Should You Erase Pencil Lines Before Watercolor? Pros, Cons & Artist Tips

Let’s discuss a controversial little topic dividing watercolor artists faster than a squirrel spotting a loose almond.

🎨 The Great Watercolor Debate: Should You Keep Pencil Lines or Not?

Let’s break down the great debate:

✏️Pros of Leaving Pencil Lines Under Watercolor

1. Adds Character

Visible pencil lines can give your painting personality. They tell a story—like, “Look! A human being made this!”

Some artists even emphasize them with ink afterward or use them as a deliberate style element.

Think urban sketchers or loose illustrators with wild, free-flowing confidence.

2. Less Risk of Smudging or Paper Damage

Erasing too much can lift fibers from the paper, especially if you’re working on a softer cold-press surface.

Leaving the lines can actually preserve the integrity of your surface.

3. Time-Saving

Let’s be honest - sometimes you just want to paint already. Spending 15 minutes erasing every ghost of graphite is 15 minutes not spent caffeinating and flinging color at paper.

4. A Record of the Process

Sketch lines can be useful for students, collectors, or your future self to see how the piece evolved.

It’s like behind-the-scenes content in a painting. 🎬

✏️ Cons of Leaving Pencil Lines Under Watercolor

1. It Can Look Messy and can distract from the final art

Depending on the style, visible lines might make a piece look unfinished or distract from your color magic.

Watercolor is delicate - it whispers, it shimmers, it deserves the stage.

And pencil lines? Sometimes they’re just stage-crasher energy.

2. Graphite smudges : Graphite + Water = Mud?

Not actual mud, but graphite can mingle with your paint, especially in light washes.

Suddenly, your crisp yellow sun has a shadowy undertone it didn’t ask for.

3. You Can Always Add Lines Later

If you really miss the structure, you can go back in with a fine liner or pencil after the painting is dry.

It's like contouring… but for your still life.

4. Cleaner Reproductions

If you plan to sell prints of your work, cleaner originals often scan or photograph better.

Those barely-there pencil lines might become much more obvious under the glare of your scanner or enlarged prints.

How to Make Pencil Lines Work With Your Watercolor

Not ready to break up with your pencil lines? No problem! Instead of erasing them entirely, here’s how to turn them into part of your creative magic.

✓ Use Lighter Lines Like a Watercolor Ninja

Sketch with a soft touch. Lighter pencil marks will blend into the background or disappear beneath the paint, making them less distracting while still giving you structure.

Try a harder pencil (like an H or 2H) to keep things faint and non-smudgy.

Bonus: your eraser will thank you later.

✓ Experiment With Ink Overlays - Let the Lines Steal the Show

If you do want lines, go bold with them! Once your sketch is done, go over it with waterproof ink (Micron pens). Then erase the pencil lines underneath and let your inky outlines add personality. This is great for whimsical styles, urban sketching, and when you want that comic-style flair.

✓ Embrace the Wabi-Sabi of Watercolor

Sometimes the imperfections make the art feel more… well, human.

A visible pencil line here or there? That’s your hand in the work, your thought process on paper.

Don’t be afraid to leave a few “oops” moments - especially if they tell the story of how your painting came to life.

🎯 Pro Tip:

If you're aiming to leave pencil lines in, be intentional. Make them part of the composition - not something you forget to erase. Think of them as a design choice, not a mistake.

Tools & Techniques to Erase a Pencil Without Damaging Paper

Okay, you’ve decided you're going to erase your pencil lines - either partially or completely.

Great! Now, how do you do it without chewing up your paper like a stressed-out hamster?

Here’s how the pros do it (and how you’ll avoid turning your watercolor paper into Swiss cheese):

1. Use a Kneaded Eraser (a.k.a. The Artist’s Stress Ball)

A kneaded eraser is like the yoga teacher of erasers - gentle, adaptable, and always chill.

You can mold it into a point for precision erasing or dab it across your sketch to lighten lines without damaging the paper.

How to use:

• Gently press and lift (don’t rub!) to lighten sketch lines

  
  

• Twist or reshape as you go, so you're not just moving graphite around

• You can roll it into a cylinder shape and roll over the sketch to lift the pencil lead

💡 Pro Tip: These are especially great if you want your lines to just barely be there before you paint.

2. Try a Black Charcoal Eraser (Yes, Even for Graphite)

Surprise! The Faber-Castell Black Eraser (originally for charcoal) works beautifully for lightening graphite too - and it's much less abrasive than some white vinyl erasers.

Why it’s good: It’s firm but less “grabby” than some white erasers, so it lifts pencil without pilling up your paper.

3. Use a Soft Vinyl Eraser… Sparingly

White vinyl erasers (like the Staedtler Mars Plastic) are the go-to in most art supply boxes. They’re great for clean lines but can be a bit too aggressive if you go ham.

How to use:

• Use a light touch - don’t press like you’re trying to erase your tax debt

• Hold the paper down to avoid creasing

• Always erase in one direction if you can (back-and-forth can scuff up your surface)

4. Erase After You Paint (If You Must)

Some artists wait to erase after the painting is completely dry. It can be risky - if your paper is even slightly damp, you will gouge it.

But it can also be a good way to clean up stubborn lines after a wash.

Rule of thumb: Paper must be 100% dry. As in bone-dry. As in “I’ve made two coffees and a snack since I finished painting” dry.

🚫 What Not to Do

• Don’t use colored erasers (pink ones, we’re looking at you - they stain)

• Don’t use those cheap pencil-top erasers unless your goal is to exfoliate your paper

• Don’t erase like you’re trying to punish the paper for your bad perspective choices (we’ve all been there)

So, whether you're Team Erase or Team Leave-it-in, now you’ve got the tools to do it safely, cleanly, and without murdery eraser marks.

So... What Do I Do?

🧽 I'm Team Erase. I sketch lightly, and once I’m confident in the structure, I erase just enough so the lines are barely there, like whispers of planning. If I know a section will be covered with darker tones, I don’t bother erasing those pencil lines—they’ll disappear under the paint anyway.

Why do I choose to erase?

Because I love that ethereal, clean watercolor/coffee look - it suits my coffee-fueled dreamscapes and surreal creatures.

Also, because I’ve dipped my brush in my Latte enough times to know my mistakes will haunt me if they’re permanent (or smudged under ultramarine).

What About You?

🎤 Do you leave your sketch lines in, erase them, or dance somewhere in the middle like a graphite Goldilocks?

Let’s make this a community confession booth:

👇Drop a comment below - are you Team Ghost Sketch or Team Loud and Proud Lines?

And if you’ve ever destroyed a painting by erasing too hard and taking half the paper with it - welcome, friend. We have cookies. And kneaded erasers.