Have you ever been working on Hot Press Paper and tried to use a Slice Tool to remove some pigment? If you have, you’ve probably felt the frustration of realising it doesn’t really work. You were hoping for lovely long whiskers or highlighted, realistic fur, and you end up with a layer of coloured pencil that suddenly looks, let’s be honest, a bit rubbish. 

I’ve been there, but luckily I have a quick tip that is going to really help you in this situation and, with its help, you’ll be able to use the subtraction technique on Hot Press Paper without hesitation. Here’s what you need to do…

Lay down a layer of a white or very light wax based coloured pencil, such as a the Derwent Drawing Chinese White, the Caran D’Ache Luminance Pink White, or the Caran D’Ache Full Blender, before you start adding your main layers of colour. 

Next, start adding your layers of coloured pencil over the top, and when you come to use your Slice Tool, it will be able to slice through the layers and reveal the white highlights you were hoping for! 

Click on the video to watch me putting this top tip into practice. I show you how it works with three different types of pencil, so you can tailor it to the pencils you’re using. You won’t believe the difference that initial layer of colour makes!