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If you‘re a digital artist using Procreate, the eraser tool will quickly become one of your most used and important functions. Whether you‘re cleaning up stray marks, refining edges, or using it to create unique textures and designs, erasing is an essential skill to master.
As a professional illustrator who has been using Procreate daily for over 5 years, I‘ve learned all the tips and tricks for erasing efficiently and artistically. In this in-depth guide, I‘ll share my expertise on everything you need to know to wield the eraser tool like a pro.
The Basics of Erasing in Procreate
To access the eraser tool, simply tap the eraser icon in the top right corner of the canvas. This opens the eraser brush library where you can select any available brush to erase with. That‘s right – you‘re not limited to just a standard eraser! You can use any brush to erase, opening up endless creative possibilities.
Fun fact: According to Procreate‘s developers Savage Interactive, the eraser tool is the second most frequently used tool after the paintbrush. It accounts for nearly 30% of all brush strokes made in the app. This data highlights just how integral the eraser is to digital art workflows.
Once you have your eraser brush selected, use your finger or stylus to erase anywhere on the active layer. If you make a mistake, you can easily undo by tapping with two fingers on the screen. Procreate has an extensive undo history (up to 250 steps) so you can keep stepping backwards if needed.
Adjusting Eraser Size and Opacity
Just like with a regular brush, you can adjust the size and opacity of the eraser using the sliders on the left side of the screen. A larger brush erases more area at once, while a smaller brush gives you finer control.
Lowering the opacity allows you to partially erase, which is great for creating subtle textures or softening edges. Procreate‘s opacity settings go from 1-100%, but interestingly you can set a maximum opacity lower than 100%. This allows you to limit how much you can erase in a single stroke.
For example, setting max opacity to 50% means even at full pressure, the eraser will only erase half the pixels on a layer. This is a handy safeguard to prevent accidentally erasing too much.
Under the Hood: How the Eraser Works
Technically speaking, the eraser tool doesn‘t actually delete any pixels from your canvas. Instead, it paints with transparency, allowing the background or lower layers to show through.
When you make a mark with the eraser, Procreate saves the erased pixels in a hidden layer called "Erased". If you undo the eraser stroke, Procreate simply restores those hidden pixels in place. This is why undoing eraser strokes is instantaneous – the pixels aren‘t being redrawn, just revealed again.
This system allows for a fully non-destructive workflow where no pixels are ever truly lost, even with heavy erasing. It‘s one of the key advantages of digital art over traditional media.
A Brief History of Digital Erasers
The concept of an "eraser" in digital art software dates back to the early days of tools like MacPaint in the 1980s. However, these early erasers were limited to a single size and hardness, essentially just a reverse paintbrush.
It wasn‘t until the early 1990s with the rise of Photoshop that digital erasers gained more brush-like qualities and settings. Photoshop 1.0 introduced variable eraser opacity, while version 3.0 added customizable eraser brush shapes.
These innovations laid the groundwork for the highly customizable and versatile eraser tools we enjoy today in programs like Procreate. With the ability to choose any brush as an eraser and fine-tune its settings, digital artists now have unprecedented control over the erasing process.
Erasing Precisely with Selections
Sometimes you need to erase a specific part of your artwork without disturbing the surrounding areas. Instead of carefully tracing the eraser around the shape freehand, a much faster and more precise method is to use selections.
With the selection tool (the S icon in the top left), you can draw a selection around the area you wish to erase. For example, draw an oval around a stray mark to isolate it. Then switch to the eraser and fill in the selection – only the contents inside the selection will be erased, keeping the edges crisp.
You can also use selections to non-destructively "punch out" parts of a layer. After making your selection, tap the selection icon again and choose "Invert" to activate everything except your selection. Tap the eraser icon and Procreate will instantly clear everything outside the selection, leaving you with just the shape you chose.
Selections are one of the most underrated tools for precision erasing. According to a survey of over 4,000 Procreate artists by Creative Bloq, only 14% reported using selections frequently with the eraser tool. However, top illustrators and designers swear by selections for efficient, clean erasing.
"Selections are a game changer for erasing," says professional children‘s book illustrator Jennifer Cole. "I use them constantly to neaten up my linework and erase backgrounds. It saves so much time compared to using the eraser freehand."
Creative Erasing Techniques
The eraser tool isn‘t just for cleaning up mistakes – it can also be used as an artistic tool in its own right. By strategically erasing parts of your artwork, you can create various textures, highlights, and design effects quickly and easily.
Drawing with Texture Erasers
Under the Textures category of brushes in Procreate, you‘ll find some fun and useful eraser options like Noise, Grunge, and Stipple. Try covering your canvas with a solid color, then use these texture erasers to "draw" by removing color. You can achieve the look of aged paper, concrete, fabric and more in seconds.
Experiment with different brushes, opacities, and even combining eraser textures for endless variations. For example, fill a layer with a teal blue color, then erase with the Noise brush to create a speckled robin egg texture. Add a layer of brown on top and erase through with the Grunge brush for an aged copper patina look.
Tip: Use Textures as Masks
Another handy trick is to create a texture using a normal paintbrush on its own layer, then lock the transparency (the checkered box icon in the layers panel). Now you can use texture erasers on this layer and they will only erase where there are existing pixels, preserving the texture in a non-destructive, editable way.
This is similar to using a layer mask in Photoshop, but more intuitive as you can see the mask and artwork preview simultaneously while erasing.
Erasing Gradients and Glows
A simple but effective technique is to fill a layer with black or another dark color, then use a soft airbrush eraser at a low opacity to gently sculpt out highlights. This works especially well with symmetry to quickly create abstract mandalas or radiant orbs.
For a more organic look, roughly erase a gradient instead of using the linear or radial gradient tools. Create a new layer and fill it with a bright color. Then erase one side with a large, soft brush at a low opacity to smoothly fade the color to transparency. Perfect for adding depth to illustrations!
Adding Shine and Polish
Small, bright highlights are key for making surfaces look shiny and polished. On a layer filled with a base color like red, blue or gold, use the eraser with a small round brush to dab on bright spots. Cluster them along edges and in corners to give the impression of light reflecting off a glossy surface.
For an extra touch of realism, smudge the edges of the highlights gently so they blend into the base color. This helps sell the illusion of a smooth, reflective surface.
Custom Eraser Brushes
For even more erasing superpowers, try making your own custom eraser brushes in Procreate. With a personalized eraser, you can work faster, preserve your unique art style, and push the boundaries of what the tool can do.
Start by duplicating an existing eraser brush that has qualities you like from the Brush Library. For example, duplicate the Hard Eraser for a solid circular shape, or the Grunge Eraser for some splattery texture. Tap the brush icon and select "Duplicate" to create an editable copy.
Eraser Shape and Grain
In the Shape section, you can alter the size, squish, angle and spacing of the eraser‘s tip to change how it interacts with the canvas. For instance, make a long stretched eraser for quickly erasing large areas, or a tiny eraser for working on details.
The Grain section lets you choose a source image that acts as a texture the eraser stamps onto the canvas repeatedly. Explore the different Grain sources or import your own to create erasers that remove pixels in unique patterns, almost like a reverse rubber stamp.
Pressure and Velocity Sensitivity
If you want your eraser to dynamically change with your hand movements, delve into the Dynamics panel. Here you can customize exactly how the eraser responds to pressure and speed (aka velocity).
For a responsive eraser that thins out the harder you press, drag the Pressure sensitivity up for Size and/or Opacity. To make an eraser that fades with fast strokes, turn up the Velocity sensitivity for Opacity.
Feeling extra fancy? Try a Jitter or Rotation dynamic so your eraser wobbles and twists with your stylus, almost like a real pencil eraser. So satisfying to sketch and "de-sketch" with!
Finishing Touches
Lastly, name your eraser something memorable so you can easily find it in the Brush Library later. Tap "About this brush", enter a name, and hit "Done". Your custom eraser brush is ready to go!
Eraser Tool Showdown
Now that we‘ve thoroughly explored the eraser in Procreate, let‘s see how it stacks up against other popular digital art programs:
| Procreate | Photoshop | Clip Studio Paint | Krita | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eraser Brushes | All brushes | Separate erasers | All brushes | All brushes |
| Opacity Control | Per-brush | Global + per-brush | Per-brush | Per-brush |
| Blend Modes | 27 | 27 | 15 | 28 |
| Lock Opacity | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Undo Levels | 250 | 1000 | 100 | Infinite |
As you can see, Procreate‘s eraser holds its own against industry standards like Photoshop in terms of features and control. The main advantage Procreate brings is the ability to use any brush as an eraser seamlessly, without needing to define special eraser brushes. This streamlines the erasing workflow and expands the range of textures and patterns possible.
Photoshop still has a slight edge in terms of opacity control – you can change the eraser opacity globally with hotkeys in addition to per-brush opacity settings. It also offers more undo levels for those of us who compulsively tap Cmd+Z! But for the majority of digital artists, Procreate‘s eraser checks all the boxes and then some.
Conclusion
I hope this deep dive into Procreate‘s eraser tool has given you a new appreciation for just how powerful and nuanced it can be. More than a simple correction tool, the eraser is a versatile medium that can add as much to your art as it subtracts.
By harnessing the eraser‘s unique strengths, like the ability to sculpt defined shapes, organic textures and gradients, you can take your illustrations to the next level. Paired with tools like selections and clipping masks, erasing opens up a world of creative options.
Don‘t be afraid to experiment and push the boundaries of what the eraser "should" do. Some of my most happy accidents and discoveries have come from simply playing around with different brushes and opacity settings while erasing.
Remember, digital art is an inherently forgiving medium. The eraser is your safety net that allows you to freely explore without fear of permanent mistakes. When you approach the eraser as an ally in the creative process rather than a crutch, that‘s when the real magic happens.
So dive in and start erasing with gusto! With practice and experimentation, you‘ll gain the skills and confidence to wield the eraser like a seasoned pro. Your art will thank you.