Fundamental Foundations Of Art

Welcome artists and art lovers to the first edition of a brand new Steemit series!

Todays lesson will be NEGATIVE SPACE

Big thanks to @rcarter and @ghulammujtaba who actually gave me this idea. It had been brought to my attention that although many people enjoyed looking and reading though my full portrait art lessons, a lot of people who were interested in learning felt that the art pieces were to big of a project to tackle first time around with out prior background knowledge of the Fundamental Foundations Of Art

After some deep thought, I concluded that I knew exactly how I could go about helping beginner artists out in a big way. I hope that these posts not only intrigue but inspire, and after reading through them you will want to go grab a pencil and put your newly learned knowledge to the test.

Learning what negative space is and knowing how to utilize seeing it, will make a world of difference for an artist. After many years of drawing I started noticing it everywhere, and immediately imagine how I would go about drawing that object.
If you can master negative space then you will be able to capture correct angles of any portrait and there for likeness.

So what is negative space?
It is simply put, everything that the subject isn't.

Through this exercise I am going to help you to convey a convincing form that resembles the subject quiet well, With out ever drawing any of the actual mass or detail of the plant. While at the same time building a skill that you will carry with you through out your entire artist career.

Take this image for example

Notice all of the shapes in between the leaves, and forming the outer rim of the plant. If we can capture these shapes well enough, then through them a greater detailed image can be formed. You can use this image or any house hold item with detail to try this at home. Shade in all of the negative space dark, while leaving the subject white.

So lets start with the exercise.

Use this as an opportunity to practice drawing lines on the paper with out looking at it. Let your subconscious feel out the lines and guide their shape. Make sure you are constantly looking back and forth as to not get wrapped up in the lines on your page rather the angles in your subject.

Proceed to shade in all of the negative space around the subject revealing the positive space inside in high contrast.

Now that you have mastered negative space, you have the skills to tackle any subject with confidence you can convey a convincing likeness.

Bonus Contest:

I have decided to make things interesting.

To incentivize participation I will be GIVING AWAY 10 SBD to the person who participates in this exercise and creates the best example of negative space.

You can use either the provided reference image or what ever house hold object you feel fit for the exercise. Extra SBD may be tipped for creativity and extraordinary entries.

Submit your entries by either posting a picture of it in the comments or creating your own post and including the URL in the comments

Rules:

• Must be an original

• Must include Username/date

• Must be submitted with in 7 days of this post. Pay out is the cut off.

Good Luck Everyone, and have fun!

Barry F Samways