Drawing on black paper takes a little bit of common sense and a clear head. It's not as easy as one might think. The black background provides a natural shading for the overall image. This means that, if possible, the areas of shadow in your drawing should be left unshaded -- untouched -- to allow the black to show through. There are, of course, exceptions to this. Sometimes an ink-black shadow just won't look right, and that depends on variables like the natural color of the object that's being shaded and the depth of the shadow.
Instructions
1. Draw the outline of the hair on the paper. If you're drawing with pastels, use the base color to outline the hair. For example, if the subject has brown hair, use a brown pastel stick to very lightly outline the hair.
2. Decide where the light is hitting the head. Make note of the glare on the head by outlining that area with a lighter color of pastel stick, or even a white pastel stick. Note that if the hair on the head is black, this area may be white at its brightest, and a light gray. For brown hair, the area of glare on the head will be white and light brown. For blonde hair, the area of glare on the hair will be mostly white. Note that not all hair projects a lot of glare; you should look off of a subject to help you.
3. Decide where the hair is in its deepest shadow. Draw an outline of that area within the outline you drew in step 1, using the base color.
4. Fill in all areas of the hair that are not in shadow or in a glare with long lines that run the contour of the strands of hair. Do this slowly and patiently -- don't scribble. If the subject has curly hair, make the lines curl. If the subject has straight hair, make the lines long and straight. Smooth the lines with your finger as you go. Note that some pastel papers are very textured. The more you smooth the pastel on the paper, the less you will see the texture of the paper. How much you smooth the pastel is up to you. If your subject has black hair, use a black or very, very dark gray pastel stick. Black pastel should still be visible against a black paper.
5. Fill in the area of glare in the same way, using the same strokes that you used in step 4, but use a lighter color for the area, and highlight parts of it with white.
6. Draw a few lines through the area that is supposed to be in shadow. If the hair is a dark color anyway, leave the shadows mostly untreated. If the hair is a light or bright color (blonde, or red), color in that area as you did with the other areas of the head, but with a darker pastel stick (brown for a red-head, dark gold for a blonde).
