Posted By: AJGibson
Copying Chinese windows "by eye" (& Yingzao Fashi) - 12/01/15 06:36 AM
Question: If you're working from pictures or illustrations and do not have accurate 'blueprints', how do you do it? Are there any tricks or techniques for reproducing a design by eye? In particular, how do you accurately capture proportions? Is it all just experience and guesswork?
For example, there are many designs in traditional Chinese construction that I just love, including many of the patterns on doors, windows and balustrades. But, not speaking Chinese, and not living within a convenient distance of a genuine Chinese temple, I have to rely on the Google Image:
(Some windows from a garden in Suzhou, the Zhuo Zheng Yuan)
Playing around, I was luckily able to figure out this first window by dividing a square up into 4x4 smaller squares and then cutting out a series of circles and ovals, although I'm still not sure if the proportions are right. (If you look closely at the image, you can see the circles and ovals; the blue glass is what's left. Compare with the next window, also found in the same garden.)
This gave a systematic and simple recipe for (mostly) reproducing the window design. Nifty.
This more box-like design has resisted analysis. I have an attempt in the right direction, but the proportions are definitely off; their inner panel is rectangular whereas mine is square, and I'm not sure "how" rectangular it is (i.e. the ratio of the sides.)
I would especially love to be able to decode the illustrations I've found in the old Yingzao Fashi, even if only approximately
For example, there are many designs in traditional Chinese construction that I just love, including many of the patterns on doors, windows and balustrades. But, not speaking Chinese, and not living within a convenient distance of a genuine Chinese temple, I have to rely on the Google Image:
(Some windows from a garden in Suzhou, the Zhuo Zheng Yuan)
Playing around, I was luckily able to figure out this first window by dividing a square up into 4x4 smaller squares and then cutting out a series of circles and ovals, although I'm still not sure if the proportions are right. (If you look closely at the image, you can see the circles and ovals; the blue glass is what's left. Compare with the next window, also found in the same garden.)
This gave a systematic and simple recipe for (mostly) reproducing the window design. Nifty.
This more box-like design has resisted analysis. I have an attempt in the right direction, but the proportions are definitely off; their inner panel is rectangular whereas mine is square, and I'm not sure "how" rectangular it is (i.e. the ratio of the sides.)
I would especially love to be able to decode the illustrations I've found in the old Yingzao Fashi, even if only approximately