Gesture Drawing: Let's Talk [More, Again] About Kneaded Erasers & Prismacolor plus More
My absolute favorite eraser is hands down the kneaded eraser. You can stretch it to clean it up and honestly, I use it as much as I use my pencil. Some might say I draw with the eraser as much as with my pencil – I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but I've learned to embrace it!
The Power of Stretch
I can make fine points or broad flat marks depending on what I need. The great thing is you control the pressure and how much material you lift. On Strathmore 300 series paper, you'll notice it doesn't erase as much when it gets dirty, which comes in handy for subtle areas where I don't want to take off too much.
Stretching the kneaded eraser out lets me create different effects. For instance, working on hair details requires a specific touch, and this eraser gives me that precision, like creating a point with the eraser for a specific mark. It really allows me to work with light to dark tones.
My Top Pick & Care Tips
If you've seen our previous videos, you know my favorite kneaded eraser is Prismacolor. Now, some people complain they harden over time but storing them in a daily pill box keeps them soft and clean! For me, the other brands are too 'gooey' and you can achieve the same with the Prismacolor by keeping it in a box, plus it also protects it when you're not using it.
Beyond Kneaded: Exploring Other Erasers
Just a note, while I talk about the kneaded eraser a lot, there are other types of erasers out there too. My wife loves the Prismacolor Magic Rub Eraser for those times when white is necessary. Also, for specific or precise erasing, I find the Mono Zero works great – a bit stronger than the kneaded variety.
The Bottom Line: The Prismacolor Kneaded erasers are truly powerful tools that deserve a spot in every artist's toolkit. Embrace them and experiment with them.
I never thought about storing my Prismacolor kneaded eraser in a pill box—that’s brilliant! I’ve definitely had mine go hard after a few months, so I’ll try that tip. I also love how you mentioned drawing with the eraser as much as the pencil; I find myself doing the same, especially when refining light areas in gesture sketches. The control you get with a kneaded eraser is unmatched for subtle value shifts. By the way, for anyone who likes to document their drawing process or talk through techniques, I’ve been using an ai transcript generator to turn my audio notes into text—it’s been a huge help for keeping track of ideas.
Honestly, storing Prismacolor kneaded erasers in a pill box is such a game-changer for keeping them soft! It’s the best way to play scritchy scratchy online without worrying about your tools drying out during a session.