04 / Building block
SPACE
Working with positive and negative space.
What is it?
Space is not only the empty area behind a subject. Every shape occupies space and creates other shapes around, between and within it.
The subject or visually dominant shape is usually called positive space. The surrounding areas are called negative space. Negative space may appear empty, but it is an active part of the composition. Its size, shape and position influence what we notice, where our eyes move and how balanced or crowded an image feels.
A strong composition considers positive and negative space together.
Today’s focus
Notice the shape and the space it creates.
Look
WHICH SHAPE DID YOU SEE FIRST?
At first, your eyes may select one area as the figure and treat the other as the ground. When your attention changes, the background may become the figure. This is called a figure ground relationship.
What did you notice first?
Which area appears to be positive space?
Which area appears to be negative space?
Can you make your perception switch?
Does one area feel more dominant?
Try
FIND THE SHAPE AROUND THE OBJECT
Place one simple object on a sheet of paper. Instead of drawing the object, draw the shapes you see around it.
Look at:
- the space between parts of the object
- the space between the object and the edge of the page
- small enclosed gaps
- the angles and curves made by the surrounding space
Treat every empty area as a shape with its own edges.
Why this helps
Drawing negative space shifts attention away from the familiar object and towards relationships, proportions and edges. It helps you observe what is actually in front of you.
WATCH
Materials
Material encounter
CUT + TURN
Begin with one black paper square.
Cut a simple shape from one edge. Keep both pieces. Turn or flip the cut piece across the edge of the square, then place it beside the opening it came from.
Repeat this process on several sides.
Move the pieces before gluing them down. Notice how every cut changes both the remaining positive shape and the surrounding negative space.
Understand
Positive space is usually the subject, object or visually dominant area of a composition. It is the part that initially appears to be the figure.
Negative space is the area surrounding, separating or contained within the positive forms. It helps define the figure and contributes to balance, rhythm, emphasis and meaning.
Figure ground describes the relationship between what we perceive as the subject and what we perceive as its background.
The subject attracts attention first.
The surrounding space becomes visually powerful.
Figure and ground can exchange roles.
The distinction between figure and ground remains clear.
THE FIGURE IS SHAPED BY THE GROUND AROUND IT.
Make
CREATE A POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SPACE COMPOSITION
Choose the amount of support you need today.
Use one black paper square and one off white background.
Cut shapes from the edges of the black square. Flip each cut shape outwards, using the original edge as a line of reflection. Continue until the black and white areas appear connected and deliberately arranged.
Before gluing, test several arrangements.
Make four cuts, one from each side. Flip each piece directly across its original edge.
Are both the black and white shapes interesting?
Does the composition feel balanced?
Is one space more dominant?
Does your eye move around the whole image?
Can the white area become the subject?
What changes when one piece is moved?
Look again
WHAT CHANGED WHEN YOU NOTICED THE BACKGROUND?
Place the completed work at a distance.
First look for the positive shapes. Then deliberately look only at the negative shapes.
Where does your eye go first?
Which area feels most dominant?
Do the negative shapes appear intentional?
Is there a balance between occupied and open space?
Can figure and ground exchange roles?
Does the space contribute to the meaning or mood?
What would you move, remove or enlarge?
Document
Photograph the work before and after making one change.
Record:
- What you changed.
- Why you changed it.
- How it affected the positive space.
- How it affected the negative space.
- Whether the composition became clearer, stronger or more balanced.
In practice
Artists consider the areas around and within objects as carefully as the objects themselves. The amount of negative space can influence interpretation and mood. Open space may create stillness or isolation, while limited negative space may produce density, energy or confinement.
Positive and negative space can be explored through drawing, collage, printmaking, photography, sculpture and installation. Cut paper makes the relationship especially visible because removing one shape immediately creates another.
In visual communication design, positive and negative space are often discussed as figure and ground. Designers use this relationship to create hierarchy, establish focal points, improve legibility and communicate more than one idea through a single image.
Negative space is especially important in logos, symbols, typography, packaging and page layout.
Creative thinking
Find three examples of negative space in the room. Look between chair legs, around handles, through openings or between overlapping objects.
Make two versions of the same composition: one with generous negative space and one with very little. Compare the mood, clarity and emphasis.
Swap black and white. Does the subject remain the same, or does another image become visible?
Move one piece and photograph each variation. Decide which arrangement creates the strongest relationship between figure and ground.
Tools to help you notice, describe, question, develop and document your work.
Curriculum + reading
Bowden, M., & Tooke, A. (2022). Art making and exhibiting: VCE units 1–4. Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Dow, A. W. (1912). Composition: A series of exercises in art structure for the use of students and teachers. Doubleday, Page & Company. gutenberg.org ↗
Greenwood, D. (2023). Art creative practice: VCE units 1–4. Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Guthrie, K. (2017). Nelson visual communication design: VCE units 1–4 (4th ed.). Cengage Learning Australia.
Patterson, J., & Saville, J. (2017). Viscomm: A guide to visual communication design: VCE units 1–4 (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Museum + gallery sources
The J. Paul Getty Museum. (n.d.). Transforming negatives to positives. getty.edu ↗
Studio material
FIGURE + GROUND STUDY. Studio response. Original material developed for Learning by Design, 2026.