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Using a webcam to aid painting

after watching numerous vids on you tube , i snatched up a sm to investigate....HOW small is that brush needed to do the visor slits !




the phrase "flock of seagulls" or something similar sounding slipped paste the tongue

But in a flash of inspiration i realized you could hook up a webcam , and magnify 'said artifact' to be painted by 10 or 20 times , just what you need for the fine detail !




do i get a prize or something ? lol

Well, using aids to help seeing/painting details is not exactly new.

I knew a whole lot of people who use magnifying glasses (either jewelers you can wear on your head or in an armlamp) in order to get a better view.

Then again, I´ve not seen anyone using a webcam yet.

The problem with most magnification systems is that they interfere with your depth perception. This means that even though seeing fine details might be made easier, painting fine details becomes all the more difficult. This is because you loose all sense of where your brush is along the Z axis.

I would expect a web cam to also suffer from this problem. Though on the plus side... it might afford you a more comfortable neck position while painting.

Smacks wrote:The problem with most magnification systems is that they interfere with your depth perception. This means that even though seeing fine details might be made easier, painting fine details becomes all the more difficult. This is because you loose all sense of where your brush is along the Z axis.

I would expect a web cam to also suffer from this problem. Though on the plus side... it might afford you a more comfortable neck position while painting.

This so much this. I tried using head magnifiers and a lamp magnifier. My perception was just too distorted, with persistence I imagine that you would learn to compensate and manage.

It makes a Huge difference being able to view your model on a screen nearly 2ft wide

especially if your eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be

especially if you are not a master artist au natural

IMHO Webcam + patience = high reward for the average painter

we have the technology , why not use it ?

It does help if you have a good webcam. As ever good lighting is also key.

A webcam in the hands of a capable artist ? Painting Angels on the head of a pin becomes possible



i think the big win happens when it comes to the fine details , mm scale and under ...laying an 'oh so neat line' around the shoulder pad , text on a scroll that kind of thing. Perfect painting of buttons etc. The kind of thing that brings your average painter out in a cold sweat.

I like it!

Ive just had a quick go , ive not painted any minuturs of donkeys years since i was a kid

Basically ...using a webcam takes the 'p' it realy does

Using a needle or a pin you can paint accurate detail that you would need a magnifying glass (or a web cam to JUST see what you have done)

zoomed in, the skull on the sm chest Armour is about an inch or so across. Painting the inside of eye sockets on the skull is a doddle. I could of painted the back of the eye sockets but at this level of detail the naked eye simply wouldn't notice the difference

using a webcam allows you to paint detail beyond visual range...and that all you will ever need to do

it will also be handy for polishing and shaping the plastic , just zinging the whole thing up a level

Im sure a 1 foot magnifying glass would do quite well , however the webcamm allows you to hold the model anyway you like and you can change the colour/contrast via the webcam settings as you wish etc

This has given this newbie painter a great deal of confidence...i dont mind taking my time now. Cos if you slip with a pin or needle you are still in the safety zone, where as with a brush 10 times larger youv'e had it

The high magnification gives you the ability to work with a pin point = huge margin of safety...and that for me is the win



a usb microscope would also work