How to Conquer Negative Space©
Posted: Thursday, May 12, 2011
by Arlene Wright-Correll
http://www.learn-america.com
This week’s question asks: “I am learning to draw and I am overwhelmed with all the art terms. Can you define some of them?”
Golly, there is so many of them and you did not mention which ones baffle you so I will just try to do the best I can.
Lets start with the term Negative Space which is often used in drawing and its purpose is to develop the ability to perceive objects as physical shapes as opposed to verbal descriptions or in other words to see an object in an unusual way which helps us to draw what’s actually there rather than what we think “ought” to be there. In other words it is often the art of omitting too much in your drawing.
Any easy exercise to learn negative space is to do small 90 second drawings. You will need a pencil or marker, some paper, a timer of some kind such as you oven timer or egg timer, and some objects to draw such as a chair, figurine, egg beater or something along those lines. You may even want to have some tape to tape your paper down onto your drawing board so it does not move. If you are using a flip drawing pad you will not have to do this.
Set up the object you wish to draw once you have your paper set up. Set the object up on a table even if you are going to draw a chair. Set your timer to 90 seconds and then start drawing the object without lifting your pencil or maker from the paper trying to complete it before the timer rings. Here is an example of a 90 second drawing of a chair which was done without removing the marker from the paper. It looks like a chair. Matter of fact it looks like the chair that was the drawing object. The lesson is to learn how to create negative spaces and it is a good practice exercise.
Another good negative space exercise is to put your elbow on the table of your non-dominant hand and draw a quick picture of your non-dominant hand in any position you wish to put it such as an open hand, a fist, your thumb, holding a fork or spoon or whatever. You will be surprised at your results.
Remember you really are not drawing the hand. You are focusing on capturing the space it is not occupying and when you are done your finished drawing should look like a silhouette of the object. You may want to jot down a sentence or two about how you felt during the drawing process. These are good lessons to look back upon as you make progress.
Next try to draw your same non-dominant hand without looking out it using the no peek method.
Both of these techniques are also good lessons in quick sketching and you will improve with continued practice of exercises such as these. It helps you develop your eye and hand coordination since you are forced to concentrate on a state of awareness. This is also referred to as contour drawing and it connects the eye and hand and you will eventually be drawing what you are actually seeing.
May the Creative Force be with you!
Arlene Wright-Correll
Golly, there is so many of them and you did not mention which ones baffle you so I will just try to do the best I can.
Lets start with the term Negative Space which is often used in drawing and its purpose is to develop the ability to perceive objects as physical shapes as opposed to verbal descriptions or in other words to see an object in an unusual way which helps us to draw what’s actually there rather than what we think “ought” to be there. In other words it is often the art of omitting too much in your drawing.
Set up the object you wish to draw once you have your paper set up. Set the object up on a table even if you are going to draw a chair. Set your timer to 90 seconds and then start drawing the object without lifting your pencil or maker from the paper trying to complete it before the timer rings. Here is an example of a 90 second drawing of a chair which was done without removing the marker from the paper. It looks like a chair. Matter of fact it looks like the chair that was the drawing object. The lesson is to learn how to create negative spaces and it is a good practice exercise.
Another good negative space exercise is to put your elbow on the table of your non-dominant hand and draw a quick picture of your non-dominant hand in any position you wish to put it such as an open hand, a fist, your thumb, holding a fork or spoon or whatever. You will be surprised at your results.
Remember you really are not drawing the hand. You are focusing on capturing the space it is not occupying and when you are done your finished drawing should look like a silhouette of the object. You may want to jot down a sentence or two about how you felt during the drawing process. These are good lessons to look back upon as you make progress.
Next try to draw your same non-dominant hand without looking out it using the no peek method.
Both of these techniques are also good lessons in quick sketching and you will improve with continued practice of exercises such as these. It helps you develop your eye and hand coordination since you are forced to concentrate on a state of awareness. This is also referred to as contour drawing and it connects the eye and hand and you will eventually be drawing what you are actually seeing.
May the Creative Force be with you!
Arlene Wright-Correll
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