Drawing in Black & White: Creative Exercises, Art Techniques, and Explorations in Positive and Negative Design

by Deborah Velasquez

“The style of this book is loose and easy, about having fun, and learning to work within the confines of black and white rather than depending on color.” —Art Elements   Working with only positive and negative lines and shapes keeps the focus on the composition, balance, and harmony. And using white and black gel, ink, and paint pens on black, tan, and gray papers allows you to experience drawing in a whole new way! Drawing in Black & White is a clever drawing and design book that contains 36 inspiring exercises and a gallery of artwork. Follow the tips and draw on black, gray, and tan paper to learn how different colored papers can make simple images pop. You’ll find lessons on drawing, pattern drawing, drawing with cut paper, and simple collage. Learn to see your drawings a new way by drawing in black and white!  “While confined to only two colors, black and white, this guide’s techniques, materials, and tools are not nearly so limited . . . Readers with some experience drawing and painting are the best audience for this guide, but there is plenty here for beginners and advanced artists, too.” —Library Journal  “The goal of the book is to let you be familiar with black and white media, to draw and have fun . . . It’s a fun activity book for those who want to dabble with art.” —Parka Blogs

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Drawing, Reference, Crafts

112 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2016

Reviews

[Sarah Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for both beginning sketch artist and those with a bit of experience that needs some inspiration. I really liked the various exercises and I didn't feel that I couldn't do them just because I'm a newb to sketching. Many of them felt like something I totally could do so I will be going through them in the future to expand my very poooor poor sketching skills! You don't need a lot of colors either so the materials are very minimal. I borrowed this from my local library but if you bought your own copy there are even some colored natural toned colors (blacks, browns, greys, etc) at the back of the book for you to experiment on.

[FrancescoInari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very very abstract but also pretty interesting. Good for a couple of days of practice, the exercises in the first chapters are pretty useful if done correctly. Not a great manual for technique, tho.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

One of the best tutorials I’ve ever read. This book has a lot of inspirational material. I’ve been an artist for most of my life and enjoy reading tutorials for ideas.
This book gives you a chance to try some different ideas. It leads in the direction of taking you back to your beginning of being an artist. It brings to mind Picasso‘s adage of going back to draw as a child in some way‘s. It reminds me of projects I had as a young student of art.
I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more of their craft, beginner or advanced.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the look of some of the exercises, they'll be perfect for Inktober! I read through it pretty quickly today, I'll give it a more thorough go later! It reminds me of a book I read in my college library called Creative Drawing, Point and Line by Ernst. Rottger, but this book feels like it has fewer prompts and examples than the older book CD,P&L.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really impressed by this and may think about buying it. Excellent ideas for warming up.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the very open ended suggestions for sketching in many media. A perfect book for "in between" projects.

[Ietrio · Rating 2 out of 5]

The exercises are cute, although very basic. But the drawings are atrocious!

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this had some interesting exercises in positive and negative space.

[CP · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basic exercises to encourage artistic play. Suitable for beginners.

[Rita Nurday · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting variation of technique, from usual to interesting art material. But at this time I jus need pen and ink stuff.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Drawing in Black & White" by Deborah Velasquez. The book provided a comprehensive guide to creating stunning black and white drawings. The author's instructions were clear and easy to follow, allowing me to complete all the exercises and learn new methods and tools in a short amount of time. While I would have appreciated more introduction to the materials used, the book's approach of encouraging experimentation and embracing creativity without overthinking was effective. Overall, I would highly recommend "Drawing in Black & White" to anyone interested in exploring this art form.