I recently bought the Neo Lucida XL. Just to make you aware: on the instruction card it gives wrong information regarding the size of object/drawing on paper and the distance of the object to the Neo Lucida. The CORRECT instruction is: the CLOSER the object is to the Neo Lucida, the LARGER it appears on paper. The FURTHER away from the Neo Lucida the object, the SMALLER it appears on paper.
I have no idea what instruction sheet currently is packaged, but your description of how it works is correct. I suspect I may have misspoken in the video if I said it worked the other way around - I'm human, I make mistakes unfortunately.
I found this thing at a thrift store in summer 2019 - it had everything in the box except for the cleaning cloth, and I paid $4 USD. It does work.... takes practice to set up your object and paper... I'd never pay $75 for it!!
@@Darth_Dink For any artist who wants a Neo Lucida XL by BigIDesigns? His chance of finding one in a Thrift store, are just about "ZERO!" So $75.00 is a bargain, even $150.00 for that artist if that is all that is available to him; it is if he paid $4 USD! And if the Canadian, could develop that same design, but twice as large, and put an advertisement in an Art Magazine!!! He could not keep up with his sales demand, and make a fortune$$$! So saying that he would never pay $75.00, just means that his thinking is too narrow to see the real value of a "Neo Lucida XL;" exposed to the "Market Forces of Supply and Demand?"
omg wow these exist to buy now?! sooo excited lol. been wanting to try for a couple years now ever since I saw the documentary years ago. Will research, hopefully available in Canada.
They have been around for a couple of years . The technology is over 200 years old (as you probably saw in the documentary), and it is a very cool idea. I hope you find one.
Thanks for making this review video. The coil-tightening tip: 😲🙃🙂! --- Question: Do you know if it captures images on *electronic screens* well enough to be useful? Sometimes I see imagery online that I'd like to jot down in my notebook as idea to pursue in my projects, but I'd like them to be a little more realistic so I recall better what it should conjure up, when I see it later. This could be a good tool for that, if electronic images transmit well enough.
I donated mine to a school without testing it on any screen but I am 100% confident that it would work because of how it is designed. If you can see the item with the naked eye you can also see it through the Neo Lucida too.
This video left out a lot of information I would have liked to have gotten, regarding the use of the gadget. Included too much talk about your personal drawing and didn’t include information that I think is crucial, for example: why to position it on the left or right side of your body. I took it out of the box, screwed it on the gooseneck, clamped it on the table on my right side and tried to use it, but struggled for 20 minutes trying to get an image. After seeing that yours was clamped on the left side of your body, so did I, and it worked. Am not sure why, or why not, it works this way, but I think having that piece of information, for beginners, is crucial. After that, showing the particular tilt of the optical element, in relation to the object and paper, would have been useful. Telling the price was not useful because I saw this in a different country and 4 years later. Telling us what it is, is not a review, nor is ”what’s in the box”. Starting at 5:00 to show us “what it can do” and talking about its “ability to be used”, and showing whether it does what it says it can do, with any satisfaction” is where the where the review should have begun. Restaurant food reviewers don’t tell how many tables and chairs were in the place (what’s in the package), but get to the point of talking about the food itself. You yourself had a good video presence. Your informing us about tightening the gooseneck was helpful, because it was not included in the packaging.
Your complaints seem silly to me. If you are right or left handed - put it on the opposite side so it's more comfortable so your arm isn't bumping into the gooseneck. Being clamped on the right or left side doesn't affect how well IT works, It affects how well YOU work. It's all about how well you position it over what you are drawing and how you position it in front of the object you are copying. It is a completely optical device, it DOES nothing, has no moving parts (yes, it has movable parts). My big mistake was expecting a viewer of the video to have more common sense, clearly it isn't common. Of course a review includes mentioning all that comes in the box, to not cover that would be an oversight that others would complain about. A restaurant reviewer does indeed talk about the seating and lighting and atmosphere of the place because those are part of the restaurant. But a food critic stays focused on the food. You are mixing up two different, though related, types of reviews in your analogy.
@@CanadianCuttingEdge It's simple: When I pay nearly $100 for a "drawing tool" I'm not inclined to have to take a course in small tool assembly. I'm an artist, not a mechanical engineer. I returned it and am waiting for a refund. I would probably have kept it had it come fully assembled with simple clear instructions of how to best use it. Calling someone's complaints "silly" is a bit condescending as is expecting a viewer of the video to have an immediate grasp of an unfamiliar tool by using common sense.
This is cool Jake. thank you. I can't even draw a stick. Never had any talent that way and like you the dimensions were always off when I tried because of perspective. I can do math but I can't apply it to art in my brain to achieve the right dimensions and I believe the only way to change your perspective is to move your feet which makes drawing anything more difficult. This apparatus seems to do that for you and keep the correct dimensions WOW. There used to be a kids toy with a folding lattice type surface that enabled you to trace something small with a pencil on one end and on the other side of the lattice was another pencil that moved the same way you move your pencil but with larger dimensions. This Neo Lucida is even easier and better to assist a non-talented artist like me achieve some resemblance of the subject.
Yeah, it works very well. Believe it or not, I took art all through high school and I can't do a realistic drawing to save my life and yet I got A's all the way through. That is because I specialized in abstract paintings and sculpture. I was in the top 10% of art students at a fairly large high school - I have no idea how they let me get by without being able to do anything remotely like realism. The knife tracing is the BEST I have EVER done in my life.
The gooseneck is both a little problem but it is also a great thing in that it is not hard to change the position when you need too. Solid boom arms would require more fiddling to get the Neo Lucida head to sit in exactly the position you want. The best solution would be a higher quality gooseneck, in my opinion.
I bought this thing to transfer patterns onto leather for tooling. Its not as easy to see on the leather as it is a bright sheet of white paper. Also if you wear glasses, it can be really tricky to see your pencil tip in focus with the ghost image. I dont usually wear glasses other than when im doing leatherwork. But at 45 my eyes are losing focus in very close proximity. The ghost image is difficult for me to get in focus with the pencil. Its also literally a pain to stand/sit to see straight down and draw. Very, very very difficult to keep from bumping with your eye and not move the ghost image. Once you move it , its very difficult to get every aligned again, as your drawing will be off if you dont get it exactly where you had it to befin with. Its a great idea, but this product could be greatly improved
Thanks Jake for the heads-up on having to stand to use this, the bigger the picture you want to draw. That's a drawback for me too; I prefer to sit. 'Still looking into it though (forgive the pun😊).
I am thinking of buying one of these. Question: Is it possible to copy an image off a laptop onto a large (20"x30") canvas? I want the outline of the image so I can then paint it.
Me too. I wasn't able to get that. When I made this video I was just using my cell phone to record my videos and the camera on it wasn't able to pick up what I saw through the viewing apature.
I had no problem bending the gooseneck arm to put the optical component exactly where I wanted it, both when I needed it close to my paper or up higher. That is why they made it flexible yet able to hold position anywhere. But there has been a few times when I wish the gooseneck arm was longer and I had to attach it in a makeshift way to a tripod.
@@CanadianCuttingEdge So what about if you decided to finish for the day on one piece you were working on go back the next day to find the arm had moved did you find it easy to realign the arm to the picture you were working on or was it a problem getting it back in line exactly where it needed to be?
A stool with a saddle type seat. You sit astride as in a saddle, but with feet touching the ground. Very comfortable. The idea is to sit and stand simultaneously
Depends on what "big" means. If you just rig a way to hang it over the canvas then you could use it for parts of the canvas, but if you want to be able to cover a canvas that is, let's say 4' x 4' big, you would need to suspend it fairly high above the canvas to get it to work. It would be much smarter to copy the subject onto smaller grid paper. Then you have your image on a grid that you can then reference to copy it onto a larger surface that way.
You are looking through it incorrectly. This is what it says in their website: When using the prism NeoLucida, make sure your setup is correct. If you have the prism shield at 45º to your table, check to see if you are looking straight down PAST the prism edge towards your paper. Don't look into the prism. Make a straight line between your eye, the prism edge, and your pencil point directly below the eyepiece. Watch this helpful setup guide - vimeo.com/80099109
Indeed, the history of the Lucida is covered in the NeoLudica website. These days the NeoLucida is primarily used as a learning tool for beginning artists but certainly any artist, accomplished or not, can choose to use any tool they want to use.
I don't know what is the very biggest, but it has to be something like 20 inch square. More if you mount the Neo Lucida higher off the surface of the paper. This devide is actually very old technology - devices like this were first made over 200 years ago.
@@CanadianCuttingEdge Yeah I know it's a very old idea. I just thought it would be a good idea to sketch the outline in Graphit pencile for my acrylic paintings. But the format should be at least 80 x 80 cm and more. I guess for this large format it would be very uncomfortable to be precise even If I would skech it divided in several parts. And my arthritis (I understand you od so very well about this issue 😔) would probably not be happy about my decision to use this device. 😊
I just pick up what I used to do 50 years ago in portraits and landscapes, but I must spend lots of time to get everything in scale correct, and that I don't have the time or make the time, so I ordered the Lucida and got it after 5 weeks. I just received the Camera Lucida, and can't get it right to the spot because? It is the same as your product, the camera holder just simply SUCKS. The arm is not user-friendly, too stiff to adjust and at the camera end, the ex bar can easily rotate, it too SUCKS. I'll return the one I have because due to positions I must be, my back and legs pain will not allow too. Now I'll try the projector,,,,,,s types, but I'll pay more attention to look at their videos. PS: One locking wingnut at both ends would be necessary to correct it, or a swivel to rotate the camera.
Or, and this is a big or, you could learn to draw, FOR FREE. If you just want traced work get your 2nd grader to do it. Pay him and call him an artist lol If you're having issues with proportion you'd better serve yourself by getting a proportional ddivider. After all, that's exactly what it's for. By using a proportional divider you'll better train your eye, your hand and your skills. You can get a proportional divider for a few dollars, it can go anywhere, it's cheap, lightweight, fool proof and actually makes you better instead of turning you into a six year old liar
my brother in christ, their FAQ says it comes set up for right handed people but it is in fact reversible. you just have to set it up. also it is very common for reviewers to show you what’s in the box so you know what you’re getting - in the box…
Not worth the money. It will NOT make you a better artist at all. You should practice your drawing the regular way. It is much more fun and you will have MUCH better results. Do not waste your money.
I recently bought the Neo Lucida XL. Just to make you aware: on the instruction card it gives wrong information regarding the size of object/drawing on paper and the distance of the object to the Neo Lucida. The CORRECT instruction is: the CLOSER the object is to the Neo Lucida, the LARGER it appears on paper. The FURTHER away from the Neo Lucida the object, the SMALLER it appears on paper.
I have no idea what instruction sheet currently is packaged, but your description of how it works is correct. I suspect I may have misspoken in the video if I said it worked the other way around - I'm human, I make mistakes unfortunately.
I found this thing at a thrift store in summer 2019 - it had everything in the box except for the cleaning cloth, and I paid $4 USD. It does work.... takes practice to set up your object and paper... I'd never pay $75 for it!!
You had a chance to make your own version, "$and$clean$up$?"Better luck next time; dumpster-diving at the thrift store?
@@paulblake8664 what?
@@Darth_Dink For any artist who wants a Neo Lucida XL by BigIDesigns? His chance of finding one in a Thrift store, are just about "ZERO!" So $75.00 is a bargain, even $150.00 for that artist if that is all that is available to him; it is if he paid $4 USD!
And if the Canadian, could develop that same design, but twice as large, and put an advertisement in an Art Magazine!!! He could not keep up with his sales demand, and make a fortune$$$! So saying that he would never pay $75.00, just means that his thinking is too narrow to see the real value of a "Neo Lucida XL;" exposed to the "Market Forces of Supply and Demand?"
i find it ironic u wouldn't pay $75 for it!? i mean, to ME, it's cheap at twice this price! no, i'am not rich... i jst find it so very useful is all
Great review! The tip about tightening the stand was very helpful. I thought the knife drawing was excellent.
Thanks. These devices are getting very popular.
Thank you for this review - very thoughtful, insightful, helpful!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for helpful hints.
I’ve always wanted to do roses, but could never get the hang of the proportions…….no matter how hard I tried.
You are so welcome!
omg wow these exist to buy now?! sooo excited lol. been wanting to try for a couple years now ever since I saw the documentary years ago. Will research, hopefully available in Canada.
They have been around for a couple of years . The technology is over 200 years old (as you probably saw in the documentary), and it is a very cool idea. I hope you find one.
Has existed since the 1800's.
this right here is an exemplary review! KUDO's to the Canadian Cutter Guy :)
thanks Amanda
Thanks for your review. I wonder if you could get a picture from a book to show up for you to trace.
Yes, that works just fine.
Thanks for making this review video. The coil-tightening tip: 😲🙃🙂! --- Question: Do you know if it captures images on *electronic screens* well enough to be useful?
Sometimes I see imagery online that I'd like to jot down in my notebook as idea to pursue in my projects, but I'd like them to be a little more realistic so I recall better what it should conjure up, when I see it later. This could be a good tool for that, if electronic images transmit well enough.
I donated mine to a school without testing it on any screen but I am 100% confident that it would work because of how it is designed. If you can see the item with the naked eye you can also see it through the Neo Lucida too.
Could you draw eg a landscape, or a building, iow something larger and further away than still lives ?
yes, no problem. That is the type of thing that the historical Lucida devices were often used for.
This video left out a lot of information I would have liked to have gotten, regarding the use of the gadget. Included too much talk about your personal drawing and didn’t include information that I think is crucial, for example: why to position it on the left or right side of your body. I took it out of the box, screwed it on the gooseneck, clamped it on the table on my right side and tried to use it, but struggled for 20 minutes trying to get an image. After seeing that yours was clamped on the left side of your body, so did I, and it worked. Am not sure why, or why not, it works this way, but I think having that piece of information, for beginners, is crucial. After that, showing the particular tilt of the optical element, in relation to the object and paper, would have been useful. Telling the price was not useful because I saw this in a different country and 4 years later. Telling us what it is, is not a review, nor is ”what’s in the box”. Starting at 5:00 to show us “what it can do” and talking about its “ability to be used”, and showing whether it does what it says it can do, with any satisfaction” is where the where the review should have begun. Restaurant food reviewers don’t tell how many tables and chairs were in the place (what’s in the package), but get to the point of talking about the food itself. You yourself had a good video presence. Your informing us about tightening the gooseneck was helpful, because it was not included in the packaging.
Your complaints seem silly to me. If you are right or left handed - put it on the opposite side so it's more comfortable so your arm isn't bumping into the gooseneck. Being clamped on the right or left side doesn't affect how well IT works, It affects how well YOU work. It's all about how well you position it over what you are drawing and how you position it in front of the object you are copying. It is a completely optical device, it DOES nothing, has no moving parts (yes, it has movable parts).
My big mistake was expecting a viewer of the video to have more common sense, clearly it isn't common.
Of course a review includes mentioning all that comes in the box, to not cover that would be an oversight that others would complain about. A restaurant reviewer does indeed talk about the seating and lighting and atmosphere of the place because those are part of the restaurant. But a food critic stays focused on the food. You are mixing up two different, though related, types of reviews in your analogy.
@@CanadianCuttingEdge It's simple: When I pay nearly $100 for a "drawing tool" I'm not inclined to have to take a course in small tool assembly. I'm an artist, not a mechanical engineer. I returned it and am waiting for a refund. I would probably have kept it had it come fully assembled with simple clear instructions of how to best use it. Calling someone's complaints "silly" is a bit condescending as is expecting a viewer of the video to have an immediate grasp of an unfamiliar tool by using common sense.
This is cool Jake. thank you. I can't even draw a stick. Never had any talent that way and like you the dimensions were always off when I tried because of perspective. I can do math but I can't apply it to art in my brain to achieve the right dimensions and I believe the only way to change your perspective is to move your feet which makes drawing anything more difficult. This apparatus seems to do that for you and keep the correct dimensions WOW. There used to be a kids toy with a folding lattice type surface that enabled you to trace something small with a pencil on one end and on the other side of the lattice was another pencil that moved the same way you move your pencil but with larger dimensions. This Neo Lucida is even easier and better to assist a non-talented artist like me achieve some resemblance of the subject.
Yeah, it works very well.
Believe it or not, I took art all through high school and I can't do a realistic drawing to save my life and yet I got A's all the way through. That is because I specialized in abstract paintings and sculpture. I was in the top 10% of art students at a fairly large high school - I have no idea how they let me get by without being able to do anything remotely like realism. The knife tracing is the BEST I have EVER done in my life.
You could learn to draw faster than you can set this up. Just saying.
I have a solution for the gooseneck problem, I just need to know the the thread pattern so I can use it on a boom arm from a studio mic set up
The gooseneck is both a little problem but it is also a great thing in that it is not hard to change the position when you need too. Solid boom arms would require more fiddling to get the Neo Lucida head to sit in exactly the position you want. The best solution would be a higher quality gooseneck, in my opinion.
@@CanadianCuttingEdge ...I also have a few microphone goosenecks; just need to switch to a 5/8 or smaller screw on adapter
Artists have been using this technology hundreds of years and you can either make one or they have apps for both iPhone or android
Indeed, this tech is VERY old.
Can you name some of the apps (preferably Android) that can accomplish this?
Wonderful device for us artists that have dyslexia or dysphraxia, which makes drawing and copying without an aide literal hell.
Indeed.
Excellent review!
thanks
Drawing natural scenery is a little difficult but this tool makes it easier
good to hear it works for you.
very helpful ... thanks!
My pleasure
I bought this thing to transfer patterns onto leather for tooling. Its not as easy to see on the leather as it is a bright sheet of white paper. Also if you wear glasses, it can be really tricky to see your pencil tip in focus with the ghost image. I dont usually wear glasses other than when im doing leatherwork. But at 45 my eyes are losing focus in very close proximity. The ghost image is difficult for me to get in focus with the pencil. Its also literally a pain to stand/sit to see straight down and draw. Very, very very difficult to keep from bumping with your eye and not move the ghost image. Once you move it , its very difficult to get every aligned again, as your drawing will be off if you dont get it exactly where you had it to befin with. Its a great idea, but this product could be greatly improved
You make some great points. It's okay for occasional use, but I would also say that it's not ergonomic enough to use for any extended period of time.
Excellent
Thanks
Thanks Jake for the heads-up on having to stand to use this, the bigger the picture you want to draw. That's a drawback for me too; I prefer to sit. 'Still looking into it though (forgive the pun😊).
LOL. Yes, it is an important factor to consider.
Could you use a tall stool to be able to use the NeoLucida while sitting? Your legs might need to be spread-eagle.
I wonder, can you do this on Canvas?
yes, it works on any surface.
@CanadianCuttingEdge thank you for your time, effort, energy, and reply, brother...
Can this be used for landscapes? Like an outdoor setting?
Yes it can be used for landscapes or cityscapes, etc.
Already watched. Thanks, Tony
I am thinking of buying one of these. Question: Is it possible to copy an image off a laptop onto a large (20"x30") canvas? I want the outline of the image so I can then paint it.
Yeah, it works well to see images off a screen as well, but it's tricky to get everything lined up just right.
I would like to see the image projected
Me too. I wasn't able to get that. When I made this video I was just using my cell phone to record my videos and the camera on it wasn't able to pick up what I saw through the viewing apature.
Can I use pics from my iPad?
I think it would be better if it had some kind of sliding scale on the arm so you could always place the arm exactly where you wanted it to be.
I had no problem bending the gooseneck arm to put the optical component exactly where I wanted it, both when I needed it close to my paper or up higher. That is why they made it flexible yet able to hold position anywhere.
But there has been a few times when I wish the gooseneck arm was longer and I had to attach it in a makeshift way to a tripod.
@@CanadianCuttingEdge So what about if you decided to finish for the day on one piece you were working on go back the next day to find the arm had moved did you find it easy to realign the arm to the picture you were working on or was it a problem getting it back in line exactly where it needed to be?
You can get a saddle seat chair so you can sit-stand while u draw
yes you can
Pardon my ignorance - what is a saddle seat chair?
A stool with a saddle type seat. You sit astride as in a saddle, but with feet touching the ground. Very comfortable. The idea is to sit and stand simultaneously
@@onetwoxplore that sounds like something I wish I could have at work!
How about drawing on a big canvas?
Depends on what "big" means. If you just rig a way to hang it over the canvas then you could use it for parts of the canvas, but if you want to be able to cover a canvas that is, let's say 4' x 4' big, you would need to suspend it fairly high above the canvas to get it to work.
It would be much smarter to copy the subject onto smaller grid paper. Then you have your image on a grid that you can then reference to copy it onto a larger surface that way.
What a good idea! Graph paper comes in many grid sizes.
Why is my image still upside down?
You are looking through it incorrectly. This is what it says in their website:
When using the prism NeoLucida, make sure your setup is correct. If you have the prism shield at 45º to your table, check to see if you are looking straight down PAST the prism edge towards your paper. Don't look into the prism. Make a straight line between your eye, the prism edge, and your pencil point directly below the eyepiece.
Watch this helpful setup guide - vimeo.com/80099109
awesome results 0.0 thanks Jake !
Thanks.
the thing that got me was the shipping ,it was more than the neolucid xl
That sucks. I hope you find it worthwhile in the end.
Since this is made in China, I'd like to buy one directly from China under different branding.
I am NOT a salesperson, I am a reviewer. While I do mention in the video where I got mine, I don't really care if you buy one or not.
Actually, some really important artists used the camera lucida. And even more, used the camera Obscura. It's not just for beginners.
Indeed, the history of the Lucida is covered in the NeoLudica website. These days the NeoLucida is primarily used as a learning tool for beginning artists but certainly any artist, accomplished or not, can choose to use any tool they want to use.
What is the biggest format you can draw on paper ?
I don't know what is the very biggest, but it has to be something like 20 inch square. More if you mount the Neo Lucida higher off the surface of the paper.
This devide is actually very old technology - devices like this were first made over 200 years ago.
@@CanadianCuttingEdge Yeah I know it's a very old idea. I just thought it would be a good idea to sketch the outline in Graphit pencile for my acrylic paintings. But the format should be at least 80 x 80 cm and more. I guess for this large format it would be very uncomfortable to be precise even If I would skech it divided in several parts. And my arthritis (I understand you od so very well about this issue 😔) would probably not be happy about my decision to use this device. 😊
Just use 2x speed. Makes more sense
This might be how they used to make anatomical diagrams 😮
It certainly would have been possible since the technology is so old.
Zebra mechanical pencils are great.
yes, I like that brand too
*Professional* artists have used the camera lucida for 200 years, too.
It was invented by a professional, so that makes sense.
The light was the least of the problems. The jumpy camera made it very difficult to follow this tutorial. Not to mention the jumpy conversation.
I guess you need to be more careful of what you click on.
Nice knife, come on this is knife Chanel isn't it ?
I just pick up what I used to do 50 years ago in portraits and landscapes, but I must spend lots of time to get everything
in scale correct, and that I don't have the time or make the time, so I ordered the Lucida and got it after 5 weeks.
I just received the Camera Lucida, and can't get it right to the spot because?
It is the same as your product, the camera holder just simply SUCKS.
The arm is not user-friendly, too stiff to adjust and at the camera end, the ex bar can easily rotate, it too SUCKS.
I'll return the one I have because due to positions I must be, my back and legs pain will not allow too.
Now I'll try the projector,,,,,,s types, but I'll pay more attention to look at their videos.
PS: One locking wingnut at both ends would be necessary to correct it, or a swivel to rotate the camera.
Thanks for adding your experience, it helps the viewers of the video get a wider perspective.
Or, and this is a big or, you could learn to draw, FOR FREE. If you just want traced work get your 2nd grader to do it. Pay him and call him an artist lol
If you're having issues with proportion you'd better serve yourself by getting a proportional ddivider. After all, that's exactly what it's for. By using a proportional divider you'll better train your eye, your hand and your skills. You can get a proportional divider for a few dollars, it can go anywhere, it's cheap, lightweight, fool proof and actually makes you better instead of turning you into a six year old liar
my brother in christ, their FAQ says it comes set up for right handed people but it is in fact reversible. you just have to set it up. also it is very common for reviewers to show you what’s in the box so you know what you’re getting - in the box…
I tried this. Its ridiculous.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Not worth the money. It will NOT make you a better artist at all. You should practice your drawing the regular way. It is much more fun and you will have MUCH better results. Do not waste your money.
Thanks for sharing your rigid and unhelpful opinion, the world needs more people like you.
Thats cheating ;)
Yeah, it's the best kind if cheating, the kind you can find success at. :)
Many of the old masters "cheated" because they used one of these
You think a calculator is cheating too? Removing the mundane work is a time saver.
If there's no race, no one can be cheating.
@@pbradford021 Camera lucida.
It's garbage
Thanks for sharing your opinion. Every comment helps with the algorithm.
@@CanadianCuttingEdge
😂🤣😂
I hope these help too.🇨🇦