Lucida Cam: Trace Projector

You draw on real paper, not on the screen. Lucida Cam shows your picture over the live camera view of your page, and you trace it with a pencil. One purchase. No subscription, no ads, no account.

HOW IT WORKS
Put the iPhone on a stack of books, screen up, so the end with the camera sticks out over the paper. Put a small book on top to hold it. Slide your hand with a pencil under the phone, look at the screen and follow the lines you see. A phone stand works too. The phone stays still, so the picture stays in place while you draw.

Lucida Cam is a trace projector and AR drawing tool in the spirit of the camera lucida, the optical aid artists used long before phones.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
• Trace a photo, a sketch or one of the built-in sample pictures onto paper.
• Set how visible the picture is, so you see both the lines and your pencil.
• Turn a photo into clean lines with the Outline, Sketch and Black & White filters.
• Choose black, white or yellow lines. White lines work well on dark paper.
• Mirror the picture when you need a flipped copy, for example for a stamp.
• Lock the screen so a stray touch can’t move the picture.
• Adjust size, rotation and position with buttons, in small or large steps.
• Turn on the flashlight when the room is dim.

GRID MODE, NO CAMERA NEEDED
Draw square by square, the classic way. Lucida Cam puts a labeled grid over your picture and shares the picture with the grid so you can print it. Draw the same squares on paper and copy one square at a time.

WHO IT IS FOR
• Hobby artists and students who want the reference right on the page.
• Parents and kids tracing pictures together.
• Tattoo artists preparing a stencil drawing on paper.
• Anyone who wants to copy a picture by hand and learn to draw along the way.

SIMPLE AND PRIVATE
• Pictures and projects stay on your iPhone. The app works offline and has no server.
• The camera view is never recorded.
• Every project is saved with its position, size and settings.
• Works with large text and VoiceOver.

GOOD TO KNOW
Lucida Cam does not project light onto the paper and does not use ARKit or AI. You look at the screen and draw on the paper under the phone. For a sharp view keep the phone about 20 cm (8 in) above the page. iPhone models with a close-focus camera can sit much lower.

Pay once and keep it.