Pottery artisans began with a pale, iron-rich clay. Its eventual red coloring was produced during the firing process when the iron ore oxidized. The artisans sketched in the silhouette outlines that would grace their designs, then painted them on using refined clay as paint. They then used fine tools to etch in details, scratching away the paint, revealing the clay of the pot underneath. In the final process this gave the black figures reddish-orange details. The pots were fired in a three-stage process. During the first firing stage the pot developed its characteristic red coloring. Then the kiln's vents were closed, green wood was added (to reduce the amount of oxygen) and the temperature was raised. This caused the pot to turn black overall, making the black paint glossy. During the third stage, air was reintroduced to the kiln. The pottery portions cooled and the reddish hue returned while the black, painted portions remained glossy. While black was the most commonly used color, other colors were occasionally used, including a yellowish-white and a purplish-red. Some of the most notable work in black figure vase painting was done by Exekias.
The artistic style was simplistic, with flat images reminiscent of Egyptian tomb painting and, in a modern context, paper dolls. Limbs were not always realistically depicted. Those that would have been behind a body perspective-wise often appeared above the body or lower than they should be. Though details were etched into the designs, details still tended to be lost in the black, making them difficult to see. Perhaps these issues led to the development of the more sophisticated red figure painting. Both artistic styles continued to flourish, or overlap, in the years 530 to 500 B.C., before red figure painting replaced black figure painting entirely.