Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Drawing Positive/Negative space and Zentangles

Sara Francis


My drawing classes are off and running with the completion of our first in class project and our first creative sketchbook assignment of the marking period. We have spent the first couple of weeks in class talking about positive and negative space. Positive space by definition is the areas containing the SUBJECT matter in a work of art; the objects depicted, as opposed to the background or space around those objects. Negative space is then naturally, the areas in an artwork NOT occupied by the subject matter, but which contribute to the composition. Negative space can also be background space or empty space but not exclusively. 


We drew simple outline sketches of chairs, focusing on shape and space. The key here: getting to draw the chairs big enough that there would be more positive space than negative space. After completing about 4 sketches, students chose one for a POSITIVE space drawing and one for a NEGATIVE space drawing. In the positive space drawings students were to fill in the space with Zentangle designs. In the negative space drawings, the negative space is filled in with Zentangles. All though simple, the outcome is complicated and beautiful as you can see in the examples above.

Our first sketchbook assignment was to take the zentangles and create a figure using zentangles to create hair! What are zentangles you ask? A Zentangle is an easy, fun way to create beautiful, decorative images using structured patterns. There are some great sources to learn more about zentangles, but the best place is the official web site that you can find here: www.zentangle.com 

Here are some of the assignments:

Erin Jermyn

Meryl Glaser

Michaela Kotob

Veronica Gibbs

Everest Crawford

Jordan Pallazola

Gloria Kabulo










16 comments:

  1. I love sara francis' drawing! The eye lashes were a great touch and very origional! Great job! Looks good!
    -Samantha Ryder

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  2. I like Veronica Gibbs! I liked how she did braids, not just curly or straight hair
    -Jayme Harris

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    1. I really like veronicas because i think she did a nice job with the hair and the face!
      -Lexi Doyle

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  3. I really love Meryl Glaser's. I love how she drew it so that the hair feels like its enveloping you. It gives an effect of the hair actually being bigger than what is shown in the picture. I also love how she had the contrast between big eyes, a big mouth, and a skinny nose.

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  4. I also love Meryl Glaser's drawing. I love how all the different patters stand out in her hair. Also, the face of the girl is very well draw. Good job!

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  5. A lot of these are awesome i love the contrast
    -A.J. Celentano
    Block:E

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  6. Michaela's is sick, the Mohawk & tats on the arm are really cool and creative.

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  7. I really like hair and lashes on Sara Francis' and i like the hair and the eyes on Meryl Glaser's.

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  8. I really like Sara Francis's! All the intricate designs and zentangles make it look almost three dimensional. I also like the fact that she did the eyelashes too!

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  9. I really enjoy Meryl's drawing - the face is realistic but does not distract from the hair itself. The dark and light pieces make it look like real hair.

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  10. Sara's and Meryl's are absolutely amazing, the designs are incredible. Awesome job!

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  11. I love Sara and Meryl's pieces, I like how Sara did the eyelashes, I think that's really cool and different, I love how detailed they are and how carefully drawn they are, I also like the braid idea drawn by Veronica, good job
    -jadin E Block

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  12. I like Meryl's zhen tangle. I love how how the hair flows and the facial features.

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  13. I love the thick outlines of Veronica's braids! They make the individual zentangles stand out.
    -Whitney Good

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  14. I love Erin Germyn's work, especially how she accidentally made it look like Marylin Manson. I Love the structure of the face and the unique eyebrows she added in. The zentangles in the hair are attention grasping too.
    -Sara Francis

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  15. The different kinds of designs make the drawings more interesting as well as intricate. Sara, Fancis's drawing was pretty cool considering to zentangle the eyelashes. I also adore how the hair on Meryl Glaser's drawing frames the face. Zentangles can give any drawing a unique feature.

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