The Old Masters Had Their Tools. In the Age of AI, New Artists Have LUCY

The California company, founded by two-time Shark Tank entrepreneur Les Cookson, uses historic optical drawing principles to help people look through the view hole and draw what they see.

LINCOLN, Calif., June 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As artificial intelligence makes it possible to generate images in seconds, one California company is taking a different approach: helping people create art by hand.

The LUCY Drawing Tool is a modern optical drawing tool that helps artists see their subject reflected onto their paper or canvas. The process is simple: look through the view hole and draw what you see.

Instead of generating art for the user, LUCY helps people train their eyes, improve proportions, understand perspective, and start drawings with more confidence. It can be used by beginners learning to draw, hobby artists improving their skills, painters who want to get their sketch or underpainting down quickly, and professional artists who want another tool to help them work faster.

"At a time when AI can create an image with a prompt, we think it is more important than ever to help people experience the satisfaction of making art with their own hands," said Les Cookson, co-founder of DrawLUCY. "The LUCY does not replace the artist. It helps the artist see more clearly, draw more accurately, and build real skill."

Cookson, a two-time Shark Tank entrepreneur, co-founded DrawLUCY after years of experimenting with historic optical devices and the painting techniques of the Old Masters. The LUCY Drawing Tool is inspired by the same long tradition of artists using tools, optics, mirrors, lenses, camera obscuras, camera lucidas, and other devices to better understand and capture the world in front of them.

That connection between old tools and modern creativity is central to DrawLUCY's message. Artists have always used technology. The question is not whether tools belong in art, but whether those tools help humans create more fully.

"AI art has created a lot of debate about the future of human creativity," Cookson said. "But technology does not have to replace artists. The best tools help people do more with their own creativity. That is what LUCY is about."

DrawLUCY currently offers multiple LUCY models for different types of artists, including the LUCY mini, LUCY flex, and LUCY pro. The company also offers the LUCY Learning Hub, an online learning platform designed to help artists grow their drawing and painting skills with guided lessons and projects.

The LUCY can be used for portraits, still life, landscapes, crafts, cake decorating, painting, and many other creative projects. For painters, it can help solve one of the most frustrating parts of the process: getting the initial drawing or underpainting placed correctly before moving into color and paint. For professionals, it can help speed up commissions and studio work without changing the artist's finished style.

DrawLUCY is built around a simple idea: art tools should help people create, not take the creation away from them.

To learn more about the LUCY Drawing Tool, visit https://DrawLUCY.com.

Media Contact:
Les Cookson
DrawLUCY
[email protected] 
1-888-958-2432
https://DrawLUCY.com

SOURCE DrawLUCY