The thesis proposes the creation and development of a new digital machine for drawing in which the act of drawing allows one to see more and to know better. Based on the theoretical and practical studies of the Camera Obscura and Camera Lucida as drawing and imaging devices.
The first part deals with the practical and theoretical investigation of these machines, with a special focus on the historical and conceptual analysis of its technological evolution and use, complemented with drawing experiences using the machines as a media for representing and questioning reality. This analysis is complemented with the presentation of other references ranging from computer engineering to the visual arts, from the 20th century until now, as a contribution to an updated understanding of the underlying drawing concepts and mechanisms that are presented here. Chapters 2 to 4 complete this part of the thesis through the study of the visual perception mechanisms involved in this type of drawing (ch.2), drawing as a mean to understanding (ch.3), and tracing as a possible mean to see more (ch.4). These three chapters are transversal to the whole thesis.
On the second part, the experiments that support the used methodology and that are at the origin of the different versions of the machine are presented. The computational module is programmed in Pure Data, and the entire machine is composed as a modular system, with great elasticity and development possibilities.
The use of the machine allows the perceiving of the act of drawing, and at the same time indicates new possibilities for future developments.