kneadable eraser woes

[artdude]

Hi all. Was just wondering if any of you have had problems with lifting off graphite from your drawing after you have blended an area? I am trying to cut some fine lines (animal hair highlights) into the blended area with my kneadable eraser and I'm having a hard time getting the area white enough. I am using 110lb paper that's fairly smooth. In the area in question I used a "hb" to start the shading and blended with a paper tortillion (sp?). I pinch the eraser to a fine point but can't seem to keep it from spreading wider. Would an electric eraser be better for this? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

[KaTee]

Artdude

Sorry to hear you are having problems.

When I did a similar thing, my drawing was in charcoal, and they came out quite well, I am not sure what else to suggest.

If Darrell Duchene reads this he may be able to advise you as he is very good with graphite, if he doesn't read it, you could try emailing him.

Hope someone a little more knowledgable comes along.

Good luck

Karen

I have used an electric eraser to do some lines. But Fine lines would have to be done with great delicacy on the edges of the eraser. I hope you have good luck with this. Of course I would try it on an example first before ruining a masterpiece as yours.

[Christie]

Grab a white eraser and slice a small piece off it. Then use the small piece to clean out the areas you want. You may need to do this a number of times to get the level of lightness you need.

[J. D. Hillberry]

Try using an eraser pen. It is a hollow plastic holder roughly the size of an ink pen. Round, vinyl eraser refills fit inside the holder, which can be "clicked" to lengthen the eraser. Thin white lines can be made in areas that have already been covered with graphite or charcoal. It is like drawing with white. You can keep a clean, sharp edge on the eraser by trimming off the used portions with a razor blade. They sell them in most office supply and art stores. The brand I use is called the "Pentel Retractable Clic Eraser"

Good luck,

J. D. Hillberry

Please visit my web site:
http://www.jdhillberry.com

[Jan-Michael]

sometimes I find a kneadable eraser a saint... other times..it's the devil... I am building up a collection of erasers...

[Earlene]

I have used the click eraser sharpened and the cut eraser. They both have worked quite well. For this type of thing you could try the gum eraser cut in small pieces. The only problem with that is you will sometimes get small crumbles. I too am building up quite a collection of erasures. Good luck

[Linda Boebinger]

My solution is the same as Christies - slicing off a piece of white eraser to get a clean, sharp edge. Works great, but you go through a lot of white erasers...

[artdude]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and tips. I will be sure to try them all and let you know how things worked out. The project I'm working on is the "Ring Tailed Lemur" I posted earlier. I think it's about half done. Will be sure to post the finished drawing. Thanks again