An erasing shield, eraser shield, or erasure shield is a thin template or mask used to control the effects of an

eraser An eraser (also known as a rubber in some Commonwealth countries, including South Africa from which the material first used got its name) is an article of stationery that is used for removing marks from paper or skin (e.g. parchment or vellu ...

, typically on paper media used by an artist,

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

drafter A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British English, British and English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American English, American and Canadia ...

, or typist. The tool is made of a thin, flexible material such as transparent plastic, or

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

shim stock for durability. A number of narrow, straight or curved apertures have been punched out of the shield, similar to a drafting template or drawing

stencil Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object. The holes allow the pigment to reach only some parts of the surface creatin ...

. The openings allow the eraser to work in a controlled fashion, while protecting masked areas of the paper from being erased or smeared. Erasing shields can also be used to draw evenly-spaced dashed lines, or as a simple stencil. Erasing shields were common accessories used with a

typewriter A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...

to ease the correction of mistakes, especially on carbon copies, which were prone to smearing if not erased carefully. Typewriters are less used today, but artists continue to use erasing shields when working directly on erasable paper media, such as pencil drawings, charcoal drawings, or

pastel A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...

References

Typing Drawing aids Calligraphy {{Tech-stub