Drawing 2

Negative Space

Vocabulary:

Positive shape, negative space, composition, value, value scale

Artist:
MC Escher, born in the Netherlands, 1898-1972
Ellsworth Kelly, born NY, 1923-2015

Elements of Art: space, line, value

Principles of Design: variety, unity, rhythm, balance

Criteria:
 Drawing goes off the edge of the paper on at least three sides
 Negative space is used to draw the bicycle
 White charcoal pencil is used to add details to form of bicycle. Leave black paper for
darkest dark areas. Use a lot of pressure on pencil for highlights.
 Negative space can be filled or left black.
 Overall drawing has strong composition and areas of contrast.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Use a viewfinder or your phone to create a strong composition. Zoom in to create

interesting negative space shapes.
2. Draw negative spaces on white paper. Look for line continuity and size relationships to
get proportions right.
3. Practice white charcoal on black scratch paper. Try a value scale and a cylinder.
4. Transfer white paper drawing to black paper.
5. Either start by filling negative spaces with a mid-range value or start by adding value to
bicycle.
6. Make sure drawing doesn’t mush together—create contrast between bicycle and
negative space.