My essentials: Pencils ✏️

The hypothetical question that no artist wants to imagine… If you could only have a few pencils, what would you choose?

Some people call this their core pencil list - so here’s mine! I’ll try to give a little explanation as to why I choose these ones too. I’ve tried to really compact this list to the absolute essentials, so if you’re just starting your pencil journey, it won’t be too overwhelming.

This core list is based on picking out pencils from each range and using them all together as a ‘set’. I try to highlight the positive in each range, and figure out how they can be used together.

Derwent Lightfast

My favourite brand of pencil, so this is a chonky list. They all have excellent lightfast rating, which means I don’t have to cross reference when using for commissions. They blend beautifully, and work really well on every surface. I’ve tried to include a range of lights, darks, and a way to mix a variety of colours.

Lightfast pencils have a great range of colours, so I’ve tried to cover all bases.

Caran D’Ache Luminance

A brilliant alternative to the Lightfast range, which can also work well on a variety of surfaces, and blend really well. They have some excellent deep blues and purples, which are great for creating different tones in areas.

The luminance range shines in their purples, blues and pinks, which are fab at cooling down, or warming up areas of drawing.

Derwent Chromaflow

A lovely pencil, although, not all colours have the best lightfast rating. Chromaflow pencils shine with their bright, vibrant colours, and their lovely blending ability.

Bold and punchy colours are the real magic of the Chromaflow pencils.

Faber Castell Polychromo

Not a range I use particularly often, but I do love their grey and black selection.

The grey range is excellent, and a great way to build base layers for a cool or warm area.

So there we have it! I’ve tried to keep the list compact, and compared to my collection of pencils, I guess it is! 🤣

Happy drawing x

OMG, you’re so talented…. and other things you should never say to an artist!

Okay, okay… the title is a bit confusing right?

Let me start off by saying that it’s quite nice to hear ‘wow, you’re so talented!’ from people, and it’s an incredibly kind thing to say. I’m confident that people never say this with malice or cruel intentions… so why does it make me cringe inside when someone says it to me?

Talent is a strange word; it implies that someone came out of the womb, brimming with ‘talent’, and can do things with no effort or complications. It implies that the only reason someone can do something is because of their ‘talent’ that they were gifted by a higher power.

Am I talented? I don’t think so. This supernatural ‘talent’ power isn’t something I believe in, especially when it comes to drawing. ‘Talent’ is a word that is thrown around, to make hard work, passion and years of practise seem effortless, and I think we’re at a stage where we should appreciate all of those qualities in a ‘talented’ person.

So what else can I say? Well, there’s nothing wrong with calling anyone, in any profession, talented. Like I said, it’s a really nice thing to say and will be appreciated…. But is there a better alternative? Why not say ‘wow, you’re so skilled’, or ‘wow, you must’ve spent years learning to do this’. Little alterations like this, can make someone’s day!

So what else shouldn’t I say to an artist?

The last one was more etiquette, and will not cause offence if you get it wrong, but these next ones are downright rude, but hopefully they give you a chuckle! (These have all happened to me at some point).

Don’t ask someone to lower their prices! - Seems obvious but it happens relatively often to me. If you ask someone to do this, it shows you don’t value or appreciate their work. You’re paying for someone who has years of experience; their time and lots of costly materials! If their prices are out of your budget, why not ask if they could do something smaller, or less time consuming to align with your budget. Prices are based on their services and skills, not an individuals budget.

Don’t ask someone to “make it good”! - Thankfully I’ve only had this once. I don’t think it needs much explanation as to why it’s unacceptable. You may communicate with people via a keyboard, and sometimes it’s easy to forget that behind that keyboard is a human being.

Don’t ghost! - I know my work, and my prices are not for everyone, and that’s totally okay! I appreciate everyone who reaches out for a chat, and I take no offence in someone telling me they don’t want to go forward, and I’m happy to recommend other artists that may suit your needs a little better. I get sad when I get ghosted 😞.

This has been pretty lighthearted, but I guess all I’m trying to say is, be kind 🥰 I am very fortunate that 99.9% of people I talk to are lovely!

Derwent Lightfast Paper

I’ve just started my very first piece on Derwent Lightfast paper, so I thought I’d give you my first impressions. I’m currently using Lightfast pencils, as naturally, it seems like the best choice.

What is Lightfast paper?

It’s a smooth, hot pressed paper, made from 100% cotton. It’s pretty substantial at 300gsm, which is great (I hate flimsy paper). It’s also an off white colour, which was a bit of a surprise for me, but it means that I can use white pencil on it at some point, and it’ll really pop.

What have I learnt so far?

The fibres in the paper are quite fragile, and the paper doesn’t take well to tape or knives. This isn’t overly unusual, as lots of artist papers don’t like this.

It’s pretty smooth, and it easy to get good coverage quite quickly. It holds the pigment well and it’s easy to create smooth blends and transitions. Although it’s very smooth, it seems to be taking layers well, and can hold a lot of different pigments in its tooth, which is rare for smooth papers.

It doesn’t seem leave a grainy texture, like some papers do, which is also great.

It’s an expensive paper, but so far, it seems to be well worth it. Smooth, able to hold layers, robust and doesn’t leave a grainy texture.

Working in black and white 🖤🤍

You’re a colour pencil artist, why would you need to work in black and white?

That’s the funny thing with working in ‘black and white’, it’s not really black and white at all! I’m working on a commission at the moment which is in black and white, so I thought it was a great time to make this post.

Current commission - done on Pastelmat with a heat mat, and various pencils. I’m using heat to help create a smooth texture for the child’s face.

The issue with creating a monochromatic piece, is showing contrast can become tricky. Too much contrast will make your piece look too graphic. Too little and it’ll look washed out and boring. It’s important to use as many colours as you can - don’t feel limited! There are an abundance of greys, blues and greens that you can use in your piece.

Some of the pencils used so far.

As you can see, for a black and white piece, I haven’t actually used black or white yet, which is an odd concept. For the skin tone areas, I’ve been using warm greys. That keeps the illusion of warmth and life, whilst keeping to the monochromatic theme. For the clothing and hair, I’ve used blues to cool it right down, and show it’s not a living thing, but an object. This little change also really boosts the contrast in the piece, making it look less flat.

I plan on using deep greens, as well as deep blues to make those dark areas dark. To keep the light areas light, I’ve kept them completely pencil free for now. Without having colour to show the difference between dark and light, it’s really tricky to show contrast, so I leave the lightest areas completely blank, until the end of the drawing.

That’s it for now, don’t forget, black and white doesn’t limit you to using just two pencils. You can use a whole bundle of pencils to give the illusion of colour.

My top tips for drawing kids ✏️

Drawing children is sometimes daunting, and it’s very very different to drawing adults.

Adults have texture to their faces, but children don’t. The key to creating realistic children in pencil, is you have to recreate that smooth, seamless gradient on their skin.

The technique

To do this, you need to use very light pressure, and lots and lots of layers. Overlapping colour is a real key when drawing kids. We want no harsh lines and lots of layering colours over the top of each other to create a super smooth transition. It’s important that the shapes you use are very loose, and you don’t have harsh lines. Draw in little circles, not in a scratchy motion.

When drawing children, I use Pastelmat and a heat mat. The extra heat really helps those colours blend without lines.

Proportions

If you’re used to drawing adults, sometimes the proportions of a child’s face can be off putting. Children have larger eyes set in a smaller face, with much larger heads. It’s important to take that extra time with an outline, and make sure it’s spot on, as it’s easy to naturally change the proportions of a child’s face to something more familiar.

Penny - done with Derwent Lightfast on Pastlemat.

Even thought there is harsh lighting in her face, the transition from light to dark is still smooth and steady, which gives the impression that she has soft, smooth skin. There are no harsh colours or harsh lines, I’ve tried to keep it all full of overlapped areas. There are no areas which are just one colour.

Expression

This is usually the most difficult part of a child’s portrait, as they’re normally pulling a face, or have a cheeky grin etc. I’d start with the expression and face first. Then if you really don’t like it, you can restart without losing lots of other hard work. Try not to alter the expression into something that ‘looks better’ - this is so easy to do, but you have to trust the process and eventually, you’ll nail that awkward face.

Baby Wren - done on Pastelmat with Derwent Lightfast and Caran D’Ache Luminance.

Wren is just a few months old here, and is pulling a face. At first, I wondered how to recreate her mouth, as in outline form, it looked weird. But I kept going, and drew what I saw in the photo. To make sure I didn’t alter it, I worked upside down for that area, which is a great way to make sure that you don’t subconsciously change tricky parts of a portrait.

This has been a short post, but hopefully, a couple of tips will help you in your own endeavours when drawing children.

The most important thing is keep everything smooth. We want no harsh lines!

Let’s talk pencils ✏️

Now this is likely to be a long one! 😮‍💨 Because lord knows, over the years I’ve tried and tested a lot of brands of pencils. So if you’re curious on my thoughts, and how/when I use each type of pencil, keep reading! I’m going to group each pencil by overall brand, then break it into the subcategories of pencil. I’m only going to be talking about pencils I’ve tried, so it’s 100% honest views.

What we’re going to cover: (in no particular order)

• Price

• Core

• Lightfastness

• What you can use them with

• Range

• Availability

• Size

• Overall feelings

Derwent

We’re starting with a big one! Derwent have a lot of different pencils to talk about.

Lightfast

Lightfastness - Excellent

These are pencils with a very high lightfastness rating, as the name suggests. This means that under museum conditions, they will last up to 100 years. On the pencil themselves, it says LF1 or LF2 at the end, which is a great way to reassure us as artists, that these pencils have hit the grade for lightfastness. If you’re looking at creating work to sell to a collector, using any pencils which don’t hit this grade will greatly devalue your work. It’s also a great way to reassure your clients (if you do commissions), that their investment is well protected for generations to come.

Core - Oil

Derwent lightfast pencils have an oil core, which is generally less popular, as it’s more expensive than the alternate, wax core. The oil core in Lightfast pencils is what gives them such a high lightfastness rating. The core is 4mm wide, which may seem irrelevant, but when you’re spending a lot on pencils, the slightly larger core (compared to others), may work out better in the long run. I personally haven’t had any issues with the core snapping, crumbling or breaking with these pencils; they’re pretty sturdy.

Price - High end

These pencils are probably my favourite, but they come with a high price tag. The full set of 100 straight from Derwent, will set you back £398.99. I personally buy them individually to save money, and only purchase what I need. From Derwent, they are £4 per pencil. (I don’t buy straight from Derwent, I buy from the Colour Pencil Shop, and am fortunate enough to also have a discount code too, but for the sake of being fair whilst comparing, I’ll do each pencil as if it’s from the supplier). They do have different discounts and sales throughout the year, and you can create your own tin for a slightly lower price.

Usage - Excellent and broad

I’ve yet to find a surface where these pencils don’t excel. They are smooth on any paper I’ve tried, and provide excellent coverage to even the toothiest of surfaces. The pigment is vivid and true to what is printed on the paper, and you don’t get a transparent, or watered down effect on the page, as some pencils offer.

Range - Medium

Due to the high standard of lightfastness with these pencils, the range isn’t huge, but it’s not small either. It sits at 100 pencils at the moment.

Overall thoughts - Really good pencils

They come with a hefty price tag, but they give you a lot for your money. Professional grade materials, with a good range, and the ability to work on a multitude of surfaces. It’s a yes from me!

Chromaflow

Another one of my favourites, these pencils are fab little gems, that are often overlooked.

Lightfastness - Dependant on shade

Just to confuse matters, Chromaflow pencils are measured on a different scale - the blue wool scale. It still measures the ability for the pencils to last 100 years + under museum conditions. Now with the Lightfast pencils, they’re all guaranteed to last 100+ years, but with Chromaflow, not every pencil has this guarantee. A good majority have an excellent rating, but if you’re doing commissioned work, or work to sell to collectors, it’s something to bare in mind.

Core - Wax

Chromaflow pencils have a wax based core, measuring 3.5mm, which makes them significantly lighter than the Lightfast pencils - this could be something to consider for artists with disabilities. Wax cores are more popular, as they’re normally a cheaper option for pencils. I’ve never had issues with breakage with the cores, and they’re a solid, sturdy pencil.

Price - Lower end

A tin of £150 will set you back £277.49 direct from Derwent, with individual pencils being £1.85. This is significantly cheaper than the Lightfast pencils, but they do offer a little less.

Usage - Mixed

I think the Chromaflows really shine with how they’re used. Their pigments are stunning, and they give great coverage, and blending power too. They work fantastically on most surfaces, but, they don’t work well on drafting film. They can leave a sticky feeling on the surface, which makes layering a little hard.

Range - Good

The Chromaflow range is 150 colours, which is on the larger side for pencils.

Thoughts?

Chromaflow pencils are great if you want big, bright and bold colours, and easy coverage - they’d be great if you’re just starting out in the colour pencil world. Their drawbacks come with the lightfastness rating, and how some of the range can’t be used in a professional capacity. Despite this, I still use what I can in my work, and appreciate their vivid pigments.

ProColour

Now with ProColour, I’m not going to do a full analysis like the previous two pencils, as I haven’t used them enough to feel I can offer a full insight. Why haven’t I used them? I find their pigment to be a little lacking. Getting those colours down has felt a little laborious compared to other options available.

Lightfastness wise, 40 out of the 72 in the range will last 100+ years in museum conditions, which is good, but like the Chromaflow, drops the, down slightly from the professional grade pencils.

The full 72 is £172.99 from Derwent or £2.39 per pencil. This price range, for me, makes me choose Chromaflow instead, as I feel they offer a lot more for the work I like to do, for a lower price point.

Caran D’Ache

Luminance

Luminance 6901 are Caran D’Ache’s main competitor to Derwent Lightfast pencils, so for most of this analysis, I will be comparing the two. Most professional artists, creating professional grade work, will normally use one of these two pencils.

Lightfastness - Excellent

81% of the Luminance range is LF1, the highest you can get, with the remaining 19% being LF2, which is still a very high rating, and meaning that work will last 100+ years under museum conditions. This matches Derwent Lightfasts lightfast assurance (say that five times fast!).

Core - Wax and oil

A usual mixing, and as far as I know, one of the only pencils that boasts such a mix. They have the creaminess of a wax core, with the ability to be sharpened to a perfect point of an oil pencil. The core is 3.8mm, so slightly smaller than the Derwent Lightfast core. In my experience, the core has always been strong and I haven’t experienced breakages.

Price - High end

The set of 100 will set you back £449.49 direct from Caran D’Ache, which includes 8 exclusive pencils that can only be bought from them. They don’t sell individual pencils direct, but they do do a smaller tin of 12 for £51.99. This puts their price point quite a bit higher than Derwent Lightfast pencils.

Usage - Excellent

I haven’t found a surface that these pencils don’t work with yet. They tackle smooth papers, and very toothy papers alike, and work really well on drafting film. They’re super versatile and a lovely pencil to work with.

Range - Medium

The range is 100 pencils, so exactly the same as Lightfast, but 8% of hard to get hold of due to them being exclusive to the largest tin, so I’d argue that the range is 92.

Overall thoughts

They’re a great pencil, and any professional would be happy to use them. They’re almost neck and neck with Derwent Lightfast, the only real difference is the colours that are available. I find the Luminance range has colours that are great for most skin tones, whereas the Lightfast range has colours that I find suit animals a little more. The only other thing I have to note about Luminance, is that I’ve had some quality issues with a couple of colours before - Cassel Earth in particular is a ‘bad’ one, with a gritty core that has inconsistent quality.

Honourable mentions

This is a little area to talk about pencils I don’t use super regularly, but I have thoughts and opinions on.

Prismacolor Premier

I won’t sugar coat it - I hate these pencils. I got a tin of 48 and it was the worst mistake of my life. Okay, that was dramatic, but you see my point?

They’re marketed as a soft core, which is very true, they are soft cored. But so soft cored it feels as if they’re melting the paper, creating a sticky mess. They are also the most brittle pencil I’ve ever used. Out of the 48 that arrived, about 20 were unusable. The core was snapped in about 30 places, so they were unsharpenable and unusable. I have nothing positive to say about them.

Faber Castell Polychromos

They’re a cheaper pencil in the range, and they’re okay when used in combination with other pencils. They sharpen nicely to a point, but have found they can be brittle sometimes and snap easily. I tend to only use these pencils in black, grey and white, as they’re great for adding small, final details. The pigments aren’t overly bright, and I find getting good coverage with them quite difficult, but they are good if you need detail work. They don’t work on drafting film, as it creates a translucent effect, and you get almost no coverage. They need a bit of tooth to be effective.

Caran D’Ache Pablo

The only Pablo I’ve ever used is black, and it’s one of my favourite blacks. It’s soft enough to get good coverage, but sharpens to a point when needed. It’s a hexagonal shape, which is a bit unusual, and worth noting for some sharpeners. I’ve never felt compelled to try the rest of the range, but maybe one day I will.

So that’s it…. I think 🤔 I know that’s a lot to process, but if you have any questions, let me know!

If you want to know my favourite pencil, that answer is totally dependant on what I’m up to, so here’s a brief summary.

Humans - Luminance and Lightfast

Animals - Lightfast and Chromaflow

Flowers - Chromaflow

Drafting Film - Luminance and lightfast

Thrifty artist 🧑‍🎨

We all know money is tight sometimes, so let’s talk about what we can switch out to save money, what is better to splurge on, and where else we can tighten up those purse strings!

Keep reading to see what switches I’ve made, to keep those costs low.

Splurge! The items and areas that we don’t want to cut corners on (thankfully, this isn’t a long list).

✏️ Pencils

✏️ Paper

Now, these two things are our bread and butter, and there is a clear difference between work created on cheaper paper, with cheaper pencils, and that created on better quality paper with good quality pencils, no matter how skilled you are.

Also, we create our work to last. We need pencils with a good lightfastness rating to ensure its longevity. (Lightfastness rating determines how long the pencil work will last under museum conditions, the best being 100 years. The better the rating, the more expensive the pencils generally).

If we cut in these two areas, our work will suffer, which isn’t the purpose of being a thrifty artist!

So what can we do?

The best way to still save a few pennies is to looks for sales and clearances. Derwent do pencil sales relatively often, and mixed suppliers like Jacksons normally have clearance sales too. You can also join certain groups, which come with discounts, such as the UKCPS, who offer 10% off in the Colour Pencil Shop. There’s also normally loads of giveaways to enter on social media, so keep an eye out for them and cross your toes!

Where to save!

Now, the fun bit 😈 This is how, and where I try to save money as a colour pencil artist.

Rubber

If any Americans are reading, that means an eraser 🫣 I used to use an electric eraser religiously, but they don’t work particularly well on all surfaces, and can create a bit of a mess. I also found you go through the rubber tips really fast! So I switched it out for a kneadable eraser. Slightly more manual, but much cheaper, and it lasts a lot longer!

Electric eraser (battery) ~£8 Or A kneadable eraser ~£2

Rechargeable eraser ~£20

60 rubber tips ~£5

Sharpener

Now with sharpeners, I have a high cost, medium cost, and low cost option for you all to look at.

There are lots of options, are your ‘big’ sharpeners. The Derwent Super Point at ~£22, or the Swordfish Ikon at ~£15, your standard twin sharpener ~£2 and a basic craft knife ~£2.

I personally use the Swordfish Ikon, which I managed to grab on sale for £10, and a craft knife, which was in a multipack of 3 from B&M for £4.

I’ve used the Derwent Superpoint sharpener before, but didn’t find it any better, or worse than the Ikon, which is a lot cheaper, so that’s what I stuck with. It’s easy to use, and retains its sharpness well. I also use a cheap craft knife from B&M to get a nice point on my shorter pencils, and to use with pastel pencils.

If you’re really on a budget, with some practise, you could get by with just a craft knife.

Knives

Speaking of craft knives lead nicely into my next point. Is it worth getting a branded knife?

In the past, I religiously used Slice ceramic cutters, which work really well on drafting film and pastelmat at removing layers of colour. I found after purchasing a couple, that the very tip would break after a few months, leaving a jagged edge. The Slice Manual cutter is ~£15 and extra blades are ~£20 for 4, so it can end up getting quite pricy. They are a great tool, but if you’re looking to save some money, it may be better to switch to an unbranded craft knife, which is what I did recently.

Lighting

Now this one is a little different, as I’ve never tried the ‘expensive’ option, unlike the other categories, which I’ve tried and tested. So here are my tips that I use to save money on lighting. I only use daylight lamps, to minimise skewing the colour of the drawing.

Lighting options can run into the £100’s, which is why I’ve never ventured there! To be honest, I use the cheapest options I can find as my lighting set up.

Instead of a floor lamp, I use a desk lamp that comes with a clamp, as this is normally cheaper.

I normally buy from Amazon, as you can find unbranded lamps quite cheap.

If you’re really on a budget, try buying a daylight lamp bulb for your main light in the room. I’ve done this in the past and it’s been great!

Fixative

Many artists use fixative to secure their work, which is ~£20 a bottle. It’s a spray that you can use to help keep the pigment in place, and stop blurring and smudging after completion or in transit.

My best tip is to use cheap hairspray instead for ~£1. Make sure you do it outside to stop the smell, but it works just as well and keeps the pigment where you want it. I’ve seen reports that its yellows over time, but I personally have never experienced this.

It’s not much, but hopefully it’s a start on your journey to being a thrifty artist!

Let’s get hot in here! 🔥

Let’s talk about heat mats…. Why? What did you think I was talking about? 🤔

A few communities I’m a part of have been talking about heat mats lately, so I thought I’d do a blog post about it, as for me, they’re an essential part of my colour pencil artist kit, and I urge any other artists, rookie or pro, to get one.

First up - the heat mat itself!

I’m a pretty thrifty person, so I like spending the least amount of money that I can. Now don’t get me wrong, in this industry, you have to spend money in certain areas, like your pencils and surfaces, but there’s nothing wrong with scrimping a bit on other things to enable you to have those luxuries.

I have two heat mats, both the same essentially, but different sizes.

They’re nothing fancy, just from Amazon - which I’m not affiliated with by the way, this is all my honest views.

Now I’ve never actually used any other kind, as I’ve had these two about three years, and never had an issue, so didn’t see the point in shopping about. The larger one is a great size, and they have variable heat controls too.

So…. What’s the point?

I’m waffling, I know, but there is a point to this! Why would you want a heat mat? What value does it bring to your work, other than toasty fingers in winter?

Before I get into it, I only use heat mats with Pastelmat paper or board. I know other artists have great experiences with other surfaces, but I haven’t tested it enough to comment. I have used a heat mat with Bristol Vellum paper, and found it did buckle a bit under the heat. I pretty much only use Pastelmat anyway, so it works out great for me!

So, what value does this add?

Adding heat to your work is a really easy way to blend your pencils, making it perfect for those lower layers. It essentially melts to pencil, allowing it to smush into all those little holes Pastelmat has, and create a nice, even, blend of colour (or colours). It takes a lot of manual effort out of blending. Personally, I love using heat to blend colours that don’t naturally blend - so blending light blue into dark blue is pretty easy, but red to green to yellow, is a lot more challenging. The addition of heat makes that transition a lot easier, and uses a lot less layers that if you didn’t add heat.

Soooo… does it work all the time?

No, definitely not! Adding heat is great for early layers, like:

✏️ Foundations of a skin tone

✏️ Base layers below fur

✏️ Blurred/out of focus areas

You definitely don’t want heat if you’re:

❌ Adding fine details

❌ Want sharp, crisps lines

Adding heat makes making crisp lines very hard, as the pigment smushes around a lot more easily, no matter how sharp and hard your pencil is.

Right, sounds good! So what pencils?

I’m probably not the best person to answer this, as I’m a creature of habit, and stick to the pencils I like. I light Derwent Lightfast and Chromaflow for this technique, as they become so creamy and smooth - it’s a dream! Luminance also work pretty well too. In my experiences, Pablos and Procolour don’t work quite as well, but I don’t use these as often in my work, so it could be that too.

Here’s some examples of using heat in different kinds of work, and hopefully, some of this waffle will make some sense when you see it.

Let’s talk about rubbers!

Let’s talk about rubbers… and paper ✏️

A fascinating subject, I know! 😬

I’m currently working on the commission I cant share with you, so I was pondering what else to waffle on about today, and the idea of rubbers came to mind.

I’m working on Pastelmat at the minute, which is a very abrasive surface, almost like sandpaper if you’ve never seen it. This has some positives, like the ability to do lots and lots and lots of layers, and its ability to cling onto that pencil. That’s why I choose to use it for human portraits; you can layer all the colours that go into making skin and really perfect that tone!

Because pastelmat clings onto that pencil so hard, you can’t just go at it with a normal rubber, or it’ll smudge and make a big ol’ mess. So I use these little kneadable erasers. They’re malleable and a bit sticky, so you can dab at the area and remove the excess pencil ‘dust’ and relieve some of that pigment if you want to rework an area. As you can smush it into any shape, you can work on teeny tiny areas, or larger areas really easily.

Another plus of these rubbers is that things smudge so easily on pastelmat, it’s great for collecting up excess dust before it makes a mess!

Here’s me smushing my rubber into different shapes…. For demonstration purposes of course, not fun 😉