I really enjoy the process of painting and drawing on a black surface. The black paper sets your deepest shadows, and your job as the artist is to bring the light and color to life. You are essentially creating LIGHT with color, how cool is that?
If you are new to working on black paper or just looking to improve, this guided practice drawing of a light bulb is a great place to start. It will help you to build your skill, confidence, and understanding of the medium. In this blog post, you will find all you need to know to create glowing light bulb with colored pencils on black paper including steps to create, a video tutorial, gridded reference image, materials list, key art terms, and finished examples to inspire the process!
Key art terms and techniques explored:
Using a grid, warm colors, burnishing, symmetrical balance, contrast, shadows/highlights, emphasis
Photo reference and finished example:
Materials list:
- Square piece of black drawing paper. **I highly recommend using this Canson XL Series Black Drawing Paper from Amazon.**
- Ruler
- Colored pencils. **I highly recommend this set of 36 Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils from Amazon**
- Pencil
- Acrylic paint and small paint brush (optional, but recommended
Disclaimer: I am an approved Amazon Associates member and only share links to products I’ve personally used and loved! I may earn a small commission if you click and purchase linked items.
Steps to complete:
Step 1- Use a ruler and a pencil to lightly draw an ‘x’ from corner to corner and then a ‘+’ sign through the midpoint.
Step 2: Using the grid as your guide for accuracy and symmetry, lightly sketch the contours of the lightbulb using pencil. Once the contours are drawn, erase your grid lines.
Step 3: On a separate sheet of paper or the back of your drawing, test out how your colored pencil hues perform on the black paper. You will notice they look differently on black paper then they would on white paper. Some may even surprise you!
Step 4: Begin slowly layering your colored pencils.
Step 5: Continue to layer colored pencils slowly. Mix a variety of hues to achieve your desired colors. As you progress, push the details and contrast. Strive for bright light areas to make it really look like it is GLOWING!
Your goal is to burnish your colored pencils, and reach that “waxy” coat of colored pencils where the paper will not let you add any more color.
Step 6: This step is optional but I recommend it if you really want to make your highlights POP! Using a tiny brush and a bit of white acrylic paint, touch up the brightest white highlights of your artwork and VOILA!
Video tutorial:
Finished student examples:
My advanced middle school art students recently completed this tutorial and they did a great job. It took about (2) 45 minutes class periods to complete. Students drew them on 6″ x 6″ paper, so fairly small. Here are some of their finished works completed by … Delaney (top left), Shiloh (top right), Sally (bottom left) and Travis (bottom right).
Thanks for checking out this blog post. I would love to see your creation if you use these steps to make a glowing light bulb of your own. Feel free to tag me on Instagram and possibly get featured in this site! Also, please follow Make a Mark Studios on Facebook to keep up with the latest posts! Thanks in advance!
-Stephanie Villiotis, creator of Make a Mark Studios
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