Cheap Light Box for drawing or inking or...

Step 2 Final assembly

Power the lamp on and fasten the box to the lid. I keep the lamp turned on so I don't have to keep opening the box, I just unplug it when I'm done. Thats it.



A few samples of drawings inked using this light box.

Comments

[kc1313]

oh thank the lord!!!! i, too, just can't bring myself to pay that much for a light box and i thought i was clever but hot dang my problems are solved!!!! thanks so much! as an aspiring tattoo artist, my job is tracing!

[mismonster]

OK I am so doing this like...tomorrow (plexi store is closed already). Thanks!!

[chelle1958]

Fantastic! I have been the crafts supply store several times debating whether to put out the $50 bucks for their lightbox and online even higher. I'm a DIY and it just seemed like it could be made. Whala......you are proof of it's existence. This is cool stuff. I am a cake decorator and I work with rice paper and needed a simpler way to transfer designs. Thanks for sharing the knowledge. If you ever need a cake, look me up!

[UID]

Cool. I'm glad you found it useful!

[Twilley]

Did you have any issues with the plastic container warping or bending at all? Not necessarily from heat, but from the pressure of working on top of it? Also, is the fluorescent light powerful enough to work through Bristol board?

[UID]

Sorry for the delayed reply. The box is rigid enough to keep its form. There might be some bending of the surface, but nothing that interrupted my work. I use it to ink comic pages usually done on 1 or 2 ply bristol. Anything heavier than that would make transferring/inking more difficult.

[joeysdreamgarden]

Fantastic! I did wonder about using a string of cheap LED fairy lights, for their low power consumption and little heat generated but after seeing your idea, this may be the way to go... though I could experiment with LEDs first. I had been looking at lightboxes, and they're so expensive! So this is a fab idea & instructable. :D