For days when you feel like you're in an art rut, simply out of ideas or just plain bored, here's a rad, instantly inspiring DIY drawing project to keep in your back pocket. Have you ever tried drawing.... in reverse? Sounds strange and even a little intimidating, but it's actually a fantastic way to spark your imagination without breaking a sweat. By using an eraser to draw instead of a pencil or pen, your page suddenly becomes a playground for zany, totally original ideas, doodles, and experimental drawings. Grab your eraser and get ready to look at the world in a whole new way!

What you need:

Graphite Powder (get at an art supply store or online)
Erasers - large, small, all shapes
Paper - cardstock, watercolor or multi-media…anything thicker than printer paper
Larger placemat, newspaper, or something under your project…it can be a tad messy!

STEPS:

1. Using a crumpled up paper towel or tissue, dip into the jar of graphite powder and coat one side, then rub in circular motions across your page until an even tone of grey appears. (Don’t be afraid to press down quite a bit!)

2. Lightly brush any excess powder away by whisking another tissue across the surface. The graphite should be kind of ‘scrubbed into’ the paper, like a stain.

3. With a pencil, sketch in a few lines to show which shapes you intend to make lighter (might be the area around a shape, as in this case!) Erase with a giant eraser or kneaded eraser (my fav)

4. When you have the shape you’d like, fill in details with a finer eraser, the end of a pencil, or one of those refillable cartridge erasers (these can apply a decent amount of pressure)

5. Now add finishing details in pencil or pen. You can even overlay thin watercolor washes on top of the erased spaces or the graphite-tone parts, just be aware that the moment you put water down, it’ll fix your image on the page in a permanent way—no longer erasable.

Here are other images made using this method:

And a process vid, to see it in action:

Love this DIY project? Check out our Instagram Giveaway to win Elizabeth Haidle's completed piece from the DIY video (pictured above) ! More details on the giveaway can be found here. And stay tuned for more black-and-white themed DIY projects in our next ILLUSTORIA Issue #8: Black and White, coming oh-so-soon.