I finally took that advice about leaving negative space in my compositions

A guy named Dave who runs a small gallery in my town told me last fall that I needed to stop filling every inch of my digital paintings. I thought he was crazy because I spent hours adding all that detail work on character designs. But I tried a piece where I left like 40% of the canvas just empty sky and background blur. The post got triple the likes of anything I'd done before and someone actually asked to buy a print. Has anyone else had a random piece of advice from a stranger totally change how they work?

2 comments

2 Comments

jennifersmith1mo ago

Trust this, pulling back on detail was the hardest thing for me too but once I did my engagement jumped way up. That blank space forces the eye where you want it to go.

anthony4261mo ago

I used to think negative space was just lazy, like you were cheating by not filling things in. Last year I did a desert scene with like 60% open sky and it totally changed how I looked at my own work.