3.5.Shadow play in Sichuan在线视频

Wu Zimu in the Song Dynasty said in his masterpiece Menglianglu that the loyal

and good were carved in handsome look while the evil were incised in ugly look so that people can tell the good and the evil.

Therefore, it can be seen that from the Song Dynasty, artists have paid great attention to the portray of characters.

For centuries, the tradition in the style of the Chinese shadow play has been observed.

In this class,

we will analyze the "shadow puppets" in shadow play from the perspective of artistic design,

and explore how the predecessors shaped vivid roles in the play in a 2D plane.

Chapter I Styling Features of Shadow Puppets

Affected by temple murals and sculptures in the early stage,

and later by local operas,

the shadow puppets of shadow play are more stereotyped and stylized.

Incorporating the essence of folk arts such as ancient murals,

Buddha statues, opera masks,

opera costumes, folk costumes, and paper cuttings in the style,

shadow puppets are vivid and exquisite,

praised by countless people at home and abroad.

The features of the style are mainly summarized in the following five aspects:

(I) Planar design:

The characters are generally designed in flat image of side 50-percent face or 70-percent face.

Since the shadow puppets move back and forth on the flat screen window,

the heads of the shadow puppets are mostly made as the front and side faces,

which are called the "50-percent faces".

However, some clowns and villains are often made as half-side faces,

also called "70-percent faces".

Different from the skills used for heads,

the armor, robes and skirts of the shadow puppet are designed from an angle of 70 percent to 80 percent.

This makes the audience feel complete visually and presents the content from all angles to the greatest extent.

This way, the heads with front and side faces and half-side bodies are generated for the same shadow puppet style,

and the styling features of "50-percent head and 70-percent body" are demonstrated.

(II) Exaggerated image:

The images are designed by skills combining abstraction and realism,

making the costumes and faces of the characters vivid,

exaggerated, humorous and romantic.

The images are portrayed by line hollowing and flatly colored with simple colors.

With the light at the back,

the puppets are visually transparent and gorgeous.

(III) Dynamic performance:

Shadow puppets are generally composed of eleven connected pieces, i.e.

a head, an upper body, a lower body, two legs, two upper arms, two lower arms and two hands,

which can be manipulated to give mechanically dynamic performances.

Generally, the upper body and two arms are longer in body proportion to highlight the performance effect.

(IV) Stereotyped and stylized shapes:

The shadow play roles are designed according to the models of "Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou" of the Chinese opera.

Stylized shapes of facebooks and outfits in various industries.

Mechanically dynamic performances can be given by manipulation.

Generally, the upper body and two arms are longer in body proportion to highlight the performance effect.

(V) Regional features

Due to the vast territory of China,

distinct regional features have been formed for the shadow play art in different regions.

The styles of shadow plays in different regions are different.

Some are freehand, some are realistic,

but all have integrated local cultural characteristics.

Among them, the most representative ones are the Guanzhong Shadow Play in Northwest China and Hebei Shadow Play in North China.

The forehead, nose and chin of the puppets of Guanzhong Shadow Play are all stereoscopic,

which is a characteristic of shadow play in Northwest China.

A straight line is formed from the forehead to the nose tip for puppets of Hebei Shadow Play,

which is a characteristic of shadow play in North China.

Beijing Shadow Play has its characteristic of directly sketching the masks of Peking opera on the shadow puppets.