Negative Space

Our first step was learning to perceive edges and represent them in LINE.

Now we are moving on to the next step which is learning to see and the use our lines to draw SHAPES. Geometric shapes, organic shapes, even implied shapes...

As an exercise in learning to perceive and draw shapes, this week we focused on NEGATIVE spaces.
This may be a tricky concept at first, but to make better drawings remember what Betty Edwards said:

“If negative spaces are given equal importance to positive forms, all parts of a drawing seem interesting and all work together to create a unified image.”

So what is negative space in a drawing?

Here are some extra examples:

(click on images for a bigger view)

Now if we were standing in front of this actual building it would be more difficult to see the edge of the negative space, but in our drawings, the picture plane makes up the edge of our negative space (as you can see clearly in the image on the left).

The next example is a more detailed
example of the negative spaces created
by a chair. I colored in a couple of
the corresponding shapes:

So, in the end, NEGATIVE space
is the area around the positive object.
And by learning to see the shapes
created by those empty spaces,
we can improve our observation
and drawing skills.

Because don't forget learning to draw
is a lot about learning to SEE.
(Sometimes in a whole new way!)