Thanks for showing the 300lb paper on that light pad! I've had my eye on it for awhile but I always wanted to test it with really thick paper. Perfect review, thanks!
Becuz of this review, I bought a slightly smaller version, $39.00 @Amazon. WOW!! Super light, very bright. Can even allow for heavy 300lb card stock like Steve showed. If you need a light box, you can't go wrong with these. THANK YOU, STEVE!! Great review
Thank you so much for that. I have a similar lightbox which I've hardly used as it never seemed bright enough. It didn't occur to me to switch off the lights around me!! So glad I watched your video.
Recently started watercolor at 62. I'm so happy I found you. You have a lot of great information. I just watched the watercolor pallet one, and I have most of the ones you mentioned, so I'm set up on that. I started buying WN paints for the good paintings whenever that will happen. LOL. But I am using my older paint so not to waste it. I'm so excited and grateful for people like you, who take your precious time to teach us techniques, and products available out there. Again thank you sooo much. When I'm a little better I will invest in the lightbox. I have one but is quite small compared to the one you just showed. Ok, ok I'm done.
Love your show. Thank you for sharing your best tips. I am recovering from an injury and trying to find something new to fill my days. You make watercolor fun!!
Great video, as always, Steve! I bought the A4 Huion light pad after I saw my sister-in-law's that she uses for quilting patterns. I really like it for the papercrafting that I do. Unfortunately, mine didn't come with an AC adapter--it has to plug into one of my computer's USB ports. However, I found that the adapter for charging my iPhone works great on the end of the lo-o-o-ng cord that came with mine, so I can plug into a regular electrical socket. I was impressed to see that these will work with 300-lb watercolor paper! What a bonus!
Thanks for the video, Steve. I bought the same Huion A3 Light Pad a while ago. I have a habit of sketching an idea on the nearest scrap of paper. Enlarging on a computer and scanner, printing, then using the light pad enabled me to turn those ideas into paintings without having to start all over again. Excellent product. These days I keep a small watercolour pad handy but I still haven't broken the habit of drawing on whatever is to hand.
Great video as always. Just another helpful tip: I've been known to use my computer monitor or even my larger LED TV display. They both work to great effect. Hopefully that's helpful to some hobbyists like myself who want to be able to do transfers without getting graphite all over the pkace or spending additional money. Of course the mobility of the light tablet can't be beat.Thank you once again Captain Watercolor! Keep on washin'!
Thanks for the input. Yep, whatever works. I've been known to use the sliding glass doors to our back deck for a lighbox. Worked just fine. Just have to tape the work down.
This is what I do, but unfortunatly for me the doors open to a covered porch. So if I need to transfer to watercolor paper and the other sheet is thicker than sketch paper it's really difficult.
I used to use my mom’s glass top coffee table as my own personal light table. Lol. She would set a little desk lamp under the table and I would trace and paint(watercolor) and color to my heart’s content.
This is the brand of light pad I choose to buy too and it's really nice how it adjusts intensity and makes sketching out watercolor greeting cards much easier and faster. I bought an extra clip for it too but have never used them! Tape leaves a sticky residue behind so that part I still grapple with.
i have a small size one of these. For the price it's really great as the thing is comparable to the artograph from what I've seen of those. I use it for so many things from painting to comics to transfering patterns for embroidery.
I bought one of these a few years ago for viewing slides. Smaller, but still, I can use it. I also have a class drafting table that I could use with led lighting underneath. Great ideas from this video.
I'm a beginning watercolorist and as i was practicing gradient washes I tried to paint a wee picture freehand. it sucked. then i remembered I cannot draw...... except a child's version of animals. *rolls eyes at self* In order to paint I need something 'to' paint... duh. i do believe a lightbox is the answer. thank you for this.
Saw this video a couple of months ago and bought another brand on Amazon. Big mistake. Poor lighting and then it just quit working. So bought the Huion and am delighted with it! Not very confident in my drawing yet, but using the light pad helps me transfer my best efforts to the paper. Appreciate your recommendation, Steve.
I bought one on a huge sale and totally worth the money. Seriously it made me overcome my fear of making mistakes and ruining good sketches in traditional art
Another great vid. I've got the A4 huion which is cool too. It works off of USB power so you can use a charged phone bank to power it. You can then use it in the field when there is no mains which is a great bonus. I sometimes use watercolour pencils in similar colours to the original for the tracing. Cheers g
Hello thank you for showing how the Huion light pad works on 300 lb watercolour paper. Its my favoriete drawing and sketching paper. I have bought the huion A2 light/ tracing pad. I love you,re drawings
Thanks for this Steve! I haven't used a lightbox/pad since middle school art class but I'm thinking one of my own might be good, particularly for any kind of figurative work or portraits (of people or animals). The line drawing for any kind of realistic work in any medium is by far my greatest challenge so I like to take advantage of whatever I can. If I'm doing a loose, impressionistic landscape I don't need a line drawing but I see this being useful for portraits as I said.
Yes, exactly. I do a lot of iterative drawing for portraiture and a light pad is invaluable. Tracing paper can work but when your iteration only needs a few tweaks a light pad facilitates going right to the watercolor paper instead of a final transfer.
Thank you for unboxing your Huion light pad for us. I have been thinking about getting a light pad to replace my old dim and cumbersome light box. Yep, gotta have one.
Great video. Just wish I had found your channel earlier. Last month I bought an Artograph Pro Led 17x17 light pad. Works fine but SO much more expensive for the same as this one. Only difference is it can generate warm or cool light, includes a cloth cover and two pucks to prop it up. Not worth the diff in price to me. Guess I'm just paying for the name . Sigh. Oh well. Will keep watching you for excellent tips on painting and products. Thanks so much for all of this.😍
I've had this on my wish list at Amazon for a while, thinking and thinking whether the to get it or not... So, this is video comes just in time!!! Thanks a million!
I just purchased a highly rated A4 size (9 x 13, the smallest) light tablet from Amazon for like $23.00. “Picture Perfect” is the brand. (There were many other highly rated & reasonably priced tablets listed.) This one is super lightweight and has 3 brightness settings. I’ve been wanting one for a while and even occasional use will make it worth it. If I see I need something bigger or more sophisticated, which I doubt, I’ll feel free to get another one down the road with only spending $23.00 on this one.
This video has helped me a lot, I was just looking at them 2 days ago, the bit about being able to see the photo or your picture through watercolour paper, even the thick stuff is great. I sometimes do it old school way, up against a window on tracing paper, then use graphite paper on watercolour paper
My light box is a home made wooden--well, it's a box with a light bulb socket on the inside. The top is a sheet of white, spray painted plexiglass sheet mounted on a hinge. Ithas two settings, off and on. Brightness can be adjusted by swapping the LED bulb for a brighter bulb. What it lacks in versatility and features it makes up for in that it was inexpensive and that I already have it. This is in contrast to other light boxes, light tables and light pads, which I don't have.
Yup! I believe in using what you have. My first light box was home made and very much like you describe. It did the job as do opaque projectors, patio doors and TVs as many here have said. Been there done that. The second light box I owned was given to me (the big metal one shown a the end of this video). Used it for 3 decades. Great but a beast! LED's light pads were a breakthrough for me. Lower cost (relatively) lack of hot spots for very even lighting and thin, lightweight, portable form factor that sets up right on an easel like a drawing pad. Love it so much! Need is relative but sliced bread is sliced bread!
Thanks for the review - it was what I was looking for. I do enjoy your tutorials and would like to see one on how you go about recording and editing your videos. Keep up the good work, and thank you by the way, for creating these, it takes some time and planning to create these.
Thanks for the excellent review. Very nice light box , but with my iPad 27" display I turn the display brightness up to max, bring a photo onto the screen, tape on a blank 140# cold press, and outline with a 2B pencil. Works for me.
Or if you don’t have a light box and have a iPad... search from google “white” screenshot the picture and then go to camera roll and click it.. there ya go! Or if you want a even better quality on App Store you can download a nightlight app! I have one and you can like choose the nightlight! There’s one that’s completely white which is the one you should use!
Just catching up on your videos and I've been wanting a decent flat light pad for about 5 years now...because my old cheap small one can hardly shine through drawing paper, let alone watercolour paper! Watched the video...clicked on the link...it was on a 'flash sale' at $75. Can't wait for it to arrive on Wednesday now! Thanks :)
Hello man. Thanks for the vid. I just bought one similar to yours. They are cool. I also have my old giant home made light box. The only thing i do not agree with is that the giant is horrible. Maybe in a few years you'll become nostalgic and you'll need to use it again ;). Peace
Nice review! I am using a cheap, handheld 8.5 x 11" Crayola tracing pad at the moment - the brightness isn't adjustable, and it doesn't handle thicker papers. The Huion would be a great upgrade, although the Crayola is an inexpensive option for hobbyists (like me). Thanks for showing this off!
Thank you 😊I love your videos!! You mentioned a projector!!...could you do a video on how well they help or what to look for when purchasing one?!? That would be very helpful!! Thanks for sharing all of your info and painting tips!!😎
+Donna Spitler I probably won't do a video but they are primarily for enlargement tracing of small sketches and photos. Now days I just get photocopy blow ups because I don't enlarge them enough to need a projector. Projectors are useful for transferring to very large opaque surfaces like big canvases or painting boards. Kind of awkward and clunky to use. And you need almost complete darkness.
Thanks for this review. I have a homemade one that I have had for years, but the light is very uneven and not really bright enough. It can be most frustrating to use and takes up valuable bench space. The one you reviewed and demonstrated looks to be an excellent light box/pad. Interesting Steve.
I bought a cheap one on Amazon for like $12 and I use it to add characters to my watercolor paintings. Since this is my process, the light pad has to be bright enough to be able to see the character I printed out on printer paper through my painted watercolor paper. As long as my painting isn't too dark, it works okay. I'm wondering how much brighter if any a more expensive light pad would be as opposed to a $12 on amazon?
Hello, thank you for this video. I was wondering if a light pad for 'diamond painting' kits would work as well for my watercolor paper. I think this will work fine now.
Wow, very impressive light pad!! My old one looks like your old one, maybe now is the time to upgrade. The new one is soo thin! Thanks for the info and the vid!
Sly Cash I found mine from this brand really great. the LED is really nice if you're used to older thick incandescent ones simply due to the nice low profile.
Hmmm... Have you ever had one of those "Ah ha" moments where a light comes on in your old noggin, and you suddenly understand the punch line that everyone else figured out a long time ago? That was me tonight...lol! Several years ago I worked in stained glass and used a light box....... Tonight I was making my way around an online electronics store and coming upon this light pad I thought, "Hmmm... another interesting crafty item. I wonder what it does?" (I had visions of moving the stylus and a picture showing up on a computer monitor or something) . Now I have never owned an iPad, mp3 player, etc- only a computer- so pretty technologically ignorant at this point (something I am working hard to rectify as you can see). Recently I have been getting back into stained glass, and I had a good laugh seeing this video, because I suddenly thought, "You mean I don't have to build a big clunky light box out of scrap 2by4's, a piece of plexiglass and an old lamp?!?" I NEED THIS GADGET! Thank you for a very straight forward, simple review! I can't afford to waste a penny of my money! I'll definitely be back to watch your other videos!
HI: I think someone else just asked this but does this work with photographs? Thanks for your great videos! I enjoy your enthusiasm and sense of humor.
+Cathy Mumford yes, with 140 lb paper but by the time you add the thickness of 300 lb paper to photo paper its a bit too thick to see through. In that case you need to have your photo copied to plain paper.
What kind of desktop lighting would you suggest and what kind of equipment would you recommend in today's world. Thirty years ago, I would have two lights, one on either side of my drafting table to even out the lighting. I used incandescent for one lamp and florescent for the other lamp, but understand LED lighting is "better" for artists. I'm setting my space back up now that I've retired and want to get started right. You have been sticking with art and keeping current and I was hoping to take advantage of your experience. Thank you!
I use a 2- tube fluorescent fixture directly over head with natural daylight bulbs (5000k) And I use a daylight fill light (LED also 5000k) over my left shoulder to even out the overhead shadows. Works well.
Very interesting video. I have always wondered if there was something better (less fiddly) than tracing paper. Also going by the comments here, looks like it is okay to make a scrap one or improvise with a monitor to try out first. :)
I just got one yesterday and am so thrilled with it. I'm wondering: can this light box be used to transfer a design onto needlepoint a needlepoint canvas or for embroidery purposes?
I just got the a4 on my birthday, I wanted one for transferring stamp prints. I háve stamps but blowingup or downsizing stamps on screen can be so much fun for variation. I would have LOVED the option for a LED BOX with a usb port option, wich would be a money saver on ink and paper. I mean: They háve the tablet thing going: why not put a system in it so you can import directly from an usb stick.
Question Steve. I notice you are using a mechanical pencil. Which size graphite do you recommend for drawing on watercolour paper. I’m tired of sharpening regular pencils.
Its personal preference. I have pretty much all sizes. I tend to use .5 and .7 the most. .3 is good for fine detail. .9 is good for filling in or shading.
I have a projector which I hardly use as Michael said you need to work in the dark,so it's been a waste for me ,also the fact I can get images enlarged.
