April-14-09

Quick & Easy Lightbox Recipe

Rori under Rori's Arsenal
quick-easy-lightbox-recipe

beerlightboxThe lightbox is an invaluable tool for any comic artist. Unfortunately, even the cheap ones are expensive. Here’s something I’ve found works well, is easy to assemble, and costs close to nothing (since you probably already have the materials laying around your living/storage area).

You’ll Need:

  • An empty beer box (or some other sturdy, fairly deep box)
  • A clip or small shop lamp with a bright bulb
  • A pane of glass large enough to overlap the dimensions of the box
  • Electricity

1. Drink the beer (or have a parent drink the beer).
2. Clip the lamp onto the flaps of the box and thread the cord through the handle hole. Plug into an electrical socket.
3. Put the pane of glass on top of the box. Depending on the type of lamp, you may have to turn it on first. Don’t look directly at the lamp. Don’t taunt it, either.

Victory! You are now ready to use the “lightbox”. Unfortunately, you can’t put much pressure on this setup, but it works really well for penciling in backgrounds, keeping proportions in check, etc. You may also want to tape the edges of the glass so as not to cut yourself, now that I think of it.

This is just a basic set up, feel free to go wild with the thing (and if you do, please let me know!). I find when creating a tool, it’s most helpful to remember its basic function stripped of any aesthetic qualities. This frees my mind up to consider options I might not otherwise.
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  1. Ran Said,

    Haha, if I wasn’t sucker enough to dish out $85 for a lightbox already, this would be really useful!

  2. Rori Said,

    Hey, there are still plenty of advantages to a “real” lightbox… $85 just isn’t one of them :)

  3. Ran Said,

    Actually, it just occurred to me that if you wanted to make this lightbox a more permanent fixture, you could take measurements for the beer box, and then go down to your local hardware store and get them to cut you a piece of clear plexiglass, which can take a lot more pressure and won’t shatter. You could then duct-tape it to the box on one side, so it becomes hinged, leaving you free to change the light bulb whenever you need to without disassembling it.

  4. Rori Said,

    Awesome idea! I think they may even sell plexi pre-cut in more manageable sizes.

  5. torito Said,

    i’m glad you included the most necessary ingredient; take that, you amish bitches!

  6. Amber Said,

    My dad used an old ceiling light.. one of the industrial square ones? and put a flat piece of plexi overtop of it, and that worked pretty good too.

    Also, if you have a clear table of coffee table, I imagine that would work fantastically too : )

  7. Ran Said,

    Clear coffee tables sound good in theory, but I’ve never had much luck with them. Most lamps won’t fit under them, and too much light escapes out the side of the table, so the effect is less…effective.

  8. Rori Said,

    Oh! Speaking of effective light, I forgot to point out that you can line the box with foil or white paper or paint it white for stronger reflection.

  9. Ran Said,

    Also sense making. It just occurred to me that that is probably why the box part of my light box is made is stainless steel (which is probably related to why it was $85 come to think of it).

  10. YazzyDream Said,

    This is very helpful, I’m sure to make one during my summer break!

  11. MTD Said,

    I’ve been dying to buy a lightbox, but this is a really neat idea!! Thank you for sharing!:)

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