We got an 8′ piece for less than $3.Ĭut into 4 pieces: two 13″, & two 14.5″. It fits our acrylic sheet perfectly and can even be used to hold your paper into place while your tracing. This tile edge molding is awesome and was really just a lucky coincidence that we noticed it at the hardware store. Hammer some nails into this sucker, and you’ve got a box! These holes were also 3/8″ from the edge. Using the same table-clamping method for my last pilot holes, I drilled some holes along the edge of my MDF– which will be my base. Make sure to put your controller & plug on the outside, and the lights on the inside of your box! Now you can string your LED lights’ power cord through. This took a really steady hand and a little sandpaper. On the bottom side of my frame, I used the power drill to boar a small hole along the back, bottom edge. Next you will want to clamp two sides to make a corner, and nail them into place. (This required two people, one to hold and one to clamp.)ĭo this with all four corners, and you should end up with something like this!
This is important for ensuring the corners of your frame are flush. Since the thickness of my side pieces was 3/4″, I drilled pilot holes 3/8″ from the short edge. To do this, clamp your side pieces to a hard surface, mark your pilot holes, and drill! Make sure to consider the width of your plank. The edges weren’t perfect, but after a little sandpaper, no one’s the wiser!ĭrilling pilot holes is important to prevent your wood from splitting. However, they don’t guarantee precision so you may opt to cut them yourself. 75″ overlap at the corners.Īll these items can be found in Lowe’s or Home Depot and they will cut them for you as well. So in order for the sides of my box to overlap perfectly, I cut the plank into 4 pieces: Two pieces 13″ long, & two pieces 14.5″ long. The plank of wood I bought was labelled 1″ x 6″ x 6′. I wanted a 16″x13″ drawing surface, so I cut my white acrylic sheet & MDF to be 16″x13″.
STEP ONE: CUT YOUR WOOD, MDF & ACRYLIC TO SIZE – Plastic Tile Edge Molding (for holding your acrylic in place) – LED puck lights (3 for $40 at Lowe’s– cheaper ones exist, but I wanted the dimmer switch and lights that were already chained together) I used a hard pine because its pretty and decently durable. LED lights to prevent overheating– also much more pleasant, less headache-inducing light than fluorescents. Holds my paper in place without paperclips or a clamp. Five foot power cord with a dimmer & on/off switch attached to the box via velcro. Here’s what I did:ġ3″ x 16″ (x 6″ deep) DIY Lightbox perfect for tracing, drawing and inking. It’s awesome and building it myself allowed me to customize my lightbox to fit my needs perfectly. Is it battery powered? Can it be plugged into a laptop via USB, or does it use mains power? When its time to buy, check out eBays great range of art projectors and light boxes, being sure to invest in other essentials such as other drawing accessories at the same time.For less than $100 I built my own lightbox for tracing, drawing or inking. Lastly, look at the light boxs power source. Energy efficiency is also worth looking into, taking into account how many working hours the lamp will provide before it needs to be replaced. The light should be bright enough to work with thick paper, and if possible, a dimmer switch should allow for the light to be turned up and down. Ensure the light box has a nice, even light over the entire screen, with no hot spots. Light is also incredibly important, as one would expect from an item with light in its name. In terms of the drawing surface, it can be a good idea to choose a light box with a slanted drawing surface, as this can be more comfortable to use.
#ANIMATION LIGHT BOX DIY PORTABLE#
This means looking at the screen size to ensure it offers sufficient screen space for the task at hand, while also being lightweight and portable enough to carry around, if needed. When buying a light box, one of the first things to look at is the size of the box. The light box they choose will have to offer the functionality they need, as well as portability and efficiency. From drawing and tracing, to sketching and animation, tattoo tracing and calligraphy, stencilling and embossing, scrapbooking and quilting, stained glass making and creating embroidery designs - a light box can make the process easier and much more efficient.īuyers may have to take into consideration a number of factors when comparing tracing light boxes. With a smooth glass surface, the light box provides a uniform light over the entire surface, to be used in any number of artistic endeavours. Also known as a drawing light box, a tracing light box provides a brightly lit surface for artists to use when drawing or tracing.