Making a Camera Lucida Drawing Tool

in this video I will share versions one two and three of a 3D printable camera Deeda that I designed in CAD modeling software I'll go through the designing process over these iterations share some 3D printing tips and the subsequent assembly procedures there are also chapters available in the timeline if you prefer to skip to a specific section if you don't know what a camera Luca is it is simply a tool to a drawing from life it works similarly to a auto que or teleprompter in that a reflected image is displayed on a transparent surface which can be aligned in this case over a piece of paper to help plot the composition of images drawings and paintings the artist when using the tool sees a superimposition of both the subject ahead of themselves and the surface being worked on below there are some great videos discussions and demonstrations of modern Recreations of the old tools that you can see on screen and which I'll link to either in the information card or through my website there's also a wonderful book published in 2001 and a television documentary from 2002 by David Hackney called secret knowledge rediscovering the Lost techniques of the Old Masters the title is quite suggestive but in essence the artworks that we so often hold on a pedestal and judge other Artistic Endeavors by we even just put ourselves off attempting to make art because of the perceived raw talent and genius needed were in fact heavily reliant on Optics and mirrors and bits of string and a little bit of maths to help compose images with a photographic likeness various bits of equipment which predates chemical photography and were a stepping stone towards that invention were being used by artists scientists and intellectuals working in Florence and the Flanders from the 14th or 15th century onwards there are a few types of camers that I've seen one type using a glass prism and a simpler version with a piece of mirror and clear glass which is what I'll be recreating and there is already available a 3D printed version online designed by Chris bour but I'd like to make one myself because through making I think I'll understand the tool and process to use it more thoroughly [Music] version one comprises of a central body piece with grooves opening and Fred mounting holes two side pieces which have indentations for mirrored and clear acrylic pieces as well as corresponding through holes for mounting the afor mention mirrored and clear pieces of acrylic 8 M3 * 10 mm machine screws and four M3 locking nuts the top viewfinder piece and a secondhand eye cup that I bought from eBay because I thought it looked interesting I am using acrylic mirror and clear acrylic pieces and not front surface mirror or partially silvered two-way mirrored glass which supposedly work better when using this contraption in outdoor bright conditions I'll decide whether to replace these later depending on how successful the acrylic pieces are and this is a short animation of the parts with titles which you can pause the video to view if necessary and following that I will share the version one assembly process [Music] now there were some issues with version one which prompted me to develop the design and these included the viewfinder which were looking retro and cool in fact had a restricted viewing angle which you can see better from this photo looking downwards into the viewfinder also I couldn't find a suitable dtra lens to correct for use without my glasses that's the corresponding sketch where I wasn't wearing glasses the 3D model screw threads were not located in the best place and the plastic around one actually cracked the protrusion for the smartphone clamp needed to be redesigned as well the tapered angle increased and round overs added to the end Corners this was needed to increase the grip of the universal manfroto foam clamp that I was [Music] using for version two I redesigned the viewfinder so I could use it while wearing glasses cuz I just have to wear them now getting old and all that I made some changes to the main body including adding a couple more threaded fixing positions as well as a adjusting the threaded mounting location so there was a little bit more space around the openings which should help prevent splitting reinforcing the 3D modeled threads for the M3 * 10 mil machine screws and that has a subsequent knock and effect because the side pieces are slightly different like that so overall it's slightly different design should be a little bit more robust and easier to use I also changed the shape of the tapered grip by increasing the taper angle and chamfering the top and bottom edges which help to increase the clamping grip I had designed a slot at the bottom of the piece for a size a cocking neutral density filter which is sometimes needed for outdoor conditions and may help by making the image clearer but I'm still waiting for that to arrive in the post before I can measure it with my Veria caliper and adjust the size in the 3D model I could also use the slot for additional attachments like a photo or small object holder but that is something for a future version I realized I wanted to send a few of these to some artist friends of mine for them to use and potentially feed back to me their thoughts and I realized the shape would increase the cost of shipping so I redesigned the object once again this time so the main body was split into two sections one of which rested into a new slot recess I also finalized the 3D printing process here I reinforced the threaded mounting holes by adding a modifier shape within prer Slicer in the form of a cylinder which I specified the size and location they're just a little larger than the threaded openings and I could choose to modify the for density and pattern so they were higher at 90% compared to the rest of the model which was at 20% in fill the additional material around the hole should further help with the splitting issue I had earlier during version one I also did the same around the through holes on the side pieces which meant there was more material around the opening to help with compression of the plastic by the machine screw heads and while filming I noticed I had made a mistake and only position one half appropriately so so I corrected [Music] this I wasn't sure about printing these parallel to the printer bed as I think the thread quality and detail is better the other way around but needs must so I printed them this way and after using them it seems to be okay 3D model threads are not designed for repetitive use and once this object is assembled you most likely won't need to disassemble it and here is another animation of the parts which make up version three with captions and which you can pause to read if [Music] necessary so this is version three which I've designed to be flat packed be a little bit easier to post cuz I'd like to send a couple of these out to some friends to try out second you hit a little bit of resistance you just stop you don't want to thread these too tight cuz they are going into um a 3D printed model thread and they will just lose their form the pitch um very easily won't take much to to damage these so once that Gap closes ever slightly for a bit resistance you stop there and that's good enough cuz it's overlapped no light will get in this new piece is a little bit different as well I've taken off the edges here so that less there less chance of jabbing yourself in the face after saying all that I receiv received some new acrylic pieces which were a little bigger than what I had ordered and while assembling a second kit two pieces became wedged apart when slotting in the acrylic and the mounting holes I was worried about lost their threads becoming unable to tighten I felt that it was kind of my fault as when you get stuff cut there's always a working tolerance plus or minus a few millimeters and I hadn't specified that I needed them quite accurate or just shy off the measurements requested I approached the supply with I'm not asking for a refund but if I reorder I need to know if this can be made exactly as specified as the parts need to fit into custommade slots which have only factored 1 mm tolerances do you have access to a laser cutter for cutting plastic by any chance please advise and best wishes and they replied kind sir sorry about that when you ready to reorder we will laser cut at the same cost and send a couple of SARS kind regards but this made me think well I've got two sets of acrylic pieces that are now defun unless I design version 4 which really should be a parametric version so this is version four the parametric version which I didn't plan to make but I should have [Music] parametric models contain key parameters such as the height and width of the acrylic pieces in my case as references which would allow me to interactively make changes to the design by simply changing a dimension which can automatically update the 3D model it is a great way of making efficient and easily adjustable designs and in this case reduce waste it is cobbled together which works when making the minor variations based on the measured dimensions of the acrylic pieces but it is not perfect designing like this can take days to be honest because of the KnockOn effect changing one measurement has on another part of the design and the amount of testing that must be done for example I can't change the width of the mirrored pieces to make them as big as a house as you can see the model breaks but eventually I achieved something that more less worked and while I was at it I took the opportunity to make some changes including simplifying the side pieces so the recess and Slots were at the same depth this actually was essential for converting to a parametric design as it simplified the mathematical relationship between the parts I also adjusted the design of the main body top piece so that it could be printed vertically in the same way as the main body rear piece thus improving the mounting Fred resolution and while I was at it I made a viewfinder cap as well it occurred to me that if dust got inside cleaning would be an issue it may be tempting to dism the model to access the interior but that should really be avoided to prolong the life expectancy of the 3D model threads I'm Now setting up the camera Lua to draw with starting with the arm which will hold the drawing tool clamped to a [Music] table I'm using a manoto magicom but you can also use cheaper lighting clamp stands like the one on screen but the magic arm is much easier to use and fix into position I locate the arm so the camera Luca overlooks where I will place a piece of paper and it's pointing towards my subject which in this case is a romantic wax peanut candle I attached the foam clamp and tripod plate to the camera Luca and then clip the assembly to the arm [Applause] [Music] I also use a beautifying ring light to illuminate the subject which is important because the strong contrasting light will make the object visible in the viewfinder of course I should also make sure I am comfortable looking through the device and while drawing so I don't do my backin I can then draw marks on the paper to outline the subject within the field of visual available to me and with a fair bit of accuracy capture the object but also its environment when correctly done the for shortening of the room or objects creates a sense of realistic perspective once those are documented I can ignore the camera Luca and draw what I see making marks to populate the page with the subject this drawing probably didn't come out as well as it could have but later that evening when the light levels had dropped I drew some toys these these conditions helped me to see the subject clearer in the reflection and I didn't have to wave my hand under the laca to create Shadow with which to see more detail these drawings of the toy sitting on mug seem much more expressive and free flowing and they don't automatically shout up I've been traced he's cheating all lies also tried replacing the mirror and clear acrylic with a front-facing mirror and a two-way see-through mirror which actually further improved the image quality and removed the Double Image created from the previous setup that said I could see less of the paper so I'm not sure which is actually more helpful anyway I think this video has come to a natural end I hope you enjoyed peering into the process of how I design my own camera Luca I'll link to all the interesting sources which help me make this video on my website and if you would like to make one yourself the design will be available to download I'll write some directions in the comments or description and that leaves me with the final thing to say which is thanks again for watching and don't forget to sacrifice a thumb to the algorithm Gods a catchphrase which is losing meaning in each video as I'm using fewer dangerous hand tools with which to sacrifice my own thumbs [Music]

Channel: Savvas Papasavva

Views: 1,277

Keywords: Optical device, Drawing aid, Reflection prism, Artistic tool, Transparent viewer, Image projection, Visual aid, Mirror apparatus, Creative tool, Portable sketching device, Transparency viewer, Drawing aid prism, Historical invention, Artist's assistant, Tracing aid, Optical instrument, Artistic innovation, Real-time projection, Reflection mechanism, Drafting aid

Id: 49SqnrG3zuY

Length: 18min 3sec (1083 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 20 2024