Col-Erase vs. Crayola erasable colored pencils

When I was in 7th grade, my social studies teacher had us color a lot of maps, and he taught us an interesting technique for coloring them that apparently had been discovered by a girl in his class several years before. What you would do is color the map with Col-Erase erasable colored pencils (each country, state, etc. a different color) and then you would lightly rub over the colored area with a square of toilet paper (he kept a roll in the classroom for this purpose), blending the sketchy lines that you colored into a rich, even, constant shade. A very nice effect, sure to give you an A :). However, it does not work with the non-erasable colored pencils. You had to use Col-Erase.

Anyway, my daughter is now in 6th grade, and she’s had to color a map for her social studies class. Her teacher downgraded her a bit on her map because you could see that she had changed directions with her colored pencil when coloring the ocean blue. That’s when I thought, “Aha! I need to teach her the Col-Erase and toilet-paper trick!” I remembered that I had seen Col-Erase pencils in Office Max long ago, so I went to pick some up, thinking I’d stick a box in her Christmas stocking or something. Well…they don’t have Col-Erase anymore. Instead, they have Crayola brand erasable colored pencils instead.

Really, I don’t care so much if you can erase the colored pencils–I want the pencils for their smudgeability and blendability. What I’d like to know is if these Crayola erasable colored pencils are blendable like the Col-Erase ones are. If they are not, I don’t want them–we have plenty of regular Crayola colored pencils already. On the other hand, if they would work, it would save me the trouble of calling or running all over town looking for Col-Erase pencils or ordering them over the internet. (I do know where a Dick Blick store is, and since their website has them, they probably do. It’s not terribly close, though, so I probably won’t make it over there before Christmas. I know–not the end of the world.)

So, any artists here tried Crayola erasable colored pencils? Do you think they would work for me and my daughter? And why are Col-Erase pencils so hard to find nowadays, anyway?

As a fairly frequent colored pencil user, I’m a fan of Derwent’s pencils. They’re higher quality (and as a result, a bit more expensive) than the Crayolas, but it’s definitely worthwhile, and the Derwent pencils are certainly blendable. Probably won’t find them at Target or or the like, but they should be pretty easy to find at your average Hobby Lobby or Michael’s or suchlike, and certainly at the Dick Blick if you’re able/willing to make the trip. Huge selection of colors, too.

And…um…I gotta ask, what the hell kind of social studies teacher takes points off a map because the coloring isn’t perfectly neat? That seems to entirely miss what I imagine the point of such an assignment to be.

And while I’ve never used the Crayola erasables, I’d assume that if they’re erasable, they’re blendable.

Just popping in to say that not only did I get marked down (in 1993, 6th grade) for not coloring my map properly, but my mother was contacted because of my inability to color consistently.

Ah, I didn’t even think of trying Michaels! That’s a lot closer than Dick Blick. I can probably make it there after work tomorrow.

Neatness counts, I guess. My daughter wasn’t too broken up about it. She would have been if I had been called, though! How embarrassing!

The teacher who taught me the TP trick is one of my favorite teachers of all time, and just now I have to admire him all the more for his ability to communicate his expectations so clearly.