The 21st Century Camera Lucida Drawing Tool

If you're a beginning artist and you think this will help you with life like drawings you're on the right track. However, you must still master the basics before getting the full life like effect. This will definitely help you with the outlines and proportions.This does take some getting used to and I'd say the learning curve will vary depending on your skill level. I don't consider myself an artist and I got some stuff out of it the 1st time using it.The device itself is well made. The clamp is sturdy and allows for a 3" mounting surface and the neck is quite adjustable. Once adjusted it stays in place. Mounting and adjusting is simple. Make sure your drawing surface and the surface the Lucida is attached to is stable otherwise your strokes will not line up. I recommend they be one and the same.The box comes with the Lucida, carrying bag a pencil and instructions as well as web links which will direct you to more information on the device's history as well as tips on how to use it properly it.I felt it was a great tool for me to have and I found myself drawing once again. Something I haven't done in a long time.

Does not work in any kind of helpful way. The prism is SO unbelievably small that you can only view about 1 square inch of anything. I tried multiple distances, heights etc. And you definitely cannot see a ghost image on the paper. Either their instructions for how to use this thing are misinforming or you have to keep adjusting every 30 seconds. In no way will this save me any kind of time, it's much faster just to free hand. Big waste of time and money. If you're looking into this, test it out first. I wish I'd never bought the thing.

This product should be commended for finally making a modern, affordable version of the ancient camera lucida available to a wide audience. Long available only in expensive antique form, this is the first mass-market device of its type available in decades.However, the makers perhaps over-emphasise the ease of its use; whilst it is simple in form, it is far from simple to set up effectively, quite difficult to maintain in position once it has been set up, and a steep learning curve to get anything more than rudimentary results from (in many respects that is what it should be used for - to make preparatory sketches for a more finished drawing or painting, rather than to make a finished drawing directly).It also has (for me) a very limited field of view due to the tiny prism and aperture. While it can be positioned to draw small objects and still lives, it is harder to see how it could be used for landscapes or even for larger interior scenes - a factor not mentioned in the information I have seen.It also needs very precise lighting conditions to work effectively - slightly too dark, and the subject is hard to see on the paper; slightly too bright, and you can’t see your pen or pencil on the paper to trace.So while it may be widely available, it may not be for all. If you are interested in art history, or optical devices it is great; if you are also patient and looking for a drawing aid it could be a boon. However, if you are a novice looking for a quick means of suddenly being able to draw, you may find this frustrating and more trouble than it is worth to you.At the price it is unbeatable for what it is, just don’t expect magic.

Admiration can easily lead someone to overemphasizing the good and hiding (What is perceived as) the bad in others. Art historians that admire the ancient masters have done the same thing over the years; many ancient masters would use a prism (Camera lucida) or a projector (Camera obscura) as an aid to draw pictures, which explains how some old pictures and paintings are so photo-realistic that they can sometimes look indistinguishable from a photograph. Knowing that ancient masters used such techniques tarnishes their reputation of being super-human in their ability to draw, or at least this is the fear of art historians that want to minimize or refuse to acknowledge the use of camera lucidas/obscuras. This subject can be quite polarizing. I personally believe that such tools help AUGMENT talent rather than REPLACE it, so it doesn't detract from the wonderful works of art they helped to create.Until now, an affordable and easy to use camera lucida has never been readily available, but the NeoLucida has filled this gap. The NeoLucida is a prism on a snake-like bendable cord (Similar to USB lights you can find elsewhere) and a clamp to keep it stable on a table surface. The device will not give you magical artistic abilities, but it will AUGMENT your artistic abilities and allow you to focus more on your drawing technique. When I first received my NeoLucida, I thought "Everything I do will be wonderful!", but the first couple of attempts did not turn out very good. I realized that thoughtful effort was required to make a good drawing, and from that point on my drawings have been improving.This is the "secret weapon" of the ancient art world, and it's about time that they can be in the hands of anybody that has a few dollars. While the NeoLucida does not promise miracles, it will certainly make drawing much more rewarding. You can literally trace what is directly in front of you.