Production technology of shadow play

In order to inherit, popularize and prosper Qingyang shadow play art and make this precious folk art treasure carry forward, this paper introduces its cowhide treatment, drawing, carving, carving, dyeing and combination to shadow play lovers. I believe its public appearance is conducive to the prosperity of Qingyang shadow play art.

(1) Selection and processing of cowhide. Traditionally, the material for making shadow play is usually cowhide, but there are also donkey skin and sheepskin. Since ancient times, Qingyang shadow play has been made of cowhide.

In order to make all kinds of shadow play images shine on the bright screen, the thickness of cowhide must be appropriate, moist and transparent, soft but not soft, hard but not brittle. To meet the above conditions, the selected cowhide generally meets the following conditions:

1. Black live cattle, because black cowhide is cyan and transparent. 2. Grass period. Cowhide in grass period is plump, rich in fat, moist and soft. 3. Killing and bleeding. There is no blood spot or bloodshot in the slaughtered and bleeding cowhide. 4. Four or six years old cowhide. Four or six-year-old cows have fine leather and uniform thickness.

After selecting the cowhide, soak it in a clean water tank. After it is completely softened, make holes around it, tie it tightly with a rope and stretch it on the frame. After drying, scrape it from the hairy place first. Anyway, it can be used several times to make it suitable in thickness and transparent.

Tool for scraping cowhide: scraper, also known as "key", with a cutter head diameter of about 12 cm. The connection between the cutter head and the handle is movable. When sharpening the knife, take off the handle, put the mushroom mouth down on the fine stone that cares about the whole, and push and pull it back and forth to make it sharp.

Small sharp knife: No matter what kind of sharp knife, as long as it is sharp. Used to peel the leftover meat from cowhide, and poke holes in the edge of cowhide when it is put on the shelf.

Towel: After the cowhide is scraped, soak it in clear water and scrub it clean.

(2) Design of shadow play samples. Shadow play is different from ordinary painting forms and close to folk paper-cutting. Its main features are versatility and strong decoration. Character design must have a strong sense of the times.

The figures in traditional shadow play and the new-style shadow play that are reformed at present mostly adopt the expression technique of big side, and there are several obvious features in the design:

1. The proportion of the human body is different from that of the real human body, and the proportion of the head is larger, generally one fifth of the height. The proportion of hands is smaller than it really is. The body is thinner and thinner than the real human body, with narrow body and wide body and knee-high arms. Otherwise, it will look bloated when the screen is bright. In the five senses, the eyes should be big and the mouth should be small, so that the characters can have animation effects. On the other hand, the positive characters of Zhengyin are mostly flat, long and thin eyes, small mouth and straight nose, peaceful and moderate. All the figures, except the horns, have prominent foreheads and their crowns move back greatly. This kind of deformation is exaggerated, which makes filmmakers more capable and full of energy.

2. Character facial design. In traditional shadow play, the positive characters mostly use the empty face method (positive engraving), while the negative characters mostly use the real engraving method (negative engraving). The general laws of face design are: black loyalty, red fierceness, flower courage, white treachery, empty (positive) reality (negative) evil.

3. Character decomposition: it is divided into five parts, 12, namely head, upper body, big and small arms, hands, big and small legs, etc. It can also be increased or decreased according to the needs of the characters in the play.

4. It is very important to connect all parts of the character decomposition, especially the connection points of the thighs. It is necessary to find the connection center accurately in advance, otherwise the legs will overlap or separate too much, which will make the performance difficult.

The figures in shadow play are usually about 35cm in size. Too high is clumsy, uneven projection and difficult performance.

6. Animal design decomposition. Such as tigers, horses, pigs, dogs, etc., are generally decomposed into head, body, tail, limbs, and some can also decompose maxilla and tail to move naturally. Flying animals such as magpies and swallows mainly move their wings.

7. Scenes, props, and their films, such as the handsome account of the palace, several boxes, gums, chairs and stools, etc. , except for the compressed structure, are slightly perspective-oriented. Especially in the pattern, the decorative effect is highlighted.

(3) The carving and dyeing method of shadow play. Hardwood workbench. Chiseling and flattening of cowhide are all done on this. The work table requires thin, hard and heavy wood, and generally Du pear wood, pear wood and jujube wood are better.

Hardwood double-edged knife. Massage the cowhide, because it should be used on the shoulders, so the length is more than 30 cm.

Angle knife (triangle knife). Made of the best steel to achieve the purpose of sharpness. In addition to push-pull carving, there is also a carving method of pushing cowhide, which is more flexible to master with the handle.

Chisel. Chisels are mainly used to cut out regular patterns. There are many kinds of chisels, including large round chisels and small round chisels. Various triangular chisels, etc. It is the most used tool by all kinds of cinematographers and photographers, so steel-special steel must be selected for processing.

Brush. Spare several brushes with hooks, smearing and flat coating.

Transparent color. Stone mixed light glue for traditional dyeing. At present, artists usually use transparent slide film to color, and the effect is the best.

Square brick. Two square bricks are ground, baked and heated, and then used for baking: the finished product of shadow play is decomposed. Artists call it "scenery", which is the key to the post-production of shadow play.

Transparent glue and varnish. Used for polishing the adhesive film after "effluent".

The carving and chiseling process of shadow play is troublesome and a very meticulous work. The general process is as follows:

1. First copy the manuscript sample on the processed cowhide with a steel needle or an iron pen, then cut it into small pieces according to the parts, cover it with a clean wet towel, soften it, and flatten it with a double-edged knife before using it.

2. When carving, it is difficult before easy. Start with complexity. First, use a chisel to carve fine patterns, and then use a chisel to carve other patterns on the mountain. Don't carve where you want to take it off-take a little. Wait until it's all carved. Poke it off at one time to avoid sample deformation during carving.

The meat cleaver has many uses, and its method of "fixing the knife and pushing the skin" is better. The so-called "pushing the leather with a fixed knife" means inserting a sharp knife into the engraved line of the pattern, pressing the cowhide with the index finger and middle finger of the other hand and pushing it according to the pattern. The lines carved in this way are smooth and natural, and the effect is faster.

3。 After the small pieces are carved, they can be colored by pushing them flat again and again with a double-edged knife. Shadow play should not have too many coloring levels, and generally it is mainly flat painting. The color contrast should be strong, and the color of a part should be adjusted once and dyed three or four times to achieve benefits. Don't do dark colors once, but do them many times from shallow to deep. After the big color is finished, draw details, such as facial features and various decorative patterns.

4。 After all the coloring, in order to prevent the color from falling off, you can brush the cover with clear glue or knee washing, and the thin cowhide will be brown, so you must consider new changes after the coloring brush, and finally achieve the desired color effect.

5。 Drying and ironing (also known as "water") is very important. Old artists often grind square bricks to keep warm. Refractory bricks should not be too hot. Clip the carved small pieces with white cloth and put them between two bricks, and check them at any time. Anyway, bake it three or four times to make the film from soft to hard, and then press it with a heavy object until it dries up.

Now it can be replaced by an electric iron, which is as effective as brick ironing.

6. Synthetic binding can be connected by thin lines carved from cowhide. Be careful not to bind too tightly, so as not to affect performance.

7. The position of the joystick is mostly on the chest, hands and three meters. A character's feet should have movements and can be used as foot sticks. The foot stick is a clip made of iron wire, which is put on when it is used and taken off when it is not used. Leg movements are also done by pulling wires, which are unified on the foot stick.

8. In the process of shadow play performance, there is often a lack of this and that, and folk artists have more emergency measures. Usually draw a sample with a piece of hard white paper, color it, then coat it with paraffin or varnish, and cut it out for use.