The Principles

...to speak, the Master will judge whether it's appropriate to proceed further, and to start sketching with black and white on gray or blue paper; for once the shading is done well, the rest follows easily.

Eleventh Lesson

After having discussed the draft and the positioning of figures in the sixth and ninth lessons, as well as the shading techniques in the eighth, it is useful to discuss drawing with black and white crayon on blue or gray paper. To become proficient at this, there is no better way than to practice copying designs highlighted with white and plaster, as customarily, as the saying goes, habit is a second nature. It is for this reason that we present to a young student heads modeled from plaster. However, on white paper, you should soften objects with shadows and manage the highlights; here, you should manage shadows and soften the highlights with the crayon. Not that much shading is needed, sometimes only a little. Once the outline is traced, you define with the white crayon, emphasizing the most prominent and illuminated parts, like the forehead, nose, and cheeks; then soften, not with shading, but by gently blending where shadows meet the light, as you might see in similar designs. With this done, use red or black crayon to finish the shadows with shading, wherever needed; then clarify the highlights similarly with the white crayon.

Besides that this way of drawing is very pleasing, it is also more efficient and thus more advantageous to a painter. I do not see - if I may say my opinion - any advantage that shading on white paper serves painting, whereas the other method provides great help. Indeed, if crayons came in all sorts of colors, wouldn't what was outlined appear as though it were painted? Therefore those eager to succeed in this art and become skilled must not neglect learning this method thoroughly, which is not as easy as one might imagine unless one has previously practiced with the red crayon. On the other hand, one must not be dazzled by a beautiful manner; because the most beautiful and quickest technique could never make one a skilled and accomplished designer: accurate positioning and beautiful contours form the main steps through which one must rise to perfection. It is for this reason that I also recommend, in all matters, young students should not devote themselves to painting, until an experienced master judges them skilled in drawing. I am not saying, by some accounts, that one must spend eighteen, twenty, or even twenty-four years mastering the crayon before approaching the brush. Far from it, I find it ridiculous to expect a young person to add those years to those they had when they started drawing to make good use of reason. But it is too common among young students, who are a little praised, and tend to consider themselves capable of immediately approaching painting, even though they barely know how to hold the crayon well, and pretend to be men of art before they have moved beyond childhood. Others start with ardor but lose it almost immediately. A third type, composed of those always searching for some delay, falters, to put it that way, from Cock to Donkey, with heads full of dreams, constantly starting new subjects for variety, whether they indulge in music, theater, or reading trifles; this only deviates them from the dedication that this beautiful art demands. A young student must give up everything that could waste their time; they must overcome obstacles they encounter and become a master before seeking occasions for diversion, which present themselves too often. Instead of employing...

Translation Notes:
"Crayon" is here used in the historical sense referring to a drawing tool similar to today’s chalk or charcoal pencils.
"Plâtre" relates to plaster models, often used in artistic training.
"Estomper" is a technique of blending or smudging, commonly known today as blending or smudging techniques.