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Position:Home>Visual Arts> Kneaded eraser - am I missing something?Question: Kneaded eraser - am I missing something!? Everyone recommends the kneaded eraser because it's pliable!. Supposedly it will pick up pencil, even in very thin lines, and is used as part of the drawing!. But it's very soft! It doesn't create thin lines!. It flattens out and does whatever it wants!. Please tell me what I'm doing wrong because I'd like to use it like everyone else does!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: the softness is actually the appeal of the eraser!. If your working on a drawing and you've filed a 2x3 inch area too dark a conventional eraser will chew the crap out of your paper, and probably destroy your image with smudging!. with a soft eraser you squish it on then lift it up and it will remove a layer of graphite without damaging the paper!. For super thin lines I use a harder eraser, I put a piece of paper over the areas I don't want to erase and just rub over the area!. This is also good for cleaning up smudges or dirt around your drawing, you can put a piece of paper over your drawing and clean around it without effecting it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com The kneaded eraser is preferred because it can lift up graphite without leaving smudges so the drawing that you place over the cleaned area goes on clearly without any evidence of what was removed below the new drawing!. If it is too soft, you might try combining two pieces together, this will make it thicker and less pliable!. also, the more it is kneaded, the softer it can become!. If the eraser is a larger eraser, you don't have to knead it as often and more sides of it will remain harder so you can create thin edges and it won't flatten as quickly!.Www@QuestionHome@Com To use it to remove very fine lines without affecting neighbouring lines you need an eraser template (below the ruler in the link)!. The eraser needs to be kneaded regularly to make sure that a clean surface is used!. An alternative is Blu-Tack but that is limited because although it lifts off graphite well it will reapply it too readily so you need to throw it away before it gets loaded with graphite!. http://www!.aircraftresourcecenter!.com/tn!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com you can form it into a point, and it can do all types of things (i sometimes even use it for blending) but it is not the best for small, controlled lines!. if you want to erase thin lines, get an eraser stick by papermate!. they are fantasticWww@QuestionHome@Com |