Positive and Negative Design

Key Concept or Idea: 2Dimensional Pattern.
SILHOUETTE 

EXAMPLE OF SILHOUETTE AGAINST CONTRASTING FIELD

 

What is a figure and field design? (Or a Positive and Negative Design.)
A figure and field design is also known as a "Positive - Negative Design."
Using simple shapes which describe an object.  These kinds of shapes are viewed first as a silhouette and then broken up to make detail in contrasting colors

A  SHAPE  may be 2 or 3 dimensional. 2-dimensional shapes are "flat" having no depth. However, any shape  can produce a pattern when viewed against a space of another color or tone.  A positive-negative design regards both the figure and the background as equally important. There should be about the same amount of one color as the other.

Following you will see some simple shapes. These shapes are descriptive, that means that they can be identified as a known form. When we see only the outline of the form with none of the descriptive detail inside it can be called a silhouette. Typically we would see a silhouetted form when it is lighted from behind but no light shines on the front of the shape.

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