Handmade Light Box

This was a recent weekend project.

It's made out of 3/16" Gator Board, white Duck Tape and interfacing material (used in sewing).

I was inspired after seeing Carol Marine's PVC shadowbox on her studio blog.

The above was my first thinking sketch.

Having limited space to work, I wanted something that I could fold up and store easily.

I needed five cut pieces of Gator Board, 24" x 24" each.

Three of them would have 19" square openings cut in them (2.5" border/frame).

I cut these with an X-Acto knife, using a long metal straight edge with protective lip 

(keep from cutting my fingers).

Now, Gator Board cut edges can be sharp, so I lightly sanded the cut edges and

covered them all with white Duck tape for a smooth finish and to add strength to the sides.

Then I cut the interfacing material and taped that to cover the openings.

My next sketch was figuring out how to put the pieces together.

As you can see, the bottom is a solid piece.

I then laid the right (window) side down flat on top of the bottom piece.  

I used two pieces of Duck Tape to flap-attach it to the bottom

(tape should be wrapped flat over edges of the board).

I then opened 'fold #1' (edges of the two boards should be touching each other),

and put matching pieces of Duck Tape over the same hinge area.

The hinges get wider with the extra layers of board as they are stacked to create this box.

Each fold has to be opened up as you tape on the matching pieces of the hinges

to cover up the sticky tape areas left exposed by this extra space.

I know this must sound confusing, but if you try this out first with

smaller square cut pieces of board (like maybe a 6" x 6" version),

before tackling the big job, it won't be so frustrating.

Being mechanically inclined helps.

The box can be set up with some masking tape holding it together.

The masking tape can be removed and thrown away after use.  

I used three lights shining into the box at the window openings.

The fabric diffuses the light.  A cool light is on either side and a warm one above.

You can see the two hinges that hold the folded boards together at the bottom of this.

You might want to use some vellum paper to cover the windows instead of interfacing.

You could drape thin white fabric over the openings and pull it aside for direct lighting 

(use more masking tape to hold the box together with the weight of loose fabric).

I use a studio lamp on it's stand to shine light down into the top of the box.

The hinges on the bottom of the back side have extra tape sticking out as

they have to wrap around the edges of all five pieces of board when closed

(the top window folds down flat on the back and then both of

these fold down on all the other pieces when flattening the box,

so the solid bottom and back pieces are protecting the window pieces inside).

The lights that I use on either side are these small folding Ott Lites

that I bought at Michael's.

You can photograph your smaller paintings while they lean against the back panel or

objects that you want to paint.

Use sheets of color paper stock against the back and bottom

to change out the background.

You will end up with a light box that can be folded up completely when not in use,

and the folded thickness is that of five 3/8" pieces of board, almost two inches thick.

Cardboard can be used instead of Gator board, but it won't be nearly as strong.

Foamcore will warp.  Gator Board is a bit costly, but good for this.

Besides, you'll have extra Gator Board left over to mount your canvas on for painting.