Space

Look for the thinking head to help you identify the "big ideas" to take away from the lesson, as well as the open book to easily find definitions.

Space is the element of art that refers to the emptiness or area between, around, above, below, or within real and implied objects.

All objects take up space. 2D Shapes and 3D forms are defined by the space around and within them. They depend on space for their existence.

Space in 2D and 3D art

We perceive the element of space differently in both 2D and 3D works of art.

3D Art

Over, under, through, behind, and around are words that describe 3-dimensional space
- so we can say that space surrounds 3D artworks (or objects)
a 3D artwork itself occupies or fills space in the real world
some 3D art forms: architecture, sculpture, weaving, ceramics, and jewellery
- holograms are images in 3 dimensions created with a laser beam
Freestanding art means the art is surrounded by negative space allowing you to walk around it

Louise Bourgeois' giant spider Maman is made of bronze, stainless steel and marble and stands at 30 feet tall in Ottawa, Ontario Canada. The open areas of space between the legs invite you to walk under and through the sculpture.

2D Art

Pictorial space is flat -- in other words, 2D space can be perceived as an illusion in artworks (this is known as the illusion of depth)
artists use what is called the picture plane to help draw or project an image in perspective onto a flat (or 2D) surface

Unlike a 3D sculpture, we can't walk into and around this illustration by artist Tang Yau Hoong; rather, we perceive that the lightbulb-headed figures are on an imaginary ground and that they recede into the distance. It is an imaginary space.

A picture plane is an imaginary vertical, transparent plane like a window pane, which is always parallel to the plane of the artist's eyes or viewpoint.

Traditionally the picture plane has been likened to a window the viewer looks through to a scene beyond, and the artist constructs a believable image showing implied depth and planar relationships.

A plane is defined as any surface area in space.

In 2D art, the picture plane is the flat surface an image is created upon (i.e. a piece of paper, stretched canvas, wood pane).

Creating the Illusion of Depth in art

Artists have devised ways to create the illusion of depth in 2D artworks.

Six strategies, commonly known as "space strategies" are: overlapping, size, detail, colour and value, placement, and converging lines.

As an artist, you can choose to use these strategies individually or in combination to give your art a sense of depth.

1. Overlapping

is when one object covers a second object
- the first object appears to be in front of the second object, therefore appearing closer in space

2. Size

Large objects appear closer to the viewer
Smaller objects appear further away

3. Detail

Objects with clear, sharp edges and visible details appear to be closer to the viewer than objects that are hazy and/or lack detail

Compare the rocks near the bottom of the drawing to those in the middle - the rocks with finer details seem in-focus and closer to us as the viewer than those up higher.

4. Colour and Value

Brightly and warm coloured objects appear closer than dull, muted, and cool colours
- this is because the air around us is not empty but full of moisture and dust that creates a haze
- this effect is called atmospheric perspective
- to create the illusion of depth using value the artist has to use light values (or highlights) and dark values (or shadows)
  - Highlights are the small areas of white used to show the very brightest spots
  - Shadows are the areas that receive the least amount of light, and can be almost black

Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci

Atmospheric perspective is an artistic technique in which an illusion of depth is created by painting more distant objects with less clarity (or detail) and with a lighter value. A famous example is found in Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

chiaroscuro is an artistic technique that uses changes in value (the art element that describes the lightness or darkness of an object). The arrangement of light and shadow is creates modeling or shading to describe its form and heighten the sense of drama in an image.

5. Placement

divide the picture plane from top to bottom into 3 areas:
- background
- middle-ground
- foreground
placing objects in the background areas will make them seem the furthest away
placing objects in the foreground area will make them seem to be the closest
the middle-ground is what spatially seems in between far and close

6. Converging Lines

As parallel lines move away from the viewer into the distance, they appear to come together or converge on the horizon
This is called linear perspective

1-Point Perspective is a category of linear perspective where the point at which parallel lines converge on the horizon is called a vanishing point. In 1-point perspective, all receding lines meet at a single vanishing point.

2-point perspective is another category of linear perspective where different sets of parallel lines meet at 2 different vanishing points. Because 2-point perspective creates more diagonal lines in a design, the design appears to be more active.

Sketchbook Assignment: Illusion of Depth Composition

In your sketchbook: --- read all steps before you begin ---

Create a rectangle that is 10 inches wide by 8 inches high. Centre it on a blank page.
Review the 6 Ways to Create the Illusion of Space
Brainstorm possible ideas for a landscape image. It may be an indoor -OR- outdoor space. The only requirement is that your final image MUST USE ALL of the 6 ways:

overlapping elements
varying object size
including less or more detail
changing the intensity of colour and/or value
placement on the picture plane
and using linear perspective with converging lines (you only need to show lines that converge at a vanishing point and hint at a horizon line)

You may draw, arrange and shoot a photograph, or cut and paste a collage to create your landscape image:

If you compose a photograph, you will need to source your own props to use in the image (as needed) - the photograph must be printed in colour and glued into your sketchbook per the size dimensions requested.
If you choose collage, cut images from a magazine and arrange on the sketchbook page - only when happy with all of your elements should you GLUE down your images (especially for overlapping) as you should work from background to mid-ground to foreground.

Sketchbook Assignment: The Distance Between Us

Lets review some concepts about SPACE (spacing):

Art elements placed far apart can emphasize the extent of space between them.
As elements of a work get closer to each other, they more distinctly define the space between them, emphasizing the shape or volume of the space, which can in turn create interest.
As the space between shapes or forms shrinks even more, visual tension builds between them as they near touching, which can be more interesting than if the shapes/forms do make contact.
As a rule of thumb, in an image of a person moving or gazing to one side, it can be beneficial to place the person to one side of center and allow them the larger space to move or gaze into: otherwise it might appear that the figure is staring at the edge of the frame, or about to run into it. Gazing or running toward or off the edge of the frame can be used to make the viewer think about what is happening outside the frame, unseen. Likewise, largely unpictured elements reaching into the frame can make the viewer think about more than what is shown, and spark/leave room for imagination.

In your sketchbook: --- read all steps before you begin ---

Create a series of 3 images on in your sketchbook. All must fit on one-page. Minimum size of each image must be 2 inches by 3 inches (the orientation as vertical or horizontal is up to you).
Image # 1 must show art elements places FAR APART and emphasize negative space.
Image # 2 must show art elements placed CLOSE TOGETHER to show tension and emphasize positive space.
Image # 3 must show how space impacts the gaze of a figure or character in the image. Consider placing your figure/character on the Rule of Third's Line and leaving space in the composition to either the left or right side -OR- place the figure at the top or bottom third of the image and leave space on the opposite side.
You may work in any medium of your choosing, If work is created by digital means it must be printed and pasted into your sketchbook. Colour prints are required if colour was used in the composition.

Positive and Negative Space

Space has two categories: positive space and negative space.

Positive Space

is any "occupied" or filled areas in an artwork
- i.e. areas made of lines, colours, and shapes)
- i.e. the physical mass of a sculpture
the "occupied" areas normally form your artwork's subject and this (positive) space dominates the eye, creating the focal point in a composition
When positive space is crowded and jam-packed, you can feel tension or togetherness

In this image of a bike, the bike (or subject) makes up the positive space of the artwork. It is also the focal point because the bike demands our focus to the centre of the artwork.

Negative space

is any "unoccupied" areas that "surround" the subject
- i.e. the volume(s) around the positive space of a sculpture
it is more passive in nature and usually defined by the edges of the positive space it surrounds
it gives definition to a art composition
Large amounts of negative space around the positive space can express loneliness or freedom

This time, it is the yellow wall or background that makes up the negative space in the same bike image. Even the triangular-shaped spaces between the wires of the bike wheels and spokes are considered negative space.

They way in which we perceive positive and negative space in artworks is sometimes called figure and ground perception.

Figure and Ground

A dark shape (the figure) on a lighter background (the ground) is normally the positive space

An example of figure and ground

When we see a subject that is lighter in value than the background (like a white figure on a black background), the shape of the background or negative space becomes more solid and apparent - this effect can make us see it as the subject itself - this is known as figure-ground reversal

An example of figure-ground reversal

Sketchbook Assignment: Figure-ground Reversal

In your sketchbook:

You will create a 6 inch by 6 inch square in the centre of a new page.
Split the square in half right down the centre.
Research 3 examples of figure-ground reversal images that use simple black and white
Design your own simply figure on the left side of your square. Colour in the figure black with a sharpie marker or a black pencil crayon.
Copy the exact figure on the right-side of the square. Keep the spacing identical to what you drew on the left side.
This time reverse your values. Colour in the areas AROUND the figure that make up the background in black. Leave the figure as white.
You should end up with two copies of the same figure, but the opposite use of black and white to show a reversal in figure and ground.
Label you page "Figure-ground Reversal"

Shallow and Ambiguous Space

There are two other types of space: shallow space and ambiguous space.

Shallow space. It is just that. The artist has used their artistic licence to paint objects in a very shallow picture plane. Imagine you could walk into the painting… you wouldn’t get very far in a shallow plane painting because the background doesn’t go very far back.

Ambiguous space. It is when it is difficult to determine which is the positive and which is the negative space in an image. We call this kind of positive/negative image ambiguous space.