1. L2: Positive Forms and Negative Space
House Course Practical Sketching, T. Lu picture credits are given to their original hosts

2. Key Things to Keep in Mind
Edges- seeing shared edges, drawing contour lines
Spaces- seeing and drawing negative spaces that share edges with positive forms
Relationships- seeing and drawing in perspective and in proportion
Lights and Shadows- seeing things in degrees of lightness or darkness

3. Positive vs. Negative
Positive space refers to the main focus of a picture
negative space refers to the background
 It is the opposite of an identifiable object which can at the same time be used to help define the boundaries of positive space
Often the black represents the positive space and the empty white area represents the negative space, but they are often switched too

4. Figure-ground Relationship
Positive and negative space are related to the concept of figure- ground relationship, which refers to the perceptual distinction we make between the subject and object in a picture.
Present in all images.

5. Start with a Solid Basic Unit
Pick the largest “minimum viable product” figure shape
Ignore everything else- ground will naturally be made out of it
Make sure it is really accurate
Fill in things from there

6. Trick: Use the Negative Space to Uncomplicate things
Sometimes drawing the shape of the positive figure is distracting or complex
So use the simpler background or negative space first to “carve out” the positive space

7. Same questions apply Don’t think about the object itself
“What is that angle compared to the vertical? Compared to the horizontal?”
“What is the ratio of the horn to the face? To the leg? To the length of the basic unit?”

8. Negative Space Summary
Simplify drawings
Unifies your drawing and strengthens composition
Can make things more intersting

9. Practice!

10. The Five Perceptual Skills of Drawing
Edges (contour)
Spaces (negative space/ positive forms)
Relationships (perspective and proportion)
Lights and Shadows
Gestalt (perception of the whole)

11. Take Home Assignment Find a drawing of your favorite animal online.
Draw an outline of it and it’s basic components (ears, eyes, legs)
Next week we will learn about shading to make it more realistic, but for now focus on the shapes