diff --git a/IconHelper.Test/ArgumentsTests.cs b/IconHelper.Test/ArgumentsTests.cs
index 4808371..dee59b1 100644
--- a/IconHelper.Test/ArgumentsTests.cs
+++ b/IconHelper.Test/ArgumentsTests.cs
@@ -77,6 +77,54 @@ public void ValidateRejectsPaddingEqualToHalfTheSize()
 		Assert.AreEqual("Padding must be less than half the size of the image.", errors[0]);
 	}
 
+	[TestMethod]
+	public void ValidateRejectsNegativePadding()
+	{
+		// The upper bound never caught this: -5 >= 64 is false. The run then produced an output
+		// larger than the documented min(squareSize, size) canvas and exited 0 to say it worked.
+		using TempDirectory temp = new();
+		Arguments args = ValidArguments(temp);
+		args.Size = 128;
+		args.Padding = -5;
+
+		bool valid = args.Validate(out Collection<string> errors);
+
+		Assert.IsFalse(valid, "Negative padding grows the canvas instead of insetting content.");
+		Assert.HasCount(1, errors);
+		Assert.AreEqual("Padding must not be negative.", errors[0]);
+	}
+
+	[TestMethod]
+	public void ValidateRejectsASizeThatIsNotPositive()
+	{
+		using TempDirectory temp = new();
+		Arguments args = ValidArguments(temp);
+		args.Size = 0;
+		args.Padding = 0;
+
+		bool valid = args.Validate(out Collection<string> errors);
+
+		Assert.IsFalse(valid, "A size of zero leaves no canvas at all.");
+		Assert.HasCount(1, errors, $"Expected only the size error but got: {string.Join(", ", errors)}");
+		Assert.AreEqual("Size must be greater than zero.", errors[0]);
+	}
+
+	[TestMethod]
+	public void ValidateRejectsANegativeSizeAndPaddingTogether()
+	{
+		// The combination the upper bound was least able to catch: -20 >= -10 / 2 is false, so
+		// both values passed validation untouched and the pair reached the pipeline.
+		using TempDirectory temp = new();
+		Arguments args = ValidArguments(temp);
+		args.Size = -10;
+		args.Padding = -20;
+
+		bool valid = args.Validate(out Collection<string> errors);
+
+		Assert.IsFalse(valid, "Neither a negative size nor a negative padding is usable.");
+		Assert.HasCount(2, errors, $"Expected a size and a padding error but got: {string.Join(", ", errors)}");
+	}
+
 	[TestMethod]
 	public void ValidateUsesIntegerDivisionForOddSizes()
 	{
diff --git a/IconHelper/Arguments.cs b/IconHelper/Arguments.cs
index fc7022c..0fc97ca 100644
--- a/IconHelper/Arguments.cs
+++ b/IconHelper/Arguments.cs
@@ -30,7 +30,27 @@ internal sealed class Arguments
 	internal bool Validate(out Collection<string> errors)
 	{
 		errors = [];
-		if (Padding >= Size / 2)
+
+		if (Size <= 0)
+		{
+			errors.Add("Size must be greater than zero.");
+		}
+
+		// The upper bound alone was not a bound. A negative padding sails past it -- -5 >= 64 is
+		// false -- and then EffectivePadding hands it back unchanged, so the content is resized to
+		// finalSize - padding * 2, which is larger than the canvas. ImageSharp's Pad never shrinks
+		// an image, so the output comes out bigger than the documented min(squareSize, size),
+		// quietly and with exit code 0. Reporting it here rather than clamping it downstream keeps
+		// the documented invariant -- padding insets content, it never changes the canvas -- true
+		// by construction.
+		//
+		// Reported on its own, because "less than half the size" is not the complaint about a
+		// negative number, and half of an invalid size is not a bound worth quoting either.
+		if (Padding < 0)
+		{
+			errors.Add("Padding must not be negative.");
+		}
+		else if (Size > 0 && Padding >= Size / 2)
 		{
 			errors.Add("Padding must be less than half the size of the image.");
 		}
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b186266..5cad723 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -247,6 +247,10 @@ the artwork leaves it alone.
 `finalSize - padding * 2` and then padded back out to `finalSize`, so the output is always
 `finalSize` square whatever the padding.
 
+That holds only while the padding is positive, so a negative `--padding` is rejected rather than
+clamped: it would resize the content *larger* than the canvas, and padding back out never shrinks
+an image. `--size` must likewise be greater than zero.
+
 Because the canvas is `min(squareSize, --size)` rather than `--size`, the padding is measured against
 that effective canvas and **clamped to `(finalSize - 1) / 2`** so at least one pixel of content
 survives. This only engages on artwork that trims smaller than `--size`: `--size 100 --padding 45`