How a Slice Tool Can Help You Add Realism to Your Coloured Pencil Drawings

If you’ve seen any of my videos you’ve probably heard me talking about the Slice Tool and seen it in action. So let me share a few tips and techniques for how to use it in your coloured pencil drawings.

I use the Slice Manual Pen Cutter and it is like a craft knife but the difference with this one is it has a ceramic blade, which sets it apart from traditional craft knives. This particular model has a chisel-shaped blade with a rounded edge, which means you're able to take off more pigment when you scratch it out.

One of my most asked questions is "How do you use it?" and the first thing I want to say is don't use it in a cutting motion. So, don’t use it right on the edge of the blade because you’re not going to really have any impact on the pigment. What I do is hold it almost on its side and then using light pressure scratch the pigment from the surface, holding and using it a bit like a pen or pencil.

You can use it for highlights, whiskers, and for feather details, as well as to add tiny lines and details to your pieces. When the blade gets blunt, it’s also nice and easy to change it out and you can see how to do that in the video at the top of this blog. 

A Slice Tool is a fantastic addition to any coloured pencil artist's toolkit, and if you’d like to purchase your own you can find a link to where you can buy it as well as a discount code in my free Materials Guide!