My TikTok Obsession
Lately I’ve become a bit obsessed with TikTok – mainly the BookTok side of the app. I’ve gotten pretty into the fantasy and sci-fi section specifically, but needless to say – while scrolling through my usual BookTok content – I stumbled on a watercolor video that really piqued my interest.
How I Found the Erasable Pen
In this video, an artist who goes by the username wolfcatworkshop – I’ll link the TikTok video as well as his YouTube channel below – made an entire painting with this erasable pen.
So after watching the video, I did what any normal person would do – immediately went to my computer, found the item used in the video, and clicked the purchase button as quickly as possible.
FRIXION ERASABLE PEN TIKTOK VIDEO FROM WOLFCATWORKSHOP
WOLFCATWORKSHOP’S TIKTOK
WOLFCATWORKSHOP’S YOUTUBE
Let the Testing Commence…
After waiting about a week, the pen finally arrived at my doorstep and I opened it right away to start testing.
Test One: Erasability With a Heat Gun
The first thing I wanted to test was how well this pen erased – especially with a heat gun, as shown in the TikTok video.
Results: I think the results speak for themselves – with a quick blast of heat, the ink disappeared with little to no effort.
Test Two: Erasability When Painted Over
The next thing I wanted to test was how well the ink erased after being painted over.
Results: It still erased really well. I will say the pen does leave indentations or scoring on the paper, so there are these microscopic lines you can see once you erase the ink – nothing too visible, though. In reality you’d see similar marks from pencil lines anyway, so it’s not that big of a deal. Just be aware there will be slight indentations on the paper after you erase the ink, which you could actually use as a texture technique in your paintings. One idea that popped into my head is bark on a tree – scoring the paper first so the paint flows into those grooves and creates darker lines naturally. Just something to keep in mind.
Test Three: The Erasable Pen in a Project
The last thing I wanted to test was this erasable pen in an actual project. So I created an easy, abstract triangle pattern in pen, then painted multiple watercolor glazes over and over on top of the ink to see whether it would bleed, smudge, or become harder to remove the more layers I built up.
Results: And for the dramatic reveal … it worked. No smudging or blurring, and it erased just fine even after all the glaze layers I placed over it. So – yeah – this was a fun product to test out!
Thanks, WolfCatWorkshop, for sharing this little gem – I’ll be using this pen going forward, especially for illustrations where I want the paint to shine more than my line work.
So yeah, that’s my findings. I hope you enjoyed this little post!
Supplies Used in Video
Pilot FriXion Erasable Pen
arches watercolor paper
cadmium lemon yellow – schmincke
cadmium orange light – schmincke
winsor orange red shade – winsor and newton
Silver Black Velvet Round Brush Size 8
heat gun