“Negative Space”

The book that I have chosen includes all different types of techniques for drawing with all different types of drawing tools. One portion of the book that I decided to focus in on was the negative space portion of the book. The section helps the reader understand how to use negative space correctly so that the drawing turns better. This section of the book also focuses on only pencil, so these techniques are used when you are creating a pencil drawing. There are four main steps that are generally followed when using this technique. This technique helps because “when you are making an observational drawing of a complex subject, it can help to begin by drawing the negative spaces around and in between the positive forms in order to see the main subject more objectively,” (page 40).

To begin, you create a rough sketch of the object/picture that you are drawing from. Create the general shape and give enough detail so that you would be able to somewhat guess what the drawing would be if you were not the one creating it. You should also draw this part lightly so that you can make changes later on if they are needed.

Example of a light sketch of a plant:

After creating a rough sketch, you begin to incorporate negative space into your drawing. First you will be using the inside negative space, also known as the “trapped spaces.” You will outline the trapped spaces so that it will define the inside borders of your drawing and make the negative spaces more visible.

In this picture, you can see that I have drawn in the negative spaces with darker lines. By doing this, you can see the border between negative and positive space as it also begins to give more detail to the drawing.

After you have drawn in the trapped spaces, all you have left are the surrounding spaces which you will now also draw in. By drawing in these lines, it will finish creating the more detailed shape of the object you are drawing. To determine the surrounding spaces, you look for the spaces that are bordered by lines and the edge of the drawing with no lines in between.

Now that I have drawn the surrounding spaces, you can clearly see the overall shape of the drawing.

Once you have finally drawn in all the negative spaces, you will then move onto the details of the positive form of the drawing. 

Once you have finished the details of the positive form you will be finished with your drawing.