Drawing on Gray

Wilson was super proud of his pencil drawing. Working with black and white pencils on toned gray paper, he created this really cool illustration reminiscent of Renaissance-era sketches and drawings. This style of drawing is an exercise in light and shadow, which is perfect for middle school-aged students in Waldorf as it aligns with the curriculum, and equally perfect for any student working on shading and realism.

Unlike drawing with black pencil on white paper, using toned gray paper allows the artist to modulate light and shadow with both black and white colors, giving depth and glow to the work. It takes sensitivity to tonal values to transition from black to white and vice versa. The subtle technique of shading takes practice. When you further add contrast to the work by putting dark and light side by side, the piece really pops!

Try Toned Gray Drawing and click on the image.
​It will take you to our Shareables Page
​for a FREE DOWNLOADABLE 2-page pdf tutorial.
When you have completed your masterpiece, email it to Syrendell and we'll post it in our Gallery!