# Camera Lucida™: AR Drawing

> Masterful drawing in minutes!

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/id362499096](https://chrome-stats.com/d/id362499096)

## Overview

- **ID:** `id362499096`
- **Platform:** Apple
- **Type:** Apple app
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** Camera Lucida
- **Category:** Graphics & Design
- **Rating:** 4.80 / 5 (1,967 ratings)
- **Version:** 17.1
- **Last updated:** 2024-07-06
- **First published:** 2010-03-20
- **Size:** 55 MB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-04
- **Store listing:** [Apple App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/camera-lucida-ar-drawing/id362499096)
- **Website:** [https://cameralucidaart.com](https://cameralucidaart.com/)
- **Privacy policy:** [https://cameralucidaart.com](https://cameralucidaart.com/)

## Description

Camera Lucida™: AR Drawing is a one-time purchase AR tool that lets you overlay a reference image onto paper as you draw. Point your iPhone or iPad at your drawing surface and watch a live guide appear on screen to help you trace with precision.

With 12+ years of development, it includes features like zoom-in lock, session save and restore, full color palette control, time-lapse recordings, and comprehensive tutorials. It supports external USB cameras on compatible iPads and provides a helpful user manual and active artist community.

## Rankings

- #40,053 — Overall
- #10 — Graphics & Design (Paid)

## Review summary

Overall, users widely praise Camera Lucida for boosting drawing accuracy, saving time, and offering strong support and learning resources. It’s viewed as a valuable, low-cost alternative to hardware like opaque projectors and is approachable for beginners. However, recurring issues include reliability of core features, the need for an external stand to steady the device, alignment/registration difficulties, and a somewhat clunky UI. These tensions lead some users to question value or seek refunds.

### Pros

- Significantly improves drawing accuracy, perspective, and proportions, enabling precise tracing and transfer of images to canvas.
- Saves time and speeds up the drawing process, with users reporting faster results and easier enlargement for bigger works.
- Excellent customer support and an active learning community (responsive developer, tutorials, training videos, and a helpful Facebook group).
- Easy for beginners to pick up, with quick setup and clear instructional resources.
- Effective alternative to expensive hardware like opaque projectors, offering robust functionality for many artists.

### Cons

- Core features and tools sometimes do not work reliably (e.g., Apple Pencil not recognized; other advertised features like mirror/flashlight alignment).
- Requires an external stand or tripod to steady the device; holding the phone over the paper can be awkward and may necessitate extra purchases.
- Alignment/registration features (automatic alignment) can be unreliable or hard to get working, leading to frustration.
- User interface and controls can feel non-intuitive or outdated, with some functions buried in small tabs.

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/id362499096)