Erodible pencil and chalk tips in Paint by Zaweba

Real pencils and sticks of chalk change as you use them. A freshly sharpened pencil gives a fine, hard line; after a page of shading the tip is broader, rounder and softer, and the marks it makes look different. Most digital brushes never change, which is one reason digital sketches can look a little mechanical. Erodible tips in Paint by Zaweba bring that wear back.

How they work

You set up an erodible tip in the Brushes panel under Shape. The tip starts at a share of the brush's size, sharp and hard, like a newly sharpened point. As you draw, it wears: it broadens towards the full brush size and its edge softens, just as a real pencil blunts over a page of work.

When you want a sharp point again, Edit > Sharpen Erodible Tip resets it. Think of it as reaching for the sharpener.

The two looks the tip is meant to imitate are pencil and chalk. A pencil-like tip suits fine sketching and hatching; a chalk-like tip suits pastel work and rough tonal sketches.

Why it makes a difference

The variation in line quality is what makes traditional drawings look alive. Early lines from a sharp point are crisp and confident, while later lines, as the tip blunts, get broader and softer, which suits shading. An erodible tip produces that variation naturally as you work rather than requiring you to switch brushes or change size by hand.

It also changes how you draw. With a tip that blunts, you start thinking like a traditional artist again: use the sharp point for outlines and detail, then let it wear down while you block in tones, and sharpen it when you return to detail.

Using it well

Sharpen before detail work. Faces, hands and lettering want a sharp tip. Get into the habit of running Sharpen Erodible Tip before you start them.

Shade with a worn tip. Broad, soft marks from a worn tip make even tones faster than a sharp one. If your tip is still sharp, a few quick scribbles in a corner of a scrap layer will wear it in.

Combine with texture. A textured brush tip adds grain, and the erodible behaviour adds the changing line width. Together they get close to the feel of graphite or chalk.

Keep an eye on the tip. Because it changes as you work, a stroke made late in a session can look different from the same stroke made early on, which is the point, but worth remembering when you need two marks to match.

Saving your favourite setup

Once you have a pencil you like, save it as a tool preset. The preset keeps the brush, its settings and the tool's options together under one name, so the same pencil is waiting for you each time. You can share presets as .ptpresets files with other people using the app.

Where it fits

Erodible tips are part of the shared brush engine in Paint by Zaweba, which also powers smudge, blending and pigment mixing for a traditional feel. For sketching, they work well with the stroke stabiliser turned low and the painting guides when you need perspective.

They are a small feature, but they make sketching on screen feel a little more like sketching on paper, which is often all an artist wants from a digital pencil.