Hergé Ligne Claire

Description

Ligne claire ("clear line") is the Franco-Belgian comic style codified by Hergé in The Adventures of Tintin (1929–1976) and named by Joost Swarte in 1977. It is the foundation of the European bande dessinée tradition and one of the most rigorously defined visual systems in comics. Rules: every contour line is a single, even-weight black line — no varying thickness, no hatching, no crosshatching for shadow; color is laid down as flat opaque shapes inside the line, with no gradient or modeling; shadows are simplified to flat darker shapes or omitted entirely; figures, vehicles, and architecture are drawn with technical precision — Hergé's car backgrounds are studied from photographs, his airplanes are accurate to the model; compositions are calm and clear; backgrounds are as carefully drawn as the foreground; characters are stylized but environments are realistic. Use it for adventure imagery, travelogue, retro Euro-comic homage, instructional and editorial illustration, architectural and transportation subjects, and any composition that should feel meticulous, calm, and continental. Limitations: not for grit, not for moody lighting, not for high action. Models will overshoot into generic "cartoon" — specify "Hergé ligne claire style, single even-weight black contour line throughout, flat opaque color inside line, no hatching, no gradient, realistic background detail with stylized characters, 1950s European bande dessinée."