Alston Smith
Aug 28, 2017 · 1 min read

Often times it is the space that is around an object that gives it its shape and defines it; the things that are not the object often define it just as much as what it is.

In learning how to draw a chair, Ed Catmull, founder of Pixar, states :

Art teachers use a few different tricks to train new artists…Another trick is to ask students to focus on negative spaces — the areas of space around an object that are not the object itself. For instance in drawing a chair, the new artist might draw it poorly, because she knows what a chair is supposed to look like (and that chair in her head — her mental model — keeps her from reproducing precisely what she sees in front of her). However, if she is asked to draw what is not the chair — the spaces between the chair legs, for example — then the proportions are easier to get right, and the chair looks more realistic.

While Ed uses this example to articulate a different point in his book Creativity, Inc , for me this pointed to the fact that the negative spaces around the object gives it its true definition. Drawing the “un-chair” as he puts it is just like defining what we are against in order to realize what we actually are. The common enemy can be found in those negative spaces.

I knew as soon as I read the title that this was gold! Thank you For your work Charles, great post!

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    Alston Smith

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