Most people think that erasers are meant for fixing mistakes. For graphite artist’s erasers are a powerful tool that helps the artist create photo-realism drawings. By practicing drawing with an eraser, you will learn different techniques that will enhance your drawing skills.
The list above is all of the tools that I use for my drawings. For this article, you will only need a 2B graphite pencil, 4B graphite pencil, kneaded eraser, Tombow Mono Zero Eraser, camel-hair artist brush, and a Factis Black Eraser.
Pencil Drawing Goal
The objective of this post is to help you discover what each drawing tool offers and how to control each drawing tool.
There will be times when you are creating a pencil drawing that you will need to remove a line, lighten a line, or create a straight edge.
Practicing drawing with an eraser will allow you to make the best decision every time for your drawings.
Removing graphite
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“A Taste of Autumn”
By Dave Nevue
Commissioned Drawing
By Dave Nevue
With my drawing “A Taste of Autumn” I used the eraser to create a realistic illusion for the whipped cream, plate, pie, and pumpkin.
I use the same technique on all of my drawings.
You can also see the soft value changes made with the eraser on the commissioned drawing above.
Smooth Value Changes
For the whipped cream and plate I used the kneaded eraser to remove graphite to create a very smooth soft value change. I used the Tombow Mono Zero eraser to draw the highlights.
Drawing Tips:
To create a soft value change by removing graphite, take your kneaded eraser and form a point at one end.
Tap the end softly on your drawing table to make the point a flatter surface.
Lightly tap the eraser on the area that you would like to remove graphite. Work from the lightest value and go towards the darkest value.
Using the kneaded eraser to create smooth value changes does take some time to master.
Practice before you try this technique on your finished drawing.
How to Practice:
Draw a one-inch block, a two-inch block and a three-inch block on a piece of paper.
Fill in the three blocks using a 2b or 4B graphite pencil.
From the middle of the block start removing graphite from the top to the bottom. The middle should be the lightest and gradually become darker as you go farther away from the center.
Try to make the values consistent.
It is ok if you remove too much graphite. All you have to do is lightly add the graphite back in the area that is too light.
Creating Highlights
To create highlights as you see on the pumpkin, I draw them in with the Tombow Mono Zero Eraser.
Drawing Tips:
When drawing with the Tombow Mono Zero Eraser use a light touch just as if you were drawing with your graphite pencil.
Keep going over the same section if you wish to have the line lighter.
Use a kneaded eraser to smooth the values around the line you drew with the Tombow Mono Zero Eraser.
Wipe off any debris that is left on the drawing surface from the eraser with your camel brush.
How To Practice:
Draw a one-inch block, a two-inch block and a three-inch block on a piece of paper.
Fill in the three blocks using a 2b or 4B graphite pencil.
Practice erasing lines in all directions just as if you were drawing with a pencil.
Draw curves and circles with the eraser.
The more that you practice the more consistent your lines will be.
Soften the lines with your kneaded eraser.
Conclusion:
Draw with an eraser and you will get an astonishing result that you can never get with just a pencil.
Practice with all of your tools until you have total control of them. Then apply what you have learned on your final drawings.
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