What Is Negative Space?

Negative space means the empty area that surrounds an object. You might call it the background.

You can clearly see what I'm referring to with these examples, here.

On the left, I have done an outline of a dwarf. In the one on the right, I have colored the external (or negative) area.

A positive drawing is the object. A negative drawing is the space around the object.

As an alternative, I use this space when I'm having trouble with a particular subject that I'm trying to draw. It's easier to draw an odd shape than it is to draw a specific object.

If you use both negative and positive space to draw, then everything will evolve naturally.

After all, a drawing is nothing without the space around it. They go hand in hand with each other.

The left side of your brain is the thinking side.

It needs to name everything that you are drawing.

The right side of your brain doesn't require facts or reason. This is where the artist resides in you.

Are you ready to do an exercise with me?

You really need a border around your drawings so you can identify the space. So, the first thing you need to do is to draw a border on your page.

Here's a turtle drawing for you to copy. Remember, you are to concentrate on and copy the gray area only. You should end up with a turtle outline (without even trying!).

I copied the gray shapes and then I finished the turtle with some details. Here is the turtle outline that I finished up with. What do you think?

If you study the negative portions in a drawing, you might actually feel your left brain handing over the reins to the right side. It just can't identify what that odd shape is. If there's no name for it, the left brain gives up.

Years ago, silhouette drawings were very popular. The actual shapes of the subject were left completely white and the negative was black. I think they are quite attractive.

A common method of identifying negative space around an object is to use a viewfinder.

Now you can draw the negative spaces to simply define the positive shapes.

Try this exercise with anything from around the house. A cup would be an easy one to start with. The object you choose should have holes in it so you get a better idea of how negative space works.