Liquid Detergent. If a soft eraser failed to remove the stain, apply a few drops of liquid detergent to the affected area and rub gently with a soft, damp cloth. b. Gum erasers (also called art gum erasers) – Designed to crumble very easily as they collect up the graphite so they do less damage to the paper. But since they crumble away they don’t last as long. Very soft.

First kneading: a bit stiff, had to twist it to get it to move, held together like gum except when I stretched it more than 2cm then would form fine threads that had little bits caught in it that fell out like snow, so I felt I was losing bits of the rubber. This was prevented by only using a twisting or pressing motion, not a stretching motion. Then it was fine. Second kneading of small piece next day: fine. The more easily a graphite mark will smudge – the more easily it will erase. So no matter how lightly you draw with a hard pencil (6H) it will be harder to erase than a soft pencil (HB or 2B). From now on I will use a lightly applied softer pencil for any sketching that I wish to erase after watercolour or ink have been added. How it performed: Was better when rubbed than when pressed and lifted. Best on the light lines of graphite, not so well on the dark. Fine on press and lift for coloured pencil lightening. Great on removing the graphite under pigment liner pens without lightening the ink. Removed the graphite under the watercolour with only slight lightening of the paint, might be the winner for that task.

In general plastic erasers are similar. Except the dustless ones that I find difficult to use because of the lump of crumbs that builds up underneath the eraser. Kneaded erasers are self-cleaning. By kneading them, you enclose the charcoal pigment inside the eraser and use a clean part. This eraser has a strong absorption capacity for charcoal and graphite. It erases easily with no need to press hard on the paper, forming smooth eraser dust. It can also be used to erase or smudge marks made in charcoal drawings, adding a useful dimension to your artwork. Made from synthetic rubber.

First kneading: a bit stiff, had to twist it to get it to move, held together like gum except when I stretched it more than 2cm then it would form fine threads that had little bits caught in it that fell out like snow, so I felt I was losing bits of the rubber. This was prevented by only using a twisting motion or pressing motion, not a stretching motion. Then it was fine. Second kneading of small piece next day: fine. Set Squares are used to draw accurate angles. The most common set squares are 45 degrees and 60/30 degrees. When using set squares they should always be used along with a T-Square. The Set-square rest on the straight edge of the T-Square and this ensures that the angle is drawn straight and with accuracy. Diagram 4 – Set squares Dark graphite and coloured pencil can best be removed by using two steps: press/lift with a putty rubber until no more will come off and then finish with a plastic or rubber eraser.

c. Plastic/vinyl erasers– the firmest eraser. The most popular eraser, these modern erasers usually give the most complete removal of graphite. If you are like me the word ‘plastic’ might make you think they wouldn’t work well, I mean you can’t erase with any of the other plastic items on your table, right. But you need to remember two things: plastics come in a huge variety of formulas and also ‘plastic’ can means ‘pliable’ as in ‘the plastic arts’ meaning sculpture. Many plastic erasers come with paper sleeves that you can use to hold the rubber. ‘Dustless’ means that the eraser residue particles clump together for more complete removal, leaving fewer tiny particles that are actually still on the paper but you don’t see… until you take a close-up photo. They can be heat-moulded into many shapes, both for finger grips and for sharp edges that allow the erasure of fine lines. The name rubber came from the material used to make the eraser. (The rubber plant got its name from the eraser and not the other way around).