You have likely seen us touting the cupixel device stand on our website and on the app. We’re not going to lie — we think that it is a useful tool for creating art with cupixel.
But that doesn’t mean it is the only way! If you don’t have a device stand at home, you can still create amazing art — you just need to have a little creativity! Luckily, you are in the right place for creativity.
First things first: Why do we think the device stand is so great?
The goal of a device stand is to elevate your device enough so that you can see the entire drawing or painting surface (including all four corners) in the frame of the phone screen, and the height you’ll need varies depending on your phone and the size of the surface you are drawing on.
With the cupixel device stand, you can adjust the neck of the stand to different heights and the device holder to different angles, giving you lots of flexibility. But you can acheive the same effect with things you likely have laying around the house already.
So how do you actually create without a device stand on hand? There are really only three simple steps to follow — here’s how it’s done.
- Grab something tall you can balance your phone on
We know, that sounds too easy. There’s really not that much more to it than that, though!
There are a couple of things we recommend you use if you don’t already have a cupxiel device stand on hand. The two that we’ve found do the best job are:
- Another (non-cupixel) device stand
- A tall mug
We’ve found that most people have one or the other, so grab what you have to get started!
- Make sure you have enough distance between your phone and your surface
This one is key.
The most important thing you need to keep in mind when choosing something to use as a stand is that you need to make sure that the distance between your drawing surface and your device’s camera is enough that you can clearly see all four corners of your paper or canvas on your screen.
The distance needed will vary based on the size of your surface — for instance, if you are drawing on a sticky note, your phone can be much closer than if you are drawing on a 8×8 inch surface — so if you are drawing on a larger surface, your will likely need to raise your device up more.
Don’t worry, though. If what you are using as a device stand isn’t far enough away from your drawing surface, just find something to prop it up! A pile of books with often do the trick perfectly.
- Adjust the angle
This step is purely optional, and we don’t recommend it for every makeshift device stand.
One of the great things about the cupixel stand is that you can adjust the angle of your phone on it. Unfortunately, you cannot easily do that with a tall mug or most other device stands, but if you are very, very careful, you can sometimes achieve the same effect.
We do not recommend doing this with a mug, but some device stands are sturdy enough that you can prop up one side with something small to make it more comfortable for you to view your drawing or painting surface through it. We have used erasers or small post-it note pads successfully for this, but please be careful so that you don’t tip your phone over!
- Make things. Feel good.
OK, we lied. There actually is a fourth step. It is to start using your homemade device stand to make amazing art!
Once you are all set up with something to prop up your phone, just scroll through the app and find the experience you want to do.
If this is your first time using cupixel, we recommend starting with Your first experience (warning: an awesome horse drawing will result) but if you are an practiced pro, scroll around and find whatever speaks to you.
That’s it. Now relax and go make some art!