Erasable colored pencils are useful when I want the color of a colored pencil without committing permanently to every early mark. I use them for loose sketches, underdrawings, thumbnails, and studies where I expect to adjust proportions or move shapes around as the drawing develops.
They don’t behave exactly like the artist-grade colored pencils I use for finished work. The erasable pencils I’ve tried generally give me lighter color and less aggressive layering, but they are much easier to correct while I’m sketching.
I’ve used Prismacolor Col-Erase, Crayola Erasable Colored Pencils, and Ticonderoga Erasable Colored Pencils. Each has a slightly different place in my sketchbook.
Are Colored Pencils Erasable?
Some colored pencils are much easier to erase than others.
With traditional artist colored pencils, especially after I’ve built several layers or used heavier pressure, I don’t expect to erase all the way back to clean paper. I can often lift or soften some pigment, but a trace usually remains.
Pencils specifically sold as erasable behave differently in my sketchbook. When I keep the initial marks relatively light, I can remove enough color to correct a proportion, change an edge, reduce a shadow, or redraw part of the subject.
I still don’t treat the eraser like an unlimited undo button. The harder I press and the more pigment I put into the paper, the less completely I expect the mark to disappear.
Best Erasable Colored Pencils I’ve Used
| Pencil | What I use it for | My take |
|---|---|---|
| Prismacolor Col-Erase | Underdrawings, animation-style sketches, observational studies | My favorite of the three for serious sketching |
| Crayola Erasable | Warmups and casual drawing | Simple, inexpensive option |
| Ticonderoga Erasable | Sketchbooks, thumbnails and adjustable colored studies | Smoother and more useful than I initially expected |
Prismacolor Col-Erase
Prismacolor Col-Erase are the erasable colored pencils I return to most often.
I especially like Tuscan Red and Non-Photo Blue for preliminary drawings. I used colored pencils like these during traditional animation work because they let me establish movement and structure without making the first marks feel too permanent.
The core feels firm enough that I can keep a useful point, but I can still soften or erase lighter marks when the drawing changes.
Crayola Erasable Colored Pencils
Crayola’s erasable pencils are the more casual option of the three I’ve used.
I wouldn’t choose them when I want sophisticated color or a finished colored-pencil drawing, but they can work well for quick studies, warmups, and experimenting without spending much on materials.
Ticonderoga Erasable Colored Pencils
Ticonderoga surprised me more than I expected. I’ve found them useful for loose sketching because I can establish a colored drawing, adjust it, and continue developing it without immediately switching to a more permanent pencil.
I cover their feel, erasability, paper performance, pros and cons in my full Ticonderoga erasable colored pencils review.
Erasable Colored Pencils for Sketching
This is where erasable colored pencils make the most sense to me.
When I draw from life or a reference photo, I usually don’t begin by outlining the entire subject. I look for the large relationships first: major shapes, direction, light, shadow, and how one form sits beside another.
An erasable colored pencil lets me establish those ideas without treating every early mark as final.
- Block in large shadow shapes.
- Indicate the overall gesture of an animal or figure.
- Test the position of objects in a composition.
- Use a warm or cool color beneath later drawing layers.
- Correct proportions without rebuilding the entire drawing.
- Make several thumbnails quickly.
That flexibility is much more important to me than trying to produce a polished colored-pencil surface with them.
Why I Use Red and Blue Erasable Pencils
I have a particular attachment to red and blue sketching pencils because of my background studying traditional 2D character animation at CalArts.
Those colors work well for exploratory drawing because they’re visually distinct from darker finishing lines. I can use a red or blue pencil to explore the large forms, make corrections, and then develop the drawing with another pencil, ink, or a darker layer.
I especially like this when sketching animals or anything with movement because the first layer can remain loose.
Erasable vs. Regular Colored Pencils
| Erasable Colored Pencils | Artist Colored Pencils | |
|---|---|---|
| Correcting early marks | Easier | Usually harder |
| Loose sketching | Excellent use | Possible, but more permanent |
| Rich color | Usually more limited in the pencils I’ve used | Stronger |
| Heavy layering | Not their main strength | Better suited |
| Burnishing | Not my preferred choice | Much better |
| Underdrawings | One of their strongest uses | Can work, but harder to remove |
I don’t see erasable pencils as replacements for pencils such as Prismacolor Premier, Faber-Castell Polychromos, or other artist-oriented sets. They’re different tools for different stages of a drawing.
If finished colored-pencil performance is your priority, see my comparison of the best colored pencils for artists.
How I Use Erasable Colored Pencils as an Underdrawing
One of my favorite approaches is to use an erasable pencil as the first colored layer of a drawing.
I choose a color that works with the subject, then use it to find the large shapes and establish the composition.
If something isn’t working, I can erase or soften the area and try again.
Once the drawing feels established, I can continue with a darker colored pencil, traditional artist pencil, ink, or another medium.
The first layer doesn’t have to disappear completely. I sometimes like seeing pieces of the red or blue sketch underneath the finished marks because it preserves some of the exploratory quality of the drawing.
Can You Layer Over Erasable Colored Pencils?
Yes. I frequently treat the erasable layer as a starting point rather than a finished surface.
Once I’m satisfied with the basic drawing, I can add more permanent colored pencil over it or combine it with another medium.
The important part for me is not to put down an unnecessarily heavy erasable layer at the beginning. I want enough information to organize the drawing while leaving plenty of room for whatever comes next.
For deeper layering, pressure, and color-mixing methods, see my colored pencil techniques guide.
Do Erasable Colored Pencils Erase Completely?
Not always.
How much I can remove depends on how heavily I’ve applied the pencil, the particular pencil, and the surface I’m drawing on.
I think of erasability as the ability to edit the drawing rather than a guarantee that every colored mark will vanish completely.
For sketching, that’s usually enough. I mainly need to lighten a misplaced shape or redraw an angle, not restore the sheet to untouched white paper.
Use Lighter Pressure If You Expect to Erase
The amount of pressure I use matters.
If I know the first marks are exploratory, I avoid digging the pencil aggressively into the paper.
Lighter marks give me more flexibility to adjust the drawing, while harder pressure makes the pigment more committed to the surface.
I can always increase pressure or switch to a more permanent pencil after the major relationships are working.
What Paper Works Best?
I generally find erasable pencils easier to work with on smoother surfaces than on heavily textured paper.
Deep paper texture can hold pigment in its recesses and make it more difficult to lift cleanly.
If I know that correcting marks is part of the process, I prefer a surface that doesn’t fight the eraser unnecessarily.
For a broader look at surfaces for the medium, see my guide to the best paper for colored pencils.
Erasable Colored Pencils vs. Colored Pencils With Erasers
These two ideas sound almost identical, but I separate them slightly.
For me, the important feature of an erasable colored pencil is that the colored mark itself can be corrected reasonably well.
A colored pencil with an eraser describes the physical design of the pencil. Having an eraser attached doesn’t automatically tell me how readily the pigment will lift from paper.
If you’re specifically looking for pencils manufactured with erasers on the end, see my guide to colored pencils with erasers.
Who I Recommend Erasable Colored Pencils For
- Artists who make exploratory sketchbook drawings
- Animation and character artists making loose preliminary studies
- Wildlife and observational sketchers who adjust proportions while working
- Beginners who want more freedom to correct early marks
- Artists making colored underdrawings beneath ink or more permanent pencil
Are Erasable Colored Pencils Worth It?
For the way I sketch, yes.
I wouldn’t replace my regular colored-pencil sets with them, and I wouldn’t choose them when my priority is maximum saturation, complex layering, or a heavily burnished finish.
But that’s not the role I want them to fill.
I use erasable colored pencils because they let me introduce color during the exploratory stage of a drawing while keeping enough flexibility to change my mind.
That makes them especially useful for sketchbooks, underdrawings, thumbnails, and observational studies.
For more guides on pencils, paper, techniques, and sets, continue to my main colored pencils resource.