Drawing Negative Shapes Worksheet

Press New sheet for new subjects, then print it and draw only the gaps.

Negative space drawing

Name Date

Do not draw the thing. Draw the shapes of the empty space around and inside it, one at a time, in the box on the right. The edge of the box closes every shape.

  1. 1 Mug

  2. 2 Picture frames

Sheet KY3WO4 · Made at drawthisnext.com

Sheet KY3WO4. 2 subjects (easy): a mug and three picture frames, as outlines. One page on paper.

A new sheet deals other subjects, and the same subject never comes out twice the same. The preview scrolls; on paper every page is fitted to US Letter or A4, in black and white.

Subjects per page
Difficulty
The subject is

The 14 subjects, from easy to hard

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Negative space is the empty shape around and between things. Drawing those shapes, and not the thing, is the quickest cure for drawing what you think a chair looks like. Each subject stands in a box that crops it, so every empty shape is closed by an edge and can be copied like a puzzle piece into the empty box beside it.

LevelSubjects
EasyLadder, Window frame, Mug, Picture frames, Stool
MediumChair, Stepladder, Block capitals, Vase between two faces
HardScissors, Bare tree, Bicycle wheel, Two chairs, Fence in perspective

The check sheet shades the empty shapes, to lay beside a finished drawing. The viewfinder is a window to cut out and hold up to a real chair.

Every sheet has a short code, printed at the foot of each page, so loose pages can be matched again. A share link brings the same sheet back, line for line. Every drawing is made by this page from plain lines and shapes: no clip art, nothing to license.

How it works

Drawing negative shapes means drawing the gaps around a subject, not the subject. Each subject on this sheet sits in a box beside an empty box of the same shape, for you to draw the gaps alone.

Read the full guide

Easy, medium or hard

Easy negative space drawing starts with a few big gaps: a ladder, a window, a mug, a stool. Medium adds a chair, block capitals and a vase between two faces. Hard has many small gaps: scissors, a bare tree, a bicycle wheel.

Check the drawing

Tick the check sheet and the same subjects print again with the gaps toned grey, to hold your drawing against. The viewfinder page has a window to cut out for drawing a real chair or plant.

Questions and answers

What is negative space in drawing?

The empty space around and between the parts of a subject. Drawing those shapes helps you draw what is in front of you rather than what you expect a chair to look like.

Why is the subject cut off by the box?

So every gap is closed by an edge of the box. A closed gap is a shape you can measure and copy; one that runs off the page is not.

Should I choose an outline or a silhouette?

Start with a silhouette. The subject is filled in, so the gaps stand out. An outline shows only the edge, and finding the gaps is part of the exercise.

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