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 Color Study Creates Notans

Color Study analyzes the luminance values of your image and converts them to a clean 2-value (or 3-value) pattern. You can adjust the threshold to control where the light/dark split happens.

Unlike simply converting to black and white in Photoshop, Color Study's notan mode 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.

Part of a Complete Workflow

Notan is just one tool in Color Study. Combine it with:

• Color palette extraction - Get the colors you need
• Multi-level value maps - Understand form and light
• Temperature analysis - See warm and cool distribution
• Full painting reference - All tools in one place