Lone pear modeled from dark side to light in five stepsBlack, white, five grays. Block the shadow side first, then step lighter toward the light.
Seven teardrop sparrows spaced unevenly on a cableBlack, white. Rule the wire with a liner brush, then press each bird as one teardrop with a short tail stroke.
Panda face close up, eye patches tilted like teardropsBlack, white, two grays. Keep the eye patches as slanted ovals and the eyes small inside them.
Black bicycle outline, both wheels traced from lidsBlack, white. Trace two jar lids for the wheels and join them with straight liner strokes.
Black cat on a sill, tail hanging, ears as two pointsBlack, white, one pale gray. Fill the frame gray, then paint the cat as one black shape with two ear points.
Child on a rope swing hung from a big branchBlack, white. Paint the branch first, drop two ropes, then the swing and rider as one shape.
Dandelion head half blown, seeds drifting to one cornerBlack, white. Dot the seed head with a cotton swab and pull a few seeds away with a liner.
Edge of a pine forest, tall trunks and pointed topsBlack, white, pale gray. Tap each pine with the corner of a flat brush, wider toward the bottom.
Ferris wheel in black line, a box on every spokeBlack, white. Trace a plate for the wheel, rule the spokes, then hang a small box on each.
Hot-air balloons near and far, black fading to pale grayBlack, white, gray. Paint the largest balloon black and the far ones gray and small.
Leafless oak in flat black, every twig forked twiceBlack, white. Pull the trunk up with a round brush, then split every branch in two with a liner.
Paper boat on a single ruled line of waterBlack, white, pale gray. Paint the boat flat black and its reflection in gray below the line.
Seven teardrop sparrows spaced unevenly on a cableBlack, white. Rule the wire with a liner brush, then press each bird as one teardrop with a short tail stroke.
Stag with antlers standing on a curved hill lineBlack, white. Paint the hill as a curve, the stag on it, and the antlers last with a liner.
Two-layer city: gray far blocks behind black near onesBlack, white, one mid gray. Paint a far row of buildings in gray, then a near row in black over it.
Umbrella half-circle over a lone figure, slanted gray rainBlack, white, pale gray. Paint the umbrella as a half circle, the figure below it, then gray rain strokes.
Wind turbines stepping away across a plainBlack, white, two grays. Paint the near turbine black and each farther one in a lighter gray.
Night, moon and snow 14
Birch trunks in a white wood, dark notches on the barkWhite, pale gray, black. Tape the trunks, paint the gray woods behind, peel, then add the black notches.
Cabin snowed in to the eaves, one square of white lightBlack, white, three grays. Leave the window pure white so it is the lightest thing on the canvas.
Flakes falling over a jagged row of dark rooftopsBlack, white, dark gray. Paint the roofs in a jagged band, then dot the flakes with a cotton swab.
Footprints crossing a white field to a far gateWhite, black, pale gray. Paint each print as a small gray oval, shrinking toward the gate.
Frozen pond with skate marks looping across itWhite, pale gray, black. Draw the loops with a liner in gray and keep the far shore black.
Full moon inside a wide, pale halo ringBlack, white, gray. Trace a small lid for the moon, then scumble a wide thin gray ring around it.
Moonlit highway, white dashes running to the horizonBlack, white, two grays. Narrow the road to a point and shorten each dash as it goes back.
Mountain ridge by moonlight, one side of each peak litBlack, white, mid gray. Paint every peak gray, then lay white on the same side of each.
Night snowman, half of him shaded, shadow stretched leftWhite, black, pale gray. Shade the snowman's dark side gray and stretch its shadow across the ground.
Row of snow-capped fence posts, white on a black groundBlack, white, pale gray. Paint each post white on the black ground, then cap it with one thick dab.
Sky fading from black overhead to pale gray belowBlack, white. Blend from black down to light gray in one pass with a wide flat brush.
Snow-loaded pines under a sky of dotted starsBlack, white, mid gray. Dot stars with a cotton swab, then load each bough with white on top.
Streetlamp making a cone of light in a snowfallBlack, white, gray. Scumble a pale cone below the lamp and dot the flakes only inside it.
Thin moon half veiled by a scumbled gray cloudBlack, white, pale gray. Scumble the cloud thinly in gray so the moon shows through its edge.
Value studies in mixed grays 15
Ball, box and cone: a light, middle and dark face on eachBlack, white, five grays. Give every form a light side, a middle side and a dark side.
Boiled egg banded in five mixed grays on pale linenBlack, white, five mixed grays. Mix the five steps first, then give the egg one band of each.
Coffee cup study: cast shadow first, handle lastBlack, white, four grays. Squint, find the darkest shape and paint it first.
Five taped squares stepping from white to blackBlack, white, three mixed grays. Fill each square one step darker than the last: your own value scale.
Folded white towel with soft creasesBlack, white, four grays. Blend each crease while the paint is wet, darkest in the fold.
Garlic bulb and two loose cloves in side lightBlack, white, four grays. Follow the ridges of the bulb with curved strokes.
Hand laid flat under a desk lamp, fingers apartBlack, white, five grays. Paint the cast shadow first so the hand has something to rest on.
Lone pear modeled from dark side to light in five stepsBlack, white, five grays. Block the shadow side first, then step lighter toward the light.
Metal spoon with a bright window reflected in itBlack, white, five grays. Put the lightest light right beside the darkest dark for the shine.
Old work boot: mid gray first, darks and lights over itBlack, white, five grays. Paint the whole boot mid gray, then add the darks and the lights on top.
Pillowcase hung on a clothesline, lit from one sideBlack, white, five grays. Paint the folds as long soft bands, darkest where the cloth turns under.
Scrunched receipt, each facet a single flat grayBlack, white, five grays. Paint each facet as one flat gray, with no blending between them.
Stack of three white bowls, rims catching lightBlack, white, four grays. Keep the inside of each bowl darker on the side nearest the lamp.
Tumbler of water, dark rim, bright slit of highlightBlack, white, five grays. Paint the darks at the rim and base and leave the highlight pure white.
Unlit glass bulb on a table, filament drawn in grayBlack, white, five grays. Scumble thin white over the dry gray glass where the surface catches light.
Pattern and abstract 14
Checkerboard that bulges as if over a ballBlack, white. Pencil curved grid lines, then fill every other cell black.
Giant thumbprint ridges looping out from the middleBlack, white. Paint the ridges with a liner brush, working out from the middle loop.
Half black, half white, one circle swapped across the joinBlack, white. Trace a plate on the join and paint each half of it the opposite color.
Marbled swirl of black pulled into wet whiteBlack, white. Lay both wet and draw a palette knife through them once or twice only.
Maze of right-angle lines with no exitBlack, white. Rule the lines with a flat brush on its edge, all the same width.
Off-center ripple rings alternating black, gray, whiteBlack, white, two grays. Trace lids of four sizes and alternate black, gray and white.
One long looping scribble, every other gap filled inBlack, white. Draw one looping line without stopping, then fill alternate shapes black.
Polka dots growing from tiny to huge across the canvasBlack, white. Print dots with a cotton swab, a pencil eraser and a bottle cap, smallest in one corner.
Rows of single strokes dragged until the brush runs dryBlack, white. Load a wide flat brush once, drag until it fades, then start the next row.
Smooth gradient crossed by one hard white lineBlack, white. Blend black to white, let it dry, then tape and paint the line.
Sponge texture, dense at the bottom and sparse aboveBlack, white, gray. Tap a torn sponge in black, then gray, thinning out as you climb.
Taped stripes of uneven widths, black then whiteBlack, white. Tape the stripes, fill between them in black, then peel.
Triangles tiling the canvas in three graysBlack, white, three grays. Tape the grid and never put the same gray on two touching triangles.
Zigzag herringbone bands taped in three tonesBlack, white, mid gray. Tape a zigzag, fill alternate bands, then peel.
Black and white animals 15
Dalmatian at full stretch, ears flying backWhite, black, gray. Stretch the legs out fore and aft, then dot the spots last.
Dalmatian head study, mismatched ears and a dotted muzzleWhite, black, pale gray. Paint the dog white with gray shading, then dot the spots with a cotton swab.
Magpie taking off from snow, wings half openBlack, white, gray. Paint the bird as one black shape, then add the white belly and shoulders.
Magpie walking on a lawn, long tail held levelBlack, white, gray. Paint the white belly and shoulder patch first, then the black around them.
Newborn Dalmatian pup, still plain white, on a dark rugWhite, black, grays. Shade the pup in pale gray only; the spots come in later.
Orca and calf side by side, each with a gray saddleBlack, white, gray. Give each the white eye patch and the gray saddle behind the fin.
Orca breaching with its white underside toward usBlack, white, pale gray. Paint the body black, then the white underside and the oval patch by the eye.
Orca dorsal fin and back cutting flat gray waterBlack, white, two grays. Paint a tall black triangle and a low curve, then gray ripples.
Panda asleep along a gray branch, legs hangingBlack, white, mid gray. Paint the branch gray so the black legs hanging down stand out.
Panda chewing a bamboo stem, black limbs on a white bellyBlack, white, pale gray. Paint the white body first, then the black ears, eye patches and limbs.
Panda face close up, eye patches tilted like teardropsBlack, white, two grays. Keep the eye patches as slanted ovals and the eyes small inside them.
Two magpies facing each other on a rooftop ridgeBlack, white. Paint each as a teardrop with a long straight tail, then add the white belly.
Two zebras standing nose to tail, stripes mergingBlack, white, pale gray. Let the stripes of one run into the other so the outlines blur.
Zebra face front on, stripes meeting at the noseBlack, white, one gray. Mirror the stripes either side of a pencil line down the face.
Zebra stripes filling the whole canvas, no outlineBlack, white. Paint the canvas white, then curve black stripes that fork and taper.
How it works
Grisaille is a painting done entirely in shades of gray. These canvases use black, white and the grays mixed from them, nothing else: silhouettes, night and snow, value studies, patterns and black-and-white animals.
Read the full guide
Grisaille painting ideas: value studies in mixed grays
A tint is a color mixed with white and a shade is one mixed with black. With only those two tubes, every mix is a gray. Mix five steps before you start: Five taped squares stepping from white to black is that scale as a painting. Then try Boiled egg banded in five mixed grays on pale linen.
Animals that are already black and white
A zebra has a black-and-white striped coat. A giant panda is white with black patches around the eyes and on the ears and legs. A Dalmatian is born plain white, so Newborn Dalmatian pup, still plain white, on a dark rug has no spots at all.
Squint at the subject. Detail drops away and the big light and dark shapes stay.
The easy ones are under More filters, Level.
Questions and answers
What can I paint with only black and white paint?
Anything with a strong shape or strong light: a bare tree on white, a full moon, an egg on a cloth, a checkerboard, a zebra. The Subject list under the button sorts the canvases into those five kinds.
How do I mix gray from black and white acrylic?
Start from white and add black a little at a time until the gray is dark enough. Mix every step you need side by side before painting, because acrylic is fast-drying.
What is an easy black and white painting for a beginner?
Leafless oak in flat black, every twig forked twice needs one brush and one color. Sky fading from black overhead to pale gray below is a single blend with a wide flat brush.