Students observe negative space in drawing. In this negative space lesson, students discover that sketches include negative space or background. Students produce a drawing while paying attention to the negative space.

Bugs can be creepy - and fun! Kids create a positive and negative design by repeatedly drawing a simple insect overlaid with a geometric shape. The outcome is really neat and will help build spacial reasoning, visual acuteness,...

Explore printmaking with a discussion and project. Pupils first view and talk about various examples of prints and cover positive and negative space. They then come up with fictional animals and make prints of their creature using...

Teach your art class a lesson on viewing positive and negative space in multiple dimensions. They will use metal sheets and various pencil grades to apply the graphite embossing technique. This project will result in two contrasting images.

What a neat test! The class is asked to draw and color to create examples of eight elements of art. They focus on each element (line, value, shape, form, space, texture, primary and secondary color) by creating an original piece in each...

Hand out this worksheet and lead your class on a scavenger hunt. Pupils look for examples of shape, form, balance, pattern, perspective, space, and depth. They draw and write about the examples they've found. A great resource to add...

Students describe, represent and analyze patterns and relationships using shapes. They create simple geometric patterns. They demonstrate increasing technical ability and skill to complete visual arts assignments.

Monet is a great artist to study and impressionism is a wonderful art style to practice. Learners read about Monet then attempt to use impressionist painting techniques. Book and image links are included. 

Learners create a collage using cut black and white construction paper and utilize positive and negative space.

Scribble art allows learners of any age to problem solve in order to express their creative thinking skills. They create a simple scribble, then elaborate on it by adding color and shape. Full instructions and extensions are included. 

Notan is a Japanese word that expresses the interaction between light and dark. Learners explore Notan while creating dimensional art pieces that examine positive and negative spaces. They'll discuss the art of Notan, create...

Students investigate still-life drawings. In this visual arts lesson, students draw each other pretending to be frozen making sure that they do not simply see the object as the object, but seeing the...

Introduce this abstract art to your class; they must chose ordinary classroom objects and shapes to paint with watercolors. The overlapping effect will create a fun, abstract piece of art!

Students study geometric, naturalistic, and abstract shapes. They discuss how various shapes are used in art. They study The Young Fortune Teller by Joshua Reynolds to find various shapes.

Fourth graders apply knowledge of the elements of design and hand building techniques in clay to illustrate the concept of negative space by cutting shapes out of the form to create an intricate pattern.

Rhythm, repetition, positive, and negative space is used to create mixed media collages. Let your learners go wild with glue, magazine clippings, and the elements of design. They'll experiment with various types of media, color, and...

Students create to pieces of artwork using two primary colors and tessellation techniques. This is an excellent lesson that can be accomplished using standard art techniques or educational software such as Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft...

Middle schoolers create 3-dimensional works of art in the form of slot sculptures. I love this lesson, because it exposes middle schoolers to a completely different form of art. Everything you need to do to successfully-implement this...

Teach your artists how to incorporate balance into their work through discussion and action. After viewing and discussing several works of art, learners design a balanced image for a T-shirt and follow the step-by-step instructions to...

Students recognize and respond to the content of visual art using art vocabulary. They recognize the differences between art materials, techniques, and processes.

Young artists divide a piece of graph paper into sections using rectangles, squares, and triangles. They then fill each section with patterns of shape and color. Elementary graders describe how their patterns are organized. Secondary...

Students create an optical illusion. In this optical illusions instructional activity, students sketch a monster's face to create the optical illusion of a vase in the positive space. Students create an original piece of art.

Seventh graders create a design using a detailed drawing reversing positive and negative space. They explain organic shape and geometric shape.

Students explore and display textures of tree bark in a patterned arrangement of positive and negative space. They make crayon rubbings with various colors and arrange them in an original repetitive pattern. They glue finished designs to...