Today’s topic is one a lot of colored pencil artists can never learn enough about. Drawing on dark paper is something most of us want to try at least once, but it’s also something we have questions about. Before I share tips for drawing on black paper, here’s the question to get us started.
Hi Carrie,
One of the things that intrigues me about colored pencils is eventually working on black paper. My question is this.
How do I know which colors are going to be the most vibrant on black?
Also, is there anything different in technique about working on black paper vs white paper? Am especially wondering about bright highlights on black.
Gail
Thank you for a great question, Gail. The old adage that if one person asks a question, dozens of other people also want to know is definitely proven with this question!
Gail has actually asked two questions. Both are important, so I’ll answer each one in turn.
Tips for Drawing on Black Paper
Looking for Vibrant Colors
No color looks as vibrant on black paper as it looks on white paper. Colored pencils are translucent by nature, so unless you apply color with very heavy pressure, the color of the paper affects the color layers.
But you can look for colors that are high contrast to black. A bright, medium value or lighter red looks more vibrant on black paper than a darker red, for example. I used Prismacolor Scarlet Lake on the left and Prismacolor Raspberry on the right. The more layers and heavier pressure I used with each color, the brighter the color is. But burnishing the Raspberry will never make it as bright as the Scarlet Lake.
Also, choose lighter colors than the colors you see in the reference photo. The color that looks perfect when you compare it to your reference photo may be too dark when you put it on black paper. So look for a lighter version of that color for your drawing.
This takes some practice, so I suggest you keep a scrap of black paper handy to test colors. That saves you using the wrong colors on your drawing. It also saves a lot of headaches.
And if you plan to use black paper often, save those color swatches for future reference! Labeled by color, of course!
Adjusting Your Drawing Technique
Start with a White Under Drawing
Whether you start with an under drawing or not with white paper, consider doing an under drawing on black or dark-colored papers.
And you’ll probably want to consider using white for the under drawing (although Helen Carter did a great tutorial with a yellow under painting in the June 2020 issue of CP Magic.)
This sample shows Scarlet Lake and Raspberry layered over White. I applied all three colors with varying pressure and numbers of layers.
A white or light-colored under drawing acts as a buffer between the paper and color layers. The black of the paper doesn’t dim the color layers quite as much if you put color over a white under drawing.
This isn’t absolute, of course. I didn’t use an under drawing for this horse drawing. But I also wasn’t doing a “finished portrait.” As I recall, I did this head study in a single day, and was basically just playing around with colored pencils and dark paper.
But it shows that you can start with local colors on black paper. You don’t need an under drawing.
Light Values First
The most important thing to remember about working on black paper is that you need to work in reverse. Instead of establishing the dark values and working toward the light values, establish the lightest values first and work toward the dark values.
It’s still important to create a good range of values, with dark darks and light lights. But instead of shading the dark values, shade the light values.
When working on white paper, I start by establishing the shadows, because they give my subject form. But I have to start by shading the highlights when I draw on black paper.
With this little study, for example, I began by lightly sketching the large branches, and then continued to brighten them as I drew. I increased the brightness by adding more layers of white or by increasing the pressure. Sometimes both.
The darkest shadows are the black of the paper.
Yes, I used only one color on this study, but the process is the same when I use a full palette.
Layer, Layer, Layer
This isn’t any different than working on white or light-colored paper, except that you need to add light values and colors over and over.
Light colors sometimes seem to seep into dark-colored paper. At least that’s the way it seems to me. So every time I work on a more complex piece like this one, I have to redo the light colors.
That’s also often the last thing I do to finish a piece.
A lot depends on the paper you use, of course. Toothy papers like Canson Mi-Teintes take more layers to fill, so you have to add lighter colors again and again.
Smoother papers like Strathmore Artagain have less tooth to fill. Artagain comes in a very lovely black that’s fairly easy to work with. I prefer their black paper to the much softer Stonehenge, as a matter of fact, but I’ve had success with all of them.
The Four Most Important Tips for Drawing on Black Paper
In most other ways, drawing on black paper is no different than drawing on any other color of paper. Pay attention to how you put the color on the paper, the strokes you use, and so on, and you’ll do fine.
Got a question? Ask Carrie!
I do allot of colored pencil work on black or navy cardstock and found out early in the process that putting down the white made a huge difference in the quality of the finished product and the beauty. This was very helpful. I don’t usually start from scratch but use stamps.
Patricia,
Thank you for reading this post and leaving a comment.
A light-colored under drawing helps with any dark paper, but the under drawing doesn’t have to be white. You can also get excellent results by matching the under drawing to the local color of your subject. Yellow under red or orange subjects, for example.
Or very light blue under green or purple subjects.
Since you begin with stamping, you have the perfect opportunity to try different light colors as under drawing colors. So have fun and experiment!
This was a wonderful article! Thank you for answering my questions about working on black. I did not remember the concept of having a white under drawing. That makes so much sense though like doing an umber under drawing on white paper. I am keeping this article to refer back to when I start some of my own drawings on black. Thank you again!
You’re welcome, Gail. Thank you for asking it.
Remember that you don’t have to use white for every under drawing on black. Sometimes, other light colors make more sense. A yellow under drawing does wonders for drawing red subjects on black paper!
I love working with colored pencil on black paper but have been going through a lot of trial and error because I am mostly self-taught. A question that I often “hem and haw” over when using black paper: Once I have completed the subject of my portrait (whether animal or human), should I leave the background plain black (that is, no colored pencil at all), or should I cover the background with dark color? I really like how the subject “pops” off the paper when I leave the background plain, but I don’t know if it’s the “correct” thing to do. What great information you are offering here! Thank you so much!
Frieda,
Thank you for reading this post and for taking the time to leave a comment. You’re not alone when it comes to working on black paper.
Thank you also for your question. Knowing what to do with backgrounds can be difficult.
The short answer is that if you like the look of your subjects on black paper, then leave the background alone. There is no “correct” thing to do overall. The fact is that what is right for one piece may not be right for the next one.
A lot of my favorite artists do vignette-style work (the subject on a plain background). The colors of the backgrounds vary, but they are all whatever color the paper is. So there’s absolutely nothing wrong with leaving your backgrounds black.
For more information on backgrounds, you might want to read Choosing the Best Background for Your Next Drawing elsewhere on this blog. I describe the types of backgrounds I use most often, and also share tips on deciding when to use each type.
Thank you again for reading this post and for leaving a comment and question!
Oh… okay. Yes that makes sense… other lighter colors underneath, instead, depending on the color of the subject. Also liked the tip about Artagan paper. It looks like it is fairly cheap at Blicks so may have to order some after Christmas. One of my goals this year is to start working on black paper with CP. I already have the book from Ann Kullberg’s site for working on black paper and have some black Stonehenge drawing paper. I want to compare it with the Artagan for CP work. Thank you again.
Gail,
Yes. White is a good color to use as the under drawing on dark paper, but it doesn’t work all the time or for every color. For example, Prismacolor red over a white under drawing looks pink. That doesn’t work for all red objects.
Artagain is relatively inexpensive. It’s a bit “harder” feeling than Stonehenge, but it’s very nice to draw on. At least in my opinion.
That was a great article to work on a black paper… light colored underpaintings and then layering the required color..
please inform, how does blending with oms of the initial layers affect further layering.. does it actually enhance the colors.. with pigments being intact.. in the under painting…
also please throw some light on the selection of subjects for doing on a black paper..
Thank you for your kind words and for your question.
The biggest thing to consider when you use solvent is whether or not the paper will handle it. Some papers are easily damaged by moisture of any kind, so using solvent is not a good idea.
As for whether or not using solvent on a base layer on black paper affects the next layers, I can’t give you a specific answer on that. A lot depends on the paper you’re using, the amount of pigment you have on the paper, and how smoothly the color has been applied. The more smoothly you apply the color, the better it will blend.
Also, the more pigment you have on the paper, the better it will blend.
Once you’ve blended and the paper is dry, the solvent will not affect new layers of color. It will only blend the colors that are on the paper when you use the solvent.
I can’t say whether or not using solvent on the base layers will enhance the next colors or not, because I’ve never tried it. Using solvent will probably preserve the tooth of the paper a little longer, which means you’ll be able to add more layers after using solvent.
I hope that helps. I don’t use solvent very often, and I don’t remember using it more than once or twice on black or dark-colored papers.
If any other readers have used solvent on black paper, can you tell us how it worked?
Thank you a lot for the tutorial but can dark pencil that is the normal lead pencil work on black paper…maybe to give it a shine effect or something.
John,
You can give a drawing on black paper “shine” by using a graphite pencil applied with heavy pressure.
However, you would probably have to apply the graphite to bare paper, since I’m not sure it will stick to colored pencil.