An eraser can make a mark as deliberately as a pencil. Pressed into a shaded patch, a small shaped piece of kneaded eraser lifts graphite and leaves a lighter area. That makes it useful for highlights, soft edges and correcting a tone that has become too dark.
Faber-Castell demonstrates this lifting approach in its graphite drawing tutorial. The important movement is a controlled press and lift. Repeatedly scrubbing the same spot is a different action, with a different effect on the surface.
Try three shapes on a scrap
Shade a spare piece of the same paper. Form a broad pad, a narrow ridge and a small point from the eraser, then make one light impression with each. The exercise shows how the contact shape controls the lighter mark.
Keep the test modest. A sharply squeezed point may soften as you press, so the result will not necessarily resemble a fine pencil line. If you need a crisp edge, compare a suitable precision eraser on the scrap before using it on the finished drawing.
- Start with a clean working face of the kneaded eraser.
- Press lightly into the graphite and lift away.
- Inspect the value from normal viewing distance.
- Reshape or expose a cleaner surface before another pass.
Leave room for the paper
A white highlight does not have to be recovered entirely at the end. If a bright area is important, reserving it while shading can give you more control than covering it heavily and trying to remove everything later.
Different papers, pencils and pressure leave different marks. A deeply indented pencil line may remain visible after much of its graphite is lifted. That is a reason to test the combination, not to press harder with the eraser.
For a simple still-life study, choose only one highlight to lift: perhaps the curved reflection on a cup. Compare it with the surrounding tones before adding more. A page full of equally bright spots can lose the visual emphasis you intended.
Store the eraser away from dust and loose graphite. When it stops lifting cleanly despite reshaping, replace it rather than repeatedly working a dirty surface into a drawing you want to keep.