Help!
If you are having any issues at all with your anchors please send us an email using the email button in the app, or fill out the form below. We would love to help and we usually respond insanely fast! In the email it is super helpful if you include a screenshot of your Anchors screen.
If you are using Da Vinci Eye: AR Art Projector then go to:
To do that go to Tools > Ar > Anchors and then take a screenshot.
If you are using Mural Maker 2.0:
Go to Tools > Tracking > Setup and then take a screenshot.
The three most common issues are:
- If your image jumps around and doesn’t stay put. This means your anchor is not detailed or big enough. You can make your own anchor by following these instructions. This is a newer feature to be able to make anchors like this for iOS.
2. If when you point your phone at your anchor the “Anchor not detected” banner at the bottom of the screen disappears, but you still don’t see an image on top of your anchor, then you probably have duplicate anchor.
In the picture below there are two anchors of the Jack of Hearts. DO NOT USE PLAYING CARDS please use the scribble method above, we are using playing cards below to help illustrate the concept. If you delete one of the Jack of hearts the app will work again.
3. If the image disappears when you get too far away from your canvas… then you need to make a bigger anchor. The app needs to be able to clearly see the anchor and the details of it. The bigger the anchor the further away you can have your phone. That being said if you get too far away from your canvas you won’t be able to look at your phone and see the canvas at the same time. We have some awesome creative solutions for that here:
How to Make Even Larger Drawings using Da Vinci Eye
What is an Anchor?
An anchor is an object that Da Vinci Eye uses to know where to place the image you are trying to draw. As long as the anchor stays in the view of your devices’ camera, Da Vinci Eye will lock your image to the position of that anchor.
Using an anchor you can move your phone around and the image you want to draw will always stay in the same place relative to the anchor.
In the examples to the right, the anchor is a part of a playing card. You will notice, the image only appears when the anchor is a full view. When the anchor is moved the image moves along with the card. Normally you would want to tape your anchor to your canvas so your image does not move around.
Anchor Requirements
Image Anchors for Da Vinci Eye need to have the following requirements to work:
- Flat – they must sit flat on your paper
- High contrast
- High detail
- Bigger than 1.5 inches (3.81 cm) on all sides
- Matte – Low glare, not shiny, non-reflective
- High detail again.. seriously I can’t stress that part enough
Bad Anchors
- Anchors that are not 2 dimensional
- Pictures of anchors that are blurry or dark
- Anchors that are drawn in pencil, and not black marker, on your paper
(Why would you want to draw an anchor on your artwork anyway?)
Cropping Anchors
Make sure that the anchor is cropped to just the part that is going to on your canvas. If necessary you can crop into the image. It is very important that there is no background in the image.
Why is it important that there is no background?
Take this image as an example. Da Vinci Eye is trying to find an object that looks like this picture somewhere in your camera’s view. This includes the card and the wood pattern behind it.
When the card is placed on your canvas like below, Da Vinci Eye will be looking for the exact image above, including the wood background.
Because there is no wood grain background Da Vinci Eye will have a hard time picking up that this is the anchor we are looking for.
To fix this make sure you crop your anchor to just the card with no background.
Edit, Add or Delete Anchors
When you are in AR mode press Tools > AR > Anchors. This screen lets you add, edit, or delete anchors.
Trouble Shooting
No Anchor Detected and Reference Image flashing / moving / vibrating
It could be an issue with the anchor
- Make sure that your anchor is properly cropped. See cropping anchors section above
- Make sure your anchor has enough detail.
- Make sure that your anchor is well lit, at least 3 inches in height and width, and high contrast.
- Make sure your work area is well lit
If you are satisfied your anchor meets the above conditions
Try bringing your device closer to the anchor so that it takes up most of the camera’s screen. Once the anchor is recognized you can move your device to a comfortable drawing position.
If the above does not work
The issue could with your processor’s speed. Try closing out other apps, other apps may be taking too up to many of your phone’s resources for AR mode to work properly.
If none of the above works please send us an email through the email button in the app. Its located at the bottom of the home screen. We would love to help you figure out the issue. In your email please also include screenshots of the Anchors screen and a screenshot or screen recording of the issue.
My picture moves in the opposite direction of my finger
This means your anchor is probably upside down or you have your device lengthwise in your hand. The app moves your image relative to your anchor’s size, position, and orientation not relative to where you touch the screen.
AR mode right now works best in portrait mode, it is best to position your anchor while the phone is held normally then switch to an orientation that is most comfortable for you
My pictures are coming out too small
- Try placing your device on a higher stand or cup. It is recommended to use a cup at least 8in (200mm) high.
- Try tilting your phone. Because this is AR mode your phone does not need to be completely parallel to the paper. You can tilt your phone up slightly and you will be able to view much more of the paper.
- If you are willing to invest a little bit, you can find stands adjustable stands for your phone or iPad that work great. Using a microphone boom stand and a phone holder you can draw or paint on easels! This should cost you around $30 on Amazon.
More help…
Feel free to contact us through the app or the contact form on the homepage with any questions!