PaperTrace Light Table vs LightPad

PaperTrace turns your iPhone or iPad into a light table. Pick a template or a photo, put a sheet on the screen, and trace. How to trace Pick a template, a photo from your library, or take a picture. Place a sheet on the screen, then tap Lock. The picture stays still, and the screen stays in that orientation. Press + or − two times on the side of the phone to open. You can also hold a corner. That works with paper still on the glass. PaperTrace remembers your last pictures. Save a drawing to keep it in History. For kids In iOS Settings, turn on Guided Access and turn Touch off. That stops the screen from reacting at all. Templates Twenty simple line drawings: animals, vehicles, nature, fantasy, and fun. Ready to trace in pencil. Your own pictures Choose from the photo library or photograph a drawing you want to trace. Brightness, contrast, outline, and invert help the picture show through the paper. Light table A blank white screen at full brightness when you only need the light. History Recent pictures stay ready. Save the ones you want to come back to. PaperTrace is free. No account, no cloud. Pictures stay on the phone.

Lay a source sheet and a blank sheet on the display: a bright, evenly lit surface shines through both, and you trace on real paper with confidence. Built for how tracing actually works: LIGHT YOU CAN TUNE - A light surface that never sleeps or dims on its own mid-trace - Color temperature from 2700 K (warm) to 6500 K (daylight), rendered from real black-body values — warm light keeps thin pencil lines readable - Brightness from a soft low glow up to your display’s true peak — on HDR displays the slider goes beyond regular screen white - Dimming happens in the light surface itself, never by pushing the panel low — no added flicker in the dark range TRUE-TO-SIZE GRIDS - Metric 1 cm grid, or imperial 1-inch grid with 1/4-inch subdivisions - Physically accurate on every supported iPhone and iPad — 1 cm on screen is 1 cm on paper - Center crosshair for squaring up your sheets - Pure black lines with adjustable line width, so grids stay visible through paper MADE FOR PAPER ON GLASS - Touch lock: one tap locks the screen so resting palms and paper press nothing; hold to unlock - Controls fade away and return with a tap — while you work, it is all light - Works in any orientation and window size PRIVATE BY DESIGN - No account, no ads, no tracking, no analytics - Requests zero permissions and never connects to the network - Works completely offline For illustrators inking and refining sketches, animators flipping between drawings, calligraphy and lettering practice, embroidery and quilting pattern transfer, and anyone who traces on real paper.