Draw your design on white paper. It is best to make your sketches on paper as it is difficult to erase pencil markings on canvas. If you draw directly on the canvas, then you are more likely to be confused by the lines in your sketch. Make your final drawing on paper the size of your painting.
Place art transfer paper on your canvas, illustration board, or the medium you want to paint. Tape it in place. Place your final drawing sketch over the transfer paper and tape it in place, securing it so it doesn't move.
Trace your drawing with a mechanical pencil to transfer the lines of your design onto the final painting medium.
Remove the transfer paper and white paper. Analyze the drawn painting to determine where you want the light to come from and where you want lighter tones and where you want darker tones. Mark these areas with an "L" for light, "M" for medium, "D" for dark. Make your marks lightly with a pencil.
Choose the acrylic or oil color you want to use for your monochrome painting. Squeeze a dab about the size of a quarter onto your paint tray. You only want a dab of paint, so that it doesn't dry out as you are painting. You can mix up more paint as you need it.
Move about a quarter of the paint to a another place on the paint tray. Use a paint brush to do this.
Add a very small amount of white paint to this paint. You want the white paint dab to be about the size of a pencil top eraser. Mix the paint thoroughly.
Move another quarter of the original paint to another spot on the tray and add two or three dabs of the white paint. This will make a lighter shade than your second color. Mix it thoroughly.
Dip your paint brush into the darker color and start painting the dark or shade areas first. It is easier to paint from dark areas to light areas instead of the reverse. Rinse and clean your brush before dipping it in any of the other mixtures to paint the midtone areas.
Make more paint mixes on your tray, but add more white than the monochrome color to make your lighter colors. Paint light areas of your painting with these colors.
Place a squirt of plain white paint on the tray to paint the lightest tone. Use a clean brush to paint the plain white areas of the painting.
Finish painting the different shades and allow the acrylic paint to dry overnight. Paint on a clear sealer to finish and protect the painting.