Induction day: All about the
negative space
Today, induction day, was my first day of my Art & Design
college course. I'm sure most (if not all) of
you know that starting anything new, be it college or a job, there
is a certain amount of excitement and
anxiety that comes with the territory. Even the most well prepared student can
find themselves getting lost in the new environment,
(much like I did
I'm sorry to say), aimlessly wandering the
halls trying to remember where was that drawing room we were just shown in the
long tour? Luckily, thanks to the help of some
nice people, including Graham, I found the
drawing room and my group, and much to my
relief, I wasn't the only one who got lost. (I knew
it wasn't just me!) With that settled, the
drawing could begin!
This quick drawing lesson started with a look at
"negative space". Negative space is
the space around or between an object or the main object your drawing. It's the
space that it's not filling. A good example of this is the Rubin's vase or the
Rubin's face, where you draw silhouettes of two
faces in profile facing each other and leaving just enough negative space
between them to make a vase. If you do this correctly, and draw the silhouettes
the same, the negative space will make a perfect symmetrical
vase.
Like so:
(please excuse the quick drawing)
If you've drawn the negative space correctly, the outline of the object you're
drawing will also be correct, and that's why
making note of negative space is so important. This is not just essential for drawing,
but for photography as well.
With that in mind I started
my work. We were given paper, objects, a nail and oil pastels. It was something that I
enjoyed, and found difficult at the same time. It did cross my mind that the
college art fund might have been running low, or that this was just something
to test us, as well as have a bit of artistic licence.
The work produced by the group was interesting and varied. There was a
wide range of ideas. I was used to looking only
at the object in question, so focussing on the
negative space around it and trying to make that the main subject, I found somewhat unusual.
This has now got me thinking about how to make the negative space the main attraction,
without ignoring or drawing away from the subject you're
drawing? The answer is balance, but finding that is much more difficult.
After the important health and safety induction at the 3D
workshop and lunch, it was the day done!
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