IN YOUR SKETCHBOOK…
Day 6 (negative space)
Warm-up: What is negative space?
How might focusing on it be used as
a strategy for observational drawing?
What is negative space?
Identify the negative space in the image below.
What is negative space?
The empty part of the work around the subject matter.
It is the opposite of positive space.
Positive
+
Negative
What about this little
space? Negative or
positive?
So what is a negative space drawing?
What might it look like?
Negative space drawings:
What is shaded in? What stays white?
• Draw only the
exterior contour
of the subject
matter
• No details inside
the objects
How is drawing negative space related to
drawing contour lines?
Seeing the negative space is just as
important as seeing the positive space.
If you draw the negative space exactly
as you see it, you are automatically
correctly drawing the the positive space.
Negative Space  Stencils
(this is where we’re headed, and how we’ll start to build
our stencils for our t-shirt designs)
Negative Space Stencil Steps
1. Make a negative space drawing on 9x12 paper.
YOUR IMAGERY MUST GO OFF THE PAGE ON AT
LEAST TWO SIDES OF THE PAPER.
1. Cut out positive space with x-acto. KEEP ALL PIECES.
2. Glue the positive LIGHTLY onto new sheet. Glue the
negative onto ANOTHER new sheet.
3. Write your name on the back.
4. Spray paint OUTSIDE.
5. Remove stencils promptly.
6. Let dry on drying rack.
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