NeoLucida Plus

The NeoLucida Plus is an update to the original prism NeoLucida with advanced, integrated features to make drawing easier for beginners and experienced artists alike.

It works just like the NeoLucida: Look down into the eyepiece to see a ghost image of your subject on your paper. The NeoLucida Plus uses an all-new prism design to make looking into the eyepiece easier.

Use the NeoLucida Plus for portraits, landscapes, still-life, or image copying.

The NeoLucida Plus was launched in 2023 and was supported by 1,990 backers on Kickstarter. Learn more about the NeoLucida Plus from the 2023 Kickstarter campaign here.

Want to learn more about the camera lucida? Check out our History section for more.

We know learning to draw is hard. Click here to learn more about why, and how NeoLucida might help.

PRE-ORDER Now available from Big Idea Design, the authorized seller for all things NeoLucida.

How it Works: NeoLucida Plus, a Split-Vision Camera Lucida

The NeoLucida Plus, like the original NeoLucida, is a “split-vision” camera lucida design. The optical arrangement is a setup where you see straight through to your paper with a reflected ghost image of your subject superimposed. The NeoLucida Plus prism is based on the very first camera lucida design created by William Hyde Wollaston in 1807.

The NeoLucida Plus uses a prism to split your vision between a view of your paper and a view of your subject. There have been different prism configurations over time, but each split-pupil prism design works the same way:

  • When you place your eye close to the edge of the prism, the lower part of your view sees the paper. The upper part of your view looks into the prism. Your brain superimposes the two images into the appearance of a ghost image of your subject onto your paper.

  • The combination of internal reflections and optical refraction provides the double reflection to make the image on your paper right-side up and correct left-right.