
Another way to describe this is the figure-ground relationship.ĭrawing the holes or gaps in an image of a chair is a popular and powerful way to engage students in negative space drawing. By learning to see and draw the negative or surrounding space, an artist is able to make the outer outline or contour of the positive space (object) naturally appear.

When they lift their hand, they can see that by filling in the space around their hand, they have created an image of their hand’s shape. One way to understand the value of negative space is to compare it to the pauses or silences between the notes of a song which, as has been often said, give the song much of its unique form and personality.Ī basic introductory exercise is to have students lay their hand with fingers splayed on a piece of paper and instruct them to trace it and then color or shade in the entire paper around their hand. Understanding the importance of representing both positive and negative space in an artwork and learning to “see” negative space helps artists to create fuller artistic pieces with greater balance and depth. The positive space refers to the object, figure, or form that exists within the negative space and is typically what young artists want to concentrate on. This can be the space in an actual place but typically refers to the space in an artwork. It’s essentially the space surrounding an object, figure, or form.

First of all, it’s important to have a general idea what negative space is.
