix it at this stage!

How the Notan Tool Works

Upload any image and the Notan Tool will:

• Analyze the luminance values of your image
• Convert to a clean 2-value (or 3-value) pattern
• Let you adjust the threshold to control where the light/dark split happens
• Apply optional smoothing for cleaner shapes
• Tap to highlight - Touch any value swatch to see all areas with that value

Unlike simply converting to black and white in Photoshop, the Notan Tool is designed specifically for artists doing composition studies.

Notan vs Value Map

A notan is a specific type of value map - one with only 2 values. While value maps can have 3, 5, or more levels, notan strips everything down to the most basic light/dark pattern.

Use notan for quick composition checks. Use multi-level value maps for understanding form and subtle lighting.

Combine with Other Tools

Notan is just one tool for analyzing references. You can also:

• Extract the color palette from your reference
• Create a value study with more levels
• Simplify your image into clear, paintable shapes
• Get paint mixing guidance to match colors accurately