There are two main ways to create art with our Camera Obscuras. One is to observe the image and paint on a separate canvas or you can draw directly on the image.
Observing the image and paint on a separate surface
The image projected by a Camera Obscura is like no other image you will ever see. From the pictures of the image on the right you can get a good idea what the image will look like, but it is impossible for a digital image to truthfully capture every thing that it is. It is, of course, a full color moving image of your surroundings, but it is much more then that.
The Camera Obscura's image has a beautiful and profound effect on a subject. It simplifies it while adding depth and enriching color. It looks more vivid then life, and you can see every detail just as if you were looking right at it: like you can reach out and grab it.
It is said that Jan Vermeer used a Camera Obscura, much like this one, to observe the subjects that he painted. See the video below:
Plus it sees the same way we see with our eyes. When you look at an object it is sharp in focus and everything else softens into the background, but as soon as you look to see the soft background it become the sharp foreground. But with this Camera Obscura you can observe a scene the way your eye sees it without your eye's constant refocusing. Observing the camera Obscura's image will teach you how to paint the way you see, which will add untold depth to your work.
Besides the beautiful effect, drawing from a Camera Obscura's two-dimensional image is easier then drawing from a live three-dimensional field: in the same way it is easier to copy a picture then paint from life. The Camera Obscura translates the 3D into the 2D-helping you better capture depth in your painting.
Drawing directly on the image
You can also draw directly on the image: either by placing a piece of clear plastic over the ground glass and drawing on that, or use the clear acrylic glass screen with a piece of tracing paper over it. The image will project right onto your paper and look like a TV screen that you can draw on.
But remember that the screen size is small [5in (12.7cm) x 6.5in (16.5cm) or 5in (12.7cm) x 5in (12.7cm)] , so if you use the tracing method your drawing can only be a s big as the screen. If you are interested in an art tool to help with larger drawings, then check out our camera lucida!
