The figure in the shadow play aesthetics and Turkish shadow play: Karagöz

The shadow theatre is a puppet theatre which is realized by moving the two dimensional figures or silhouettes behind a white screen. Different from the other puppet forms, not the figure itself but its projection on the screen is watched. Therefore, the main actor is the figure or ?tasvir? as called in Turkey.The shadow puppets has a rich history adaptated in many and different cultures. It had arrived to Middle-East, Anatolia, North Africa and Europa from Asia where it has thought it began. A shadow theatre is formed and puppets are stylized in accordance with characteristics of its local culture. Hide, the traditional material for figures, are produced by sensitive and complex operations in all countries that shadow theatre had settled.This study takes the shadow theatre tradition, considering the figures are the most important factor of this art and examining roots of shadow theatre from Asia to Europe through a study of the techniques of making the visual figures. Finally Turkish shadow theatre Karagöz is considered for the formal specials in design and techniques.