History of the Camera Lucida Drawing Tool

This modern incarnation of a centuries-old drawing tool demonstrates how art and technology have always been intertwined. We chat with Pablo Garcia, creator of the NeoLucida, about the use of optical aids for art and scientific illustrations in the age before photography. Pablo also shows off his new NeoLucida XL, which we test in a drawing demo!
Find out more about the NeoLucida XL here: www.kickstarte...
Shot by Gunther Kirsch and edited by Norman Chan
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Tested is:
Adam Savage / donttrythis
Norman Chan / nchan
Simone Giertz / simonegiertz
Joey Fameli / joeyfameli
Kishore Hari / sciencequiche
Frank Ippolito / frankippolito
Sean Charlesworth / cworthdynamics
Jeremy Williams / jerware
Gunther Kirsch
Ryan Kiser
Thanks for watching!

[@kattandraarm]

The applications of this tool when it comes to realistically​ shading, colouring, and capturing light are very fascinating. It would have been nice to see more of that in the video rather than just its basic use for tracing.

[@baplotnik]

You can just scribble an original realistic photo?!?!?!??!??!? I need one!!!

[@anta40]

I gave up drawing many many years ago and switched to photography because capturing anything more realistic is way easier. Now I know this is how scientists before the age of photography create accurate illustrations, let's learn drawing again.

[@pantac4493]

Which version are you going to get?

[@jaxnean2663]

David Hockney changed the way I look at late 17th - 19th century paintings for ever. His hypothesis makes a lot of sense and his argument is irresistibly convincing!

[@eileencoult4368]

So pleased to hear David Hockney's praises being sung as a serious academic as well as an artist. I think his ability to look and see is extraordinary and is the what brought about his discoveries re the camera lucida. Great video guys.

[@phillipstroll7385]

Oh please. He knew it because he used it. He wasn't an artist. Artists don't need to trace.

[@huyked]

@@phillipstroll7385 I guess photography isn't art, because that's traced with chemicals (old school) and silicon (new school) instantaneously.

[@phillipstroll7385]

@@huyked you're correct. Glad you said it.

[@huyked]

@@phillipstroll7385 Nah. It's tongue-in-cheek. Of course photography is art.

[@TheRadChannel]

Hands on... Yeah right. Skip to 20:07 for 37 seconds of hands on... Out of a 21 minute video. great.

[@TheRadChannel]

Thank you TESTED for changing the title. Much better.

[@jimday666]

thanks

[@masemora3020]

Cheers mate wat a video all I wanted to see was the hands on part lol thanks again rad chan

[@samatronexcel]

Tim's Vermeer is an excellent documentary on the rediscovery and use of this technology.

[@brooksbrooks6805]

Not exactly. Close but not the same, tim used 1 standard angled mirror whereas this device helps project the image onto a see through piece of plastic which lowers the quality of the colors. Thus better for sketching rather than painting. Tim's device is way cooler and much more interesting in my opinion

[@BevansDesign]

Holy crap, that shelving thing behind them is awesome. I'd watch a video just on how they built that.

[@fintan9218]

If anyone has ever heard of Vitruvius, he was a Roman architect/engineer from 1st century BCE, apparently he had developed a tool somewhat similar but not with prism. Vitruvius' tool was described as a flat, transparent surface with a grid of strings or fine wires stretched across it. You would look through the device and align the strings with the edges or key points of what they were observing. Which allowed for better consistency of proportions and perspective.

[@jmpattillo]

The camera lucida is still in use in some scientific fields. I have a college who studies small crustaceans called amphipods. In this field, camera lucida drawings (using a CL attached to a stereo microscope) are still the accepted way to submit anatomical drawings for publications characterizing new species. The CL allows the observer to interpret microscopic anatomy by focusing through a specimen under the microscope. A photograph would only capture one focal plane.

[@Crispy_Bee]

These days one would take many photos and then combine them (focus stacking).

[@AO-bl7cc]

@@Crispy_Bee Maybe. Not all labs have automated focus racks, slide stages, and or focus dials.

[@Crispy_Bee]

@@AO-bl7cc well it doesn't have to be automated. Focus stacking has been done for years manually very successfully. But these days software has made a lot of advances so it's far easier so combine these images.

[@JuanAdam12]

I always wondered how scientists and botanists back in the day were so good at drawing plants and birds. Now I know. They traced that shit out of thin air.

[@adcreel9079]

I know right. Lol

[@inkno701]

I wish they would have showed the old tools in use and gave us a view of what it looks like to look into them.

[@dannyc.jewell8788]

Desiring a higher quality video

[@1833yatfu]

go watch 'Tims Vermeer' for answers

[@akabga]

The older devices had numerous lenses so you could get wider images, or clear objects from far away, like for landscaping or architecture. This one is amazingly lacking. The ratio in the distance between you and the subject have to be the same. This thing only extends about two feet from the table, so your subject can only be two feet away. It’s impossible for portraits, and anything further than that.

[@bellaluce7088]

@@akabga ?!?!? I'm baffled by the misinformation and negativity in your comment. Your statement that the subject can only be two feet away is simply not factual. It's also false that the Neolucida XL can't be used for portraits. Also, the designer himself talked about the greater versatility of the antique devices with multiple lenses, and explained that the Neolucida XL was created to provide the basic functionality of tracing from life in a device that's easier to use. Those are the kind of design trade-offs people make all the time, and since they were discussed openly, consumers can make an informed decision. - I truly do not understand hating on something that's actually quite cool and that many people like.

[@akabga]

@@bellaluce7088 We own this and know its limitations. No one is “hating.” Put it back in the deck.

[@0harris0]

this video is a hidden gem!!! such an interesting piece , good stuff 😅

[@Ragnarok043]

im not good at drawing i picked up a neo lucida, im still not good at drawing. its not a cheater tool. think of it like a calculator, does that instantly make you a mathematician.

[@PanEtRosa]

OH MY GOD I'VE BEEN TRYING TO REMEMBER THESE DEVICES FOR OVER A DECADE.

[@blackraven8805]

Just a week ago I got one XIXth century brass telescopic camera lucida in perfect conditions at a flea market with its original leatherette case for 35 euros. Quite a steal...

[@DarkGothicDragon]

Omg this tool is so amazing. And it just shows that art and accurate hand drawn representations can have so many approaches. It is just so awesome to be able to know the tech behind it, the actual technique utilized by early scientists that were not that good at drawing by just relying on their memory. I believe that this is a tool that should be given to any child that has started showing that he/she can draw or that is exploring the world of expressing art on a sheet of paper. Also, the engineering behind it. It is just gorgeus to see that they ended up with a design so cheap to manufacture, and with a glass technique so easy to apply.

[@seanlavoie2]

I saw a thing with the same concept sold in a craft section aimed at kids years. Had no idea that it really might have worked that well.

[@tannaeros]

Really interesting interview, thank you.

[@aricalamari]

This seems like a novelty tool more than anything now a days, but I still found the entire video interesting because I liked hearing about the engineering and history of the device.

[@carlosallende2595]

I've seen these things before I'm sure, in my old class room in the sixties my teacher used what she called an overhead projector, I think she also used the term "Balopticon", very similar in appearance to this tiny gadget, only the school's device was large heavy and cumbersome, but looks very similar!

[@arknark]

I wasn't around in the sixties, but in the 90's and early 2000's they were still using those, believe they were called ELMO's(?)

[@charlie1872]

I have David Hockney's book and this Camera Lucinda. Both fascinating

[@EMY.sr.]

Thanks JAZZA for test

[@Niftified]

16:17 in. On the edge of my seat, anticipating a demonstration anytime now...

[@MrChief101]

Couple'a smart fellows. What's old is new -- and beautiful -- again!

[@donutello_]

To the people complaining about them talking for 20 minutes and testing it the last minute, did you read the title? It says *History* , not review

[@DohelAsencio]

Search Tim's Vermeer better explanation, better tool and shows how to make your own...... on the cheap

[@acesul8811]

Also, presented in an incredibly artistic and motivating way

[@TedChow221]

love that documentary !

[@faizalf119]

The worst part is he's not even credited Tim for inspiring him to make his own Lucida.

[@michaelgonzales8071]

ha! he's my boss. he's really cool in real life.

[@FryGuy1013]

He mentioned the movie in this video.

[@Gerald5000]

This is really cool. I'll certainly be getting one. I don't know how much I'll end up using it, but it's cheap, and easy to set up, and I'll regret not having it in my drawers of drafting supplies. I'm also thinking it could be used to check accuracy of replicas I make, where instead of a sketchbook, I can use a real photo, and line up my own replica as if it's the subject to draw, and see if I can get them to match.

[@jennifer9084]

Yeah I just watched at 20:00 like someone suggested. I wasn't going to watch the full video seeing as so many people were saying it was unnecessarily long.

[@iamironclaw]

Finally something tested.

[@MacoveiVlad]

WTH? The Tested crowd is really weird sometimes. This was a really nice video. It didn't even occur to me that some people might have a problem with it until i tried to up vote and voting was disabled. Tested is and should be a place to feed hungry minds not simply test stuff. For that there are lots of review online. Anyway, i highly recommend watching the mentioned documentary, "Tim's Vermeer", it is really nice!

[@SeaMushroom98]

I thnk that the grievance that most people had was that the original title was "hands on with the Camera Lucinda", but there was hardly any hands on content. I think that Tested has this problem often -- titles that are disingenuous or not representative of the actual content.

[@zachary3352]

About the Tim's Vermeer film, I remember watching it a few years ago in a physics class. As soon as I saw the first minute of the video, I knew it was the same technology and was really hoping they would mention the documentary. As for the length of the video, I completely agree with you. I was captivated the whole time, and really appreciated learning about the history of this amazing tool.

[@infographie]

Excellent

[@erikamagnusson]

Is this usable for left-handed?

[@Sedona_FD3S]

is this similar to how the ghosts in the spooky Disney rides are made?

[@leomolloy5067]

Guys I have tried this in person the video made it look crap but it is way better than you would expect and that's why I backed it

[@kibbkibbie2222]

This is a re-occurring problem for Tested, too much talking not enough actual testing. Sometimes I wonder if you people even read the comments on your videos...

[@MissNLucero]

Not Tested, Norman!

[@TedChow221]

no pay no love.

[@rm9308]

I liked their explanations, but yeah I'd have liked it more if they'd devised a way to demonstrate the optics other than just having Norman draw a terrible orc.

[@CREDITSROLLFILMS]

They have these at the science museum in sf

[@cojawfee]

At least you actually showed what the thing looks like this time.

[@bcgrote]

I backed his first Kickstarter, it is an amazing and fun device. At last, I can draw true to life!

[@Thebasicmaker]

Guys it is italian: camera lucida is pronounced camera luchida( lu as in look, chi as in chip, da as in dart)

[@fazergazer]

Needs accommodation distance between optical elements and eye entrance pupil for eyeglass wearers. You have to get your eye really close to the prism assembly not enough room for glasses

[@libertys.1534]

i know this is tested and you are teaching us about how it works. so i get you guys talking for a long time and i liked hearing about this history. but seriously!! why was it so short??

[@karandex]

New title comes as less of an ad

[@AllIsWellaus]

Genuinely curious. Firstly I plan to get one anyway. I love the fact that you're presenting us with this simple but effective deeply rooted in history. What I am wondering, is it much different drawing over a digital image where it's sitting on 30% opacity and you're using a tablet screen as your pencil?

[@fernandoandreau]

7:38 Henry Fox Talbot doen't invent photography... he invent calotype processes... check your history book please.

[@bobgruner]

I like Norm, but he should have let Pablo Garcia speak more. He is a teacher/expert after all.

[@BoonOrBust]

Very cool Engravers like silversmiths Can they use this tool

[@bob_._.]

Fox-Talbot did not invent photography, he essentially invented photographic paper. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce invented the first photographic process, which used bitumen as the medium. His collaborator Louis Daguerre then came up with the daguerreotype, which was the first process practical enough for widespread use, and the first based on the chemistry of silver. Fox-Talbot followed them.

[@SirGoP]

I bought the Neo Lucida. If only it was a cheap knockoff I'd probably be happy with it. Turns out the prism is completely different from any of the original designs. The image is so dim you basically need to put your object under a spotlight in a dark room for it to be practical. The original would produce an image basically as bright as your scene, which almost makes the Neo Lucida a Camera Obscura by comparison. Also, without the set of lenses that came with the original, you can only properly draw an object that is the same distance from the prism as your paper. Notice how he keeps referring to the image as "different", when he should have just said "inferior". I reckon that novelty item from the 1950's was the real inspiration for the Neo.

[@michaelsnell284]

This would be very good for mechanical parts rendition and exploded diagrams.. for the less IT advanced and proficient..🤔

[@allencampbell1058]

It's sad to know that thousands of people all over the world has given up art because they are not GOOD, drawing accurately but Camera obscura is a dirty little secret all our favorite artist have used....

[@MACTEP_CHOB]

Art is not only drawing. Besides many artists use PC now, because you will use PC to look at it anyway.

[@QuantumVariant]

Need one of these. Thanks

[@freddymeischer2219]

At Knott's berry farm they got a guy who draws portraits on the spot for 10$.they used one of these

[@ERNesbitt]

Search "Camera Lucida" (Gibbs Studios) in the iTunes App Store; it's a digital version with loads more flexibility. An original prism-based camera lucida is a neat tool, but a digital evolution gives it new life.

[@NochSoEinKaddiFan]

Now attach a small camera to the spot where you look into the camera lucida and you can put it as high up as you want when you have a headset like drone pilots do. ;)

[@jasonjase8661]

It is a wonderful little gadget still hard to use. I'm glad he made a bigger one

[@marcteenhc9793]

20 minutes of babbling until they decide to show how the thing works... 20 minutes of my day wasted. Just jump to 20:04!!

[@IronMan-yg4qw]

can this work with drawing tablets?

[@ImOlegna]

Perfect example of art history being altered by tech would be the Roman's concrete being able to create the first arched walls due to a durability increase over just stacking rocks neatly. Creating this powdered concrete gave them the ability to basically mold an entire rock into whichever shape they needed. Even today, we can't reproduce concrete as strong as the Roman's was. We can create arches now bc we use math mostly and additional metal rods, but the Roman's literally had no need for other methods of holding things together. A further example on that would be the invention/or decision to use rebar with concrete, helps large buildings flex without breaking. Super late after this video's release, but think... if the Roman's made an empire state building of their concrete, they wouldn't need rebar because there was NO risk of malleability even under extreme pressure. Their concrete density was unbelievable

[@maxximumb]

Great video. Norm, where is your unaided drawing so that we can gauge the difference it makes?

[@BradGryphonn]

Comment 5: The Neo-Lucida and the XL are nice, but they certainly don't exude the romance that the older Lucidas do.

[@Mr.Monster1313]

But how much does both versions cost ?

[@bcgrote]

Henry Fox Talbot did NOT "invent photography", that was Nicéphore Niépce in the 1820's. Talbot did invent some improved methods, including salt prints, that lead to more advancements in the field along with Daguerre. Actually, Wedgewood had made some approximations of reproduced images in the late 1700's, but Niepce's method was reproduceable, if slow.

[@knk9118]

So a 20 minute video and the only actual testing part is in the last 20 seconds of the video ?? WTF?? It's not even a good drawing

[@maxximumb]

The history behind the gadget was interesting. I enjoyed the video.

[@GeryS.]

knk9118 ikr... TOOOOOO MUCH TALKING

[@wobblysauce]

+

[@GopherPlays]

shoulda read the comments first lol

[@tobeshawkins]

Mate I kind of agree, but the title of the video is the history of it, which is most of the content, but they give an example of use at the end.

[@sandrabeltman9418]

Coming to this 'game' a bit late - was aware of such things in earlier years but I never had opportunity to try out. What would be particularly helpful (to me) is to have someone take a photo or video of what the artist can see when looking straight down into the device (under different lighting conditions) and post that for viewing. The promotional video gives a good idea of the concept of it but as it is a created image ('photoshop'ped overlays) showing it from the side and capturing the 'projected image', paper and pencil creating the tracing - it is not an ACTUAL view of the view through/into the lens. Anyone out there willing to do one like this and let me know?...please?

[@geotrick]

It looks a lot like a teleprompter from the 70's

[@sueniven117]

I would use it in my quilting, for landscapes.

[@katrincarstens5125]

For paintings and drawings a Lucy is priceless and awesome! But the neo is too small. And the bigger ones are Real graphic tools and so they cost a lot more. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I am looking for my new one... 🥰🙏🏻

[@ancientmartianunderground6413]

That guy in the back with the space suit doesn't talk much...is he ok?

[@dacasman]

This is what bakeries use to decorate cakes.

[@Olivier-C]

Wait what, a 20 minutes video for 20 seconds of tracing through a glass, c'mon...

[@dontknowenator]

It's called tested not talked about

[@pmcelraft]

Da Vinci used this method

[@judyrand1688]

I want one!

[@acousticpsychosis]

There are situations where this could be handy, but if youre looking to start drawing, the best way is to just pick up a pen and paper.

[@thecentralscrutinizerr]

This would be a great tool for water color artists who draw and paint out in public.

[@Koloherides]

so much hype to in the end you can only reproduce the size of postcards.

[@TheTarrMan]

Did anyone see the movie Tim's Vermeer? He basically showed and painted using this method.

[@JimmyGunawanX]

SketchAR app and iPad Pro. What is missing is AR glasses 👓 that works that way.

[@nicomaverik]

The video is 17 minutes too long

[@Fishmorph]

That's like the "Pepper's Ghost" effect.

[@lydiaeliza5679]

Somehow a pair of glasses or monocle needs to incorporate this tech so that one can not worry about moving the tool farther or closer to increase or decrease the size of the subject you are wanting to trace.

[@BoonOrBust]

Painting Cameos back in the day

[@wicked650s]

I own the original NeoLucida original. They are not easy to use, in fact it is pretty much useless.

[@bellaluce7088]

I'm glad they addressed this kind of feedback by making the NeoLucida XL. I'm willing to invest time to master cool but finicky technology sometimes, but I'd rather just use the XL with the easier to use viewfinder. That monster drawing he whipped out at the end of the video was badass!

[@kaitsamari]

Why do reviews of this device by users say it is so poor?

[@MrGlenard100]

I had the original NeoLucida. It was pretty much useless and sold it for a surprising profit on ebay because they were hard to get hold of outside the US

[@Gettomix222]

Photography was around since 1840s, popularized in the late 1860s and very common in the 1880s. Why should this tool from 1907 be before photography?

[@markwilliams5654]

it's how they lined up the great pyramid

[@MawoDuffer]

It’s still work but it’s easier than doing it only by eye

[@Koloherides]

I order one sent it right back you can only use it on a small image that has to be right in front of you and you can barely see it really hard if at all to get the image lined up on the canvas or paper total rip for over $100.

[@bellaluce7088]

Are you talking about a different product than the NeoLucida XL featured in this video? It was designed to address those challenges, and it costs less than $100.

[@Fishtail3]

1:07 How to correct someone's pronunciation like a Sir.

[@bomberguy06]

Reminds me of something Vermeer did, Baroque Period. Watch Tim's Vermeer.

[@cmc111992]

reminds me of this old toy i used to have called digidraw

[@eldritchsquirrel3138]

This looks interesting might get one. I think the arrows in the diagram at 15:00 mins are going the wrong way though lol. Having Red arrows emerging from the eye shows it like a laser weapon. The light rays should be traveling from the flower off the mirror and into the eye

[@baplotnik]

I need one

[@250xrider1988]

"I'm looking at you through the glass, don't know how much times has passed, All I know is that it feels like forever, but no one ever tells you that Forever feels like home, sitting all alone inside your head"

[@raymondo162]

9:37: ............. that's the one my brother had ........ !! you're right - it didn't work well

[@joeventura1]

I'm In!

[@judyrand1688]

Awesome

[@85shalli]

Show don’t tell

[@amorembalming]

now, I have a long attention span and will listen to people talking all day about things they are passionate about. This however is taking the piss. 20 minutes of inane wittering on about a very basic tool and principle, to be treated to less than a minute of actual demonstration. Pull your socks up Tested, you are far better than this.

[@muh1h1]

You know a video is going to be terrible when there is no like/dislike enabled!

[@Codename-B]

How come dislikes cant be seen?

[@RobinK]

They disabled the likes/dislikes because they got too many dislikes. I guess they did it to keep up their image.

[@BoonOrBust]

Lithographs might be more precise With this