Choosing the Best Light Box for Tracing or Drawing
Drawing and tracing without using a light box is a bit like trying to paint on a canvas, without using an easel: you can do it, but it’s unpractical. Sure, all you need to draw is your pencil and a sheet of paper, but the subtle nuances of your artistry might get lost without proper daylight illumination.
Not to be confused with a light table, a drawing light box provides a surface that is evenly backlit by LEDs. It enables artists to draw with enhanced accuracy, regardless of their environment. Whether you are in a design studio, in a coffee shop, on a train or at school, you can use a light box to get the right brightness for your material.
You can also use a light box to trace a picture onto a non-transparent (still translucent) piece of paper such as drawing paper, sketch paper, watercolor paper, canson paper or stained glass paper. This is great news for people such as illustrators, who can use tracing light boxes to ink a comic strip directly from the pencil sketch, without the need for tracing paper or carbon paper.
In addition to being great for drawing and tracing, light boxes – often referred to as light pads of light boards – can be used by photographers to view slides or negatives. They can be quite useful for other purposes, such as scrapbooking and other creative activities, much like calligraphy, serigraphy, embroidery, quilling and more – the possibilities are truly endless!
In short, drawing light boxes are a true game-changer for artists and designer, but how do you know which one’s right for you?
Things to Keep in Mind When Selecting Your Drawing Light Box
With so many different models on the market, choosing a drawing light box can be a real headache. It’s important to consider your specific needs and make sure that the light pad you end up picking will match your expectation. Keep reading to learn more.
Do you need to take your light box around a lot? If so, you should consider the possibility of buying a light box that comes in A4 size. This is a great option for a relatively light-weight, portable item that will seamlessly fit in your backpack. If you prefer to use A3 or A2 paper sheets, you’ll find a larger device preferable instead. A3 is a fairly common size for most applications, while A2 is great for larger portraits such as full-bodied drawings.
As the name itself might imply, a great light box should have good illumination. If you need a light box for tracing, make sure that it can shine through 2 sheets of thick paper. If you want to get technical, aim for a light box that can produce at least 3000 lux. If you only aim to draw or work on other artist projects such as quilting or photography, 1500-3000 lux will suit your needs perfectly well. The vast majority of light boxes out there feature adjustable brightness, so you can dim or brighten the light to the level that suits your project. Generally, they offer 3-5 levels of brightness, but top-of-the-line products allow you to adjust the brightness continuously.
In most cases, powered light boxes with their own power supply are actually brighter than their USB-powered counterparts. The latter must be connected to a computer to operate, although USB chargers are often available as well. On the other hand, with a USB-powered device, you can get a car charger or an external battery and thus have a completely portable light table that you can use everywhere.
You should know that general stores like Amazon sell a large number of Chinese generic products that are imported by third parties who don’t know much about drawing light boxes, and who basically try to sell trendy products. Bad quality LED technology, fragile and faulty cables, no after-sale service, etc. are some examples of common problems with poorly made Chinese products. Of course, we should not generalize and some Chinese manufacturers produce good quality products at low prices. So, be sure to read customer reviews before buying a LED light box from an unknown brand. However, to avoid disappointment, you are better off with a product from a reputable brand, sold by a specialty store.
We reviewed the best drawing / tracing light boxes for artists and created 2 comparison tables to help you pick the one that meets your needs. The first table is dedicated to A4 light boxes, and the second to A3- and A2-sized devices (click here to directly see the second table).
2020‘s Top 6 Tracing Light Boxes in A4 Size
| Artograph LightTracer | Daylight Wafer 1 | Huion A4 | Huion L4S | Huion LB4 | Artograph Lightpad 930 LX | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tracing Light Box Picture |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Light Pad Dimensions | 12" x 12.25" x 2.5" 305 x 311 x 6.3 mm | 10.6" x 14.0" x 0.3" 270 x 360 x 8 mm | 10.6" x 14.2" x 0.3" 270 x 360 x 8 mm | 10.6" x 14.2" x 0.3" 270 x 360 x 8 mm | 10.6"x 15.7" x 0.3" 270 x 400 x 8 mm | 11.4" x 14.4" x 0.47" 289 x 365 x12 mm |
| Lit Area | 10" x 12" 254 x 305 mm | 9.0" x 12.5" 230 x 320 mm | 8.7" x 12.6" 220 x 320 mm | 8.2" x 12.2" 210 x 310 mm | 9.0" x 12.5" 230 x 320 mm | 9" x 12" 230 x 305 mm |
| Color Temperature | 6500 K | 6000 K | 9000 K | 9000 K | 9000 K | 6500 K |
| Max Brightness | 14000 lux | 3200 lux | 4480 lux | 1500 lux | 1500 lux | 5000 lux |
| Dimmable? | ||||||
| Power Supply | Power Adapter | Power Adapter | Power Adapter | USB | Lithium Battery | Power Adapter |
| Rating | ||||||
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Artograph LightTracer: The Brightest Tracing Light Box
The Artograph LightTracer is a great choice for an affordable light box to do all your drawing, quilting and calligraphy needs. It’s particularly well suited for tracing, thanks to its very bright surface (14000 lux).
The LightTracer series is proudly made in the USA. It’s made from durable ABS plastic and weights under 3 lb (1.5 kg). It features a convenient design with a comfortable slanted lighted surface, making it it a whole lot easier to work on sketches and drawings. The Artograph LightTracer also has an integrated tool tray, which is a handy place to keep pencils, eraser, rulers and other drawing tools at your fingertips.
Daylight Wafer 1: an Extra Thin Drawing Light Board
Established in London in 1987, the Daylight Company is one of the leading innovators in quality lighting in the art sector. Like everything that this brand manufactures, the Wafer 1 offers daylight light source, providing true colour matching. In addition to creating a vibrant working environment, a colour balanced lighting is very helpful when sewing or viewing negatives.
In addition, the illumination is flicker-free and even across the entire surface. By holding the on-off button, you can adjust the tablet lighting according to ambient lighting and paper thickness/weight. Max brightness is relatively low compared to Artograph LightTracer (we wouldn’t recommend using it as a light board for tracing through very thick paper), but it is plenty enough for most uses.
Huion A4, L4S & LB4 Light Pads
Huion is a chinese company that manufactures all kinds of devices for artists and designers: graphic tablets, stylus pens, pen tablet monitors, drawing light pads… Huion A4, L4S & LB4 models are great LED light pads at a great price: they are ultra slim, light and beautifully made. Illumination is uniform, and the brightness is dimmable from 0% to 100% (the power button acts like a dimmer switch: you just have to press and hold it to change the brightness).
With 4800 lux, the Huion A4 is one of the most luminous light pads on the market, while the Huion LB4 is the first drawing light pad ever with a rechargeable Lithium battery. Huion LB4 has an autonomy of 5 hours, during which it can be used completely wirelessly. It’s the perfect portable drawing board! However, it is worth noting that the L4S and LB4 models have a much lower brightness (1500 lux) than the A4 model. Therefore, we wouldn’t recommend these models for tracing.
Artograph Lightpad 930 LX: the American-Made A4 Light Box
The most renowned tracing light boxes are made in the USA by Artograph (based in Delano, Minnesota). The LightPad® LX series light boxes are superior quality products (at a reasonnable price), with an elegant design and an exemplary finish. Moreover, they are extremely resistant (see for yourself here and there ) thanks to their aluminium frames and reinforced chrome-steel corners.
Our Choices for the Best A2 & A3 Light Boxes for artists
| Daylight Wafer 2 | Huion LA3 | Huion LB3 | Artograph Lightpad 940 LX | Huion A2 | Artograph Lightpad 950 LX | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Format | A3 | A3 | A3 | A3 | A2 | A2 |
| Light Box Dimensions | 14" x 19" x 0.3" 360 x 480 x 8 mm | 14.2" x 18.8" x 0.3" 360 x 479 x 8 mm | 13.8" x 19.7" x 0.3" 350 x 500 x 8 mm | 14.25" x 19.25" x 0.5" 362 x 489 x 12 mm | 14.7" x 22.4" x 0.3" 373 x 570 x 8 mm | 19.25" x 26.5" x 0.5" 489 x 673 x 12 mm |
| Work Surface | 11" x 17" 320 x 440 mm | 12.2" x 16.9" 310 x 430 mm | 11.8" x 16.5" 300 x 420 mm | 12" x 17" 305 x 432 mm | 12.6" x 20.5" 320 x 520 mm | 17" x 24" 432 x 610 mm |
| Color Temperature | 6000 K | 10000 K | 9000 K | 6500 K | 10000 K | 6500 K |
| Max Brightness | 2300 lux | 4050 lux | 1500 lux | 5000 lux | 2000 lux | 5000 lux |
| Continuous Dimming Control? | ||||||
| Power Supply | Wall Adapter | Wall Adapter | Lithium Battery | Wall Adapter | Wall Adapter | Wall Adapter |
| Rating | ||||||
| View at | View at View at | View at View at | View at | View at View at | View at |
Wafer 2: Daylight A3 Light Box for Drawing
The Daylight Wafer 2 uses state-of-the-art technology with low heat emission LEDs and natural daylight illumination, providing perfect colour matching qualities. The illumination is perfectly even and dimmable down to 10% brightness. The brightest setting (2300 lux) is bright enough to allow you to trace from light sketch paper onto watercolor or bristol paper.
The device is slim and surprisingly lightweight for its size: 3.6 lb (1.6 kg), making it easily portable. Moreover, there are rulers (with graduation in both inches and centimeters) on the top and left edges of the plexiglass surface, which can be useful for drawing architectural plans.
Huion Light Boxes in A3 and A2 Size
Huion A2, LB3 and LA3 light boxes will surprise you with their high quality and low price. They are compact, evenly lit, and feature continuous dimming control.
The maximum brightness of the Huion LA3 is very high (4500 lux), while that of the Huion A2 and Huion LB3 is much lower (⩽ 2000 lux). This light intensity of 2000 lux is high enough to make a drawing on white paper, but if you plan to use colored canson sheets, you will need to choose a model that offers more intense lighting.
Also of note, the LB3 is battery-powered, which makes it very mobile: you can trace or just draw absolutely anywhere you want.
Artograph 940 & 950 LX: The Best A3 & A2 Light Pads
The 940 LX and 950 LX by Artograph feature the same lightweight yet robust aluminium design as the 930 LX, but with larger lit area. The robustness of Artograph products is particularly reassuring when it comes to large format LED tracing pads.
As usual with Artograph, high intensity LEDs provide a perfect, evenly lit surface, and the brightness is continuously adjustable, from 500 to 5000 lux. An intensity of 5000 lux allows you to trace with ease through thick paper.
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