7 Uses for Electric Eraser (Are You Doing #2?)

We can hear the protests already. “Why would I use an electric eraser when my regular eraser is working just fine? What could an electrical eraser possibly do that my putty eraser can’t?!”. The electric eraser is the tool that you think you don’t need until you start using one, and then you can’t imagine your life without it. Think of it less as a mistake-reverser and more like a tool of its own.

1. Why waste time on your mistakes? When your hand slips outside the lines you can eliminate the error WITHOUT accidentally doing more damage because the eraser is so tiny so you’re less dependent on the steadiness of your hand.
2. Highlights! You can use the edges to create a tiny highlight in the eye of your subject or intentionally color a large area and come back to create reflections along it with your electric eraser. The electric eraser is to pencil what the white gel pen is to marker work.
3. Did you know electric erasers can be used on more media than a regular eraser can? You can cleanly remove colored pencil, graphite, charcoal in addition to regular pencil!
4. Speaking of colored pencil, if your paper is too full of pigment it can be difficult to add details. Remove some pigment with a light stroke of the electric eraser.
5. The teeniest, tiniest nooks and crannies in your drawings can be accessed with an electric eraser. You can use the sides of the eraser but another great way to do tiny details is the file the eraser into a point by holding it at an angle while running it.
6. Create crisp edges with the touch of a button on any medium. It can be difficult to create a sharp edge with a traditional eraser.
7. What’s worse than going in to correct a tiny mistake and accidentally removing a large area of your hard work? A clunky eraser can be your worst enemy when you’re trying to limit how much you remove.

If you’ve never used an electric eraser before, you may need to practice a little bit to find the pressure that works for you. Start by pressing less firmly than you think you need to and you will get the hang of it in no time!

Do you use an electric eraser? What’s your favorite use for it?