I have at least one project, in the near future, where I want to be able to trace and then paint a picture. If things go well, it will be posted towards the end of the year. In preparation, I’ve been thinking about how to trace the desired picture as my drawing abilities aren’t much better than stick figure drawing.
The two main ideas were using a VR headset and using a projector. There are a couple of programs available for the Quest that will let you trace pictures. I experimented with a few and they weren’t bad, but none was good enough or resolved all the usability/reproducibility challenges needed for the kinds of projects I might want to try. That left me with the projector path. There are lots of projectors, probably a lot that will work…it is also a space where the documented specifications and product descriptions are approaching fraudulent. The content below is where I ended up. I don’t think I can recommend a specific solution, but this might provide some clues for others.
Note, there are other tracing options. Digital versions of a Camera Lucida come to mind. I’ve seen some impressive mural setups that use a camera (e.g. a tablet) and a phone display. You use the camera on a tablet to cover the total area and a matching application on the phone merges the tablet picture, your desired image and your camera’s current view to show you where your pencil/pen is at in the desired picture. It’s rather cool. I’ve also seen a smaller scale phone tracing app that uses the local camera and display to help you see where your lines should go. But, these are much more difficult for my purposes.
Projector
Desired camera features:
- Short Minimum Throw: This is the minimum focus distance from the projector to the target canvas. The unit I chose was 33 inches. I wasn’t finding cheap projects that were much shorter.
- Throw ratio: In simple terms, this is how big you can make the picture at a given distance. I didn’t focus on this as I figured I could raise and lower the project for a small amount of changes.
- Brightness: There are a couple of measurements out there, but the sellers lie and mislead around all aspects of this metric.
There are some projectors aimed at artists. Some of the ‘tracing’ projectors had bad reviews and were significantly overpriced, so I didn’t go with any of them. There was one that was well regarded and good for murals, but I wasn’t going to do murals and it was above my desired price point. I caught myself oscillating between the cheap projectors and the next models up and decided to go down the cheap route. I expected it to be dim, but I didn’t need it to be that bright for my needs.
I bought a ELEPHAS 2024 projector. It has a weak projection at 3′ as you can see in the pictures above. With my shop lights on it is very pale 38″ away from the table. With the lights off, but daylight coming in through the garage windows, it is usable. It would be meeting my expectations if the transformer hadn’t died after the third time I powered it up. Luckily, in my pile of saved transformers, I found one that met the needed specifications.
Image Source
To get an image to the projector, I’m using a USB to HDMI adaptor to my Samsung Android tablet. It seems to just work. Samsung has their DEX software that wants to give it a virtual display. I found it was easier to turn DEX off and just have it mirror my display.
Software
I’m currently searching for an android application that will allow me to easily position and size an image for tracing. Very importantly, I need it to remember that viewport so I can trace something over multiple sessions. For example, a drawing program is likely not going to remember the exact view position. And, of course, I would also like to have the picture full screen so I can best utilize the display. I haven’t found an ideal application yet. I have some picture related programs and drawing programs that will work if I don’t find anything. I suspect something exists and I’m willing to pay a couple of bucks for it, but I haven’t found what I wanted yet. I’ve started posting in some artist forums to see what other people are using.
Overhead Frame
As for the largest part of this build, the overhead frame, that was mostly what I had lying around. A long time ago, when I was brewing beer, I build a beer sculpture. In short a metal frame for holding a spot to brew/cook beer and also a spot for processing grains. I also had motors and a small control panel for managing the pumps. I build this out of metal channels. I no longer use the brew sculpture, so I took it apart and cut for this use case. I made it long enough to cover both of my benches as I think this will also be good to hang spot lighting and for hanging tools/supports.
For others, I saw some simplistic overhead desk frames on Amazon for about $100-200. There are probably other options for holding up a projector as well, depending on your budget.
Mount
Not mentioned above, but make sure you get a projector that has a standard mount. That will let you use the million+ camera products on the market. The mount I picked is overkill, but I can use it for other things. The projector will not be permanently mounted in this position. And, it was only $15.
Other thoughts
I wouldn’t buy a projector to double for entertainment or other purposes. It really isn’t worth it. The requirements are just too different.
I almost bought some of the nifty looking tiny, battery powered ones. But, I really don’t need battery powered and I knew it wasn’t going to improve the brightness.
I would focus on minimum throw and brightness. If you are doing something tabletop or close, just buy a cheap one and consider it disposable. If you are doing something large, get something that has been proven to be able to do that job. I would recommend something slightly better than I what I bought with a focus on something a bit brighter. But, as long as this lives for my limited usage, I’ll be satisfied.
I would stay away from the “Art” projectors. They seem to be expensive and have poor reviews. However, one or two came with software that would solve my issue above. I’m still confident I’ll find something that meets my need, so I don’t think the trade off is worth it.