Accessories
You can sharpen your pencil with a small pocket
knife if you don’t have an electric pencil sharpener,
but I prefer the latter because it tends to produce
a longer exposed tip, which is good for the very
reasons discussed in the first section of this chap-
ter. A longer tip also prolongs the life of the
sharpened lead and thus maximizes the time inter-
vals between each sharpening. Sanding boards,
emory pads, and sandpaper are all improvised
devices to help keep the tip sharp. Use whatever
you prefer. Strike on a piece of rock or pavement if
you don’t have any of the above.
I am not a fan of erasers because I think they pro-
duce an attitude of dependency, and this is counter-
productive to improvement. I prefer sketching over
the mistakes or building on them to create some-
thing new and non-static. In case you need one, use
either a kneaded eraser or a soft white plastic one.
The soft rubber of the kneaded eraser simply
absorbs and picks up the unwanted graphic markings
without leaving crumbs on the drawings. The plastic
white eraser can pick up a great deal of the
residue, but leaves crumbs that require sweeping.
Neither eraser can erase cleanly. Each will mar the
sketching surface and change the texture of the
paper. A smooth paper is very unforgiving and any
attempt to erase can easily lead to disaster.