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Drawing with Light: White Pencil on Black Paper

Drawing with a dark pencil on white paper means you are focusing on the shadows, or the absence of light. To truly understand how light works, you need to flip this process. By drawing with a white pencil on black paper, you are literally drawing with light. This exercise simulates how light illuminates objects in reality and will improve your understanding of light and shadow in all your drawings.

Getting Started: Materials

The materials for this project are simple. You will need:

• White pencil
• Black paper
• Kneaded and vinyl erasers
• Simple, light-colored objects to draw
• A desk lamp for a single light source

It is best to draw your subjects from life. Set up your objects and light them with your lamp. If you can't draw from life, you can find reference photos online.

The Five-Step Value Scale

Before you begin your drawing, create a five-step value scale on your black paper. This will help you understand the values you'll be using. Each step represents a specific light or shadow condition.

1. Highlight: The brightest value in your drawing.
2. Mid-tones & Center Light: The main illuminated areas.
3. Reflected Light: Light that bounces from the surrounding surface into the shadow.
4. Core Shadow: The darkest part of the shadow on the object itself.
5. Cast Shadow: The darkest shadow, where the paper is left completely black.

These five values are approximations, but understanding them will help you place them correctly in your drawing.

The Drawing Process: Illuminating a Sphere

Let's walk through the process of drawing a simple sphere.

Step 1: Divide Light from Shadow

First, draw the basic shapes of your subject, like a circle for the sphere and an oval for its cast shadow.

Next, identify the line of termination. This is the line where the object turns away from the light and enters shadow. Lightly draw this line on your sphere.

Once the line of termination is in place, apply a light, even layer of white pencil to the entire lit side of the sphere. This first pass can be rough. You can also add a subtle amount of light to the ground plane that is being hit by the light.

Step 2: Draw the Light Conditions

Now, let's build up the values on the lit side of the sphere.

• Center Light: This is the main area of light. On a sphere, it's brightest at the edge closest to the light source. Start with a number two value.
• Mid-tone: As the center light moves away from the light source and toward the line of termination, it dims into a mid-tone.
• Highlight: This is the brightest spot in the entire drawing (a number one value). Place it carefully on the center light area.

Remember, this is a process of layering. You will make multiple passes to build up the values smoothly.

Step 3: Draw the Shadow Conditions

One of the most important lessons from this exercise is that most shadows still contain light.

• Reflected Light: Light bounces off the ground plane and illuminates the shadow side of the sphere. Add this light (around a number three value) to the part of the shadow closest to the ground.
• Core Shadow: This is the dark band between the line of termination and the reflected light. It will be around a number four value and is often darkest where it's furthest from the reflected light source.

Step 4: Define the Cast Shadow

The light you add to the ground plane helps define the cast shadow.

• Brighten the ground plane, especially right next to the cast shadow, to make the shadow appear darker.
• The edge of the cast shadow is sharpest right under the object and becomes softer and more diffused as it moves away.
• The occlusion shadow is the part of the cast shadow directly underneath the object where no light can reach. This is the only area you should leave as pure black paper.

Step 5: Refine Your Drawing

The final stage is to refine all your values.

• Smooth the transitions between light and shadow.
• Brighten the center light to make the highlight feel more integrated.
• Refine the edges along the line of termination and between the core shadow and reflected light.
• Use a kneaded eraser to lift any white pigment that may have gotten into the darkest shadow areas, especially the occlusion shadow.

Applying the Process to Complex Objects

You can apply this same process to more complex subjects, including those with flat planes or multiple objects.

• Flat Planes: Each flat plane will generally have one consistent value across its surface.
• Multiple Objects: When drawing multiple objects, always compare the values across all the objects. The brightest plane on one object may not be as bright as the brightest plane on another.

Your Assignment

Now it's your turn. Create a minimum of three drawings using white pencil on black paper.

1. Start with a simple object, like a sphere, to understand the process.
2. Increase the complexity with your next drawings.
3. Try drawing multiple objects together to see how they cast shadows on each other and how light reflects between them.

This project is one of the best ways to master light and shadow. You can take everything you learn and apply it back to your traditional drawings with dark pencil on white paper.

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