How to Use a Light Box (Light Pad) for Lettering and Crafts
Time:2022-08-12
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What is a Light Box?
A light box is basically a thin box or tablet with a translucent surface that is lit from inside. You simply place a sheet of paper on it that has guidelines or an image you want to trace, and then place another sheet of paper on top of that. When you turn on the light, it allows you to see the image on the paper beneath.
How Do I Use My Light Box?
For Lettering
For Dry Embossing, Scrapbooking, Tracing
There are many other art and craft applications for a light box. I used to use mine a lot for dry embossing, but I haven’t done that in a while. (I need to get out my stencils and do some dry embossing!) I’ve used it for scrapbooking, too.
For Pattern Tracing and Quilting
A light box is basically a thin box or tablet with a translucent surface that is lit from inside. You simply place a sheet of paper on it that has guidelines or an image you want to trace, and then place another sheet of paper on top of that. When you turn on the light, it allows you to see the image on the paper beneath.
How Do I Use My Light Box?
For Lettering
- It’s perfect for practicing calligraphy, brush lettering, (or any lettering!), because you can just place a sheet of the original letterforms you want to practice on the tablet and trace over them on the top paper. This develops your muscle memory and helps your lettering improve really quickly.
- Also, because you are never actually writing on the original itself, you can use your lettering guidelines over and over. Guidelines help keep your lettering consistent, especially while you are learning or when you’re addressing envelopes, and with a light box, your original guidelines remain pristine and unused. Much better than printing out worksheets over and over! (Of course, for practice, tracing paper works too.)
- If you’ve ever had problems with trying to remove pencil marks, after you’ve watercolored a project, you will love a light box. You can sketch the layout in pencil, place your paper over the pencil sketch, go over your lettering with watercolor, and not have to worry about the pencil lines showing through the watercolor.
- And, creating a lettering layout is much easier with a light pad, too. It saves so much time.
For Dry Embossing, Scrapbooking, Tracing
There are many other art and craft applications for a light box. I used to use mine a lot for dry embossing, but I haven’t done that in a while. (I need to get out my stencils and do some dry embossing!) I’ve used it for scrapbooking, too.
For Pattern Tracing and Quilting
Although I haven’t used mine for sewing (pattern tracing) or quilting, those are some other ways to use a lightbox.
For Kids
Samuel Wu
Samuel