Negative Space Drawing - How to Use Negative Space

In negative space drawing, instead of observing the positive shape of an object, you draw the shape of the space around the object. This may include any background detail or pattern, or it may be drawn as a simple silhouette.
"A hole can itself have as much shape-meaning as a solid mass." - Henry Moore

The in-progress example below has been drawn that way, looking at the shape of each part of the object, and drawing its outline, then shading. This method will not help you achieve the objective of the negative space drawing exercise, which is to understand the shapes and spaces around an object.

The correct approach to negative space drawing involves observing the shapes formed between different parts of the object, or between one edge of the object and a boundary. By drawing the background spaces or shapes between the edge of the object and the opposing edge or boundary, the positive form of the object is left 'undrawn', resulting in a correct negative space drawing. This is the reverse of normal positive space drawing, where you would be looking at the form and drawing its edges. 

In the in-progress example above, note how a sketched border closes off external shapes. The stripes in the background cloth allow the observation of small shapes which add up together to reveal the silhouette of the object. The most obvious example of clear negative spaces in this drawing are the arches and triangles, which are easy to observe.

Seeing negative spaces correctly is a skill worth developing. Negative space is used a great deal when you want to avoid outlining and create true value drawing. It is needed when you have a texture like light-colored hair or grass, when you need to focus on the dark shadows behind and underneath the strands. The 'foreground' - the positive shapes of light hair or grass - are 'left behind' as white paper while the shadows and darks are drawn with dark charcoal or pencil.