# What's the name of this optical drawing aid **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-optical-drawing-aid/425801 "2007-11-09T17:18:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bakkup\_Jenna\_Rater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Bakkup\_Jenna\_Rater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakkup_Jenna_Rater)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-optical-drawing-aid/425801/1 "2007-11-09T17:18:05Z")
My art teacher called it a Lucy, which I incorrectly thought was short for luciscope, which apparantly doesn’t exist. It’s completely machanical, no electronics. It was a sort of triangular prism with a mirror on one side, on a stand, with a lens. You would aim it at something, which would then be projected onto your drawing pad, so you could get a realistic sketch, such as of a scene or a person. I suppose it’s the same general idea as a camera obscura, but the size of a tablet. I want to see if I can still buy one, but I can’t figure out what it’s called. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-optical-drawing-aid/425801/2 "2007-11-09T17:21:26Z")
It’s called a **Camera Lucida** , as opposed to a _camera obscura_. Hence “Luci” They used to sell these on the backs of comic books. Astronomer and pioneering photographer John Herschel in the 1830s was a camera lucida enthusiast, making lots of sketches using his. They’re as unsophisticated as disposable camera snapshots… which, in a way, they were. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-optical-drawing-aid/425801/3 "2007-11-09T17:22:30Z")
Camera Lucida on Wikipedia. You can look up plenty of other sites, with the name: > **[Camera lucida](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_lucida)** > > A camera lucida is an optical device used as a drawing aid by artists and microscopists. > The camera lucida projects an optical superimposition of the subject being viewed, onto the surface upon which the artist is drawing. The artist sees both scene and drawing surface simultaneously, as in a photographic double exposure. This allows the artist to duplicate key points of the scene on the drawing surface, thus aiding in the accurate rendering of perspective. > The camera lucida was patented in 1... ---
**Author:** ![Bakkup\_Jenna\_Rater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Bakkup\_Jenna\_Rater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakkup_Jenna_Rater)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-optical-drawing-aid/425801/4 "2007-11-09T17:50:47Z")
Thanks! The closest I got on my own was “Lucernal microscope”, which is something else entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-optical-drawing-aid/425801/5 "2007-11-09T18:18:53Z")
An opaque projector? ---
**Author:** ![twanchic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@twanchic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twanchic)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-optical-drawing-aid/425801/6 "2007-11-09T18:25:10Z")
Here’s where you can cheaper ones though. > **[Artograph Prism Art Projector | BLICK Art Materials](https://www.dickblick.com/products/artograph-prism-art-projector/)** > > Quickly and easily project artwork, designs, prints, and more with the Artograph Prism Art Projector. This tabletop projector is specially designed for projecting a wide assortment of originals. Its horizontal projection range allows for enlargement... If you’re not made of money _most people aren’t_, you can pick up a projector at school auctions. Often they go for about $20-$80. Some tape and tricky mounting can make this work well. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-optical-drawing-aid/425801/7 "2007-11-09T18:38:46Z")
> [@](#): > > An opaque projector? No, an opaque projector is something else entirely. When I was a kid I found plans for one in a circa 1900 "Activities for Boys’ book, and built my own for projecting post cards. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-optical-drawing-aid/425801/8 "2007-11-09T19:15:34Z")
The device linked by **twanchic** is an opaque projector. The bright lights inside the box illuminate the copy and the lenses project the image onto a wall or screen. The “luci” doesn’t use any illumination, at least as part of the device, and allows the user to view the paper and subject at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-optical-drawing-aid/425801/9 "2007-11-09T20:12:23Z")
Yeah, as GaryM says, it’s doesn’t actually PROJECT anything at all, but rather is just a binocular trick so that you look at the object and at your hand/paper at the same time.