Mark a few key points in your subject and check regularly to ensure that these are still aligned.Attach your photo to the card and then proceed as for any other subject except that you could place the drawing board flat on a table if you wish. Screw the two brackets provided onto the end of the drawing board then prop up the piece of the card against this. How Do I Copy a Photograph Using a Camera Lucida? There isn't a 'zoom' control on a camera lucida you need to move closer towards your subject or further away. How Do I Make Something Bigger or Smaller? The two pen figure studies above were both done in five minutes (they're done on A2 paper). But, by eliminating the need to measure while you're drawing to get the perspective accurate, it will increase the rate at which you work and free you up to experiment more as you haven't invested so much time in one picture. At times you'll find there are parts that are too light or too dark to see detail you could fiddle with getting the light balance just right, or simply use your other eye or look up at the actual scene to see what's there.Ī camera lucida can't teach you how to choose what to put in or leave out of a drawing or painting, nor what kind of marks to put down. If you can't see the piece of paper because the subject's too strong, use a lamp to throw a bit more light on your paper.

Place a piece of black paper on the drawing board if you can now see the subject, you should light it more. Are you looking down towards the paper? If so, it's a question of getting the balance of light between your subject and the paper right. What to Do if You Can't See the Piece of Paper or Subject on the Paper Check When you look through this, you should be able to see the whole piece of paper and the scene as if reflected on it. Swing up the arm with the 'viewing lens' up, twist the 'lens' so that the small eye hole is at the top. Put a piece of paper on the board, up to A3 in size. Set up the drawing board up at an angle of 40 degrees putting it on your lap and resting it against the edge of a table works well. The following is based on using a camera lucida made by The Camera Lucida Company, but they all work similarly. A camera lucida reflects a subject so that it appears to be on your piece of paper, enabling you to simply trace it.

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