Joe Mills

Negative Space

November 8, 2009 on 12:56 pm | In Books, Inspiration | No Comments

Yes, I like The Simpsons, but that is not why I like this. This is a book cover I saw at Urban Outfitters for skateboarding, and I love how they use negative space to make this an effective illustration. It gives a great feeling of energy without doing a lot to knock you over the head with that feeling…if that makes sense.  I almost feel like it was one bad decision away from not looking good which I think is part of its charm. It has sparked an interest in me using negative space. I’ve always loved negative space, but it has to be used correctly. You can’t just stick a thing into a gigantic space and call it an effective use of negative space. It has something else that draws you in. I think a lot has to do with the placement of your point of emphasis and how you use the space around it. We will see…I’ve already got some ideas…