Pico Projector Problem - My Hand Gets in the Way!

Hi, Cx2mom, Congrats on making your first post. I look forward to many more to come!

I’m trying to explain how to get your hand out of the way.  Practice and think before you start.  You may have to change the direction you pipe.  Why don’t you practice with paper and pen.

I will try.  I feel like i have tried everything.  I wondered if the stand was wrong.  I really love using but aside from going upside down i am at a loss

Maybe @Econlady or someone else can share a photo of her/his pico projector setup?? A picture might be easier than explaining . . . sorry, I can't help. I don't use projectors.

Don't give up! I love my pico. That being said, it's not perfect. My hand always blocks some of the image. To some extent I can change the position of my arm (or even stand on the side of the cookie rather than in front) to get a better angle. But lots of times I can't see the entire image no matter how well I position myself. I have the best success when I just add a blob of icing to the area I'm working on and then use my scribe tool to guide the icing into place. This way the piping bag is taken out of the equation and doesn't block the image.

Here is a picture of my pico setup (I didn't have any cookies so I just used a plate in the picture to give the general idea):

And here is a picture of me positioning to pipe on the "cookie":

In the image my hand is on the right side of the image. Sometimes I can see better if I pipe with my hand directly above or below the image. It can make for an awkward arm position, but I just move around until I have the best visibility. Even when the image is partially blocked, the projection still helps me to start in the right location, to keep the size of different components of the design in proportion, and to generally visualize where I'm supposed to be going.

Hope that helps a little.

I had the same issue - no matter what angle I can't find one where my hand or piping bag doesn't block the image.  I've ended up using an edible pen to trace the image, then I remove it from the projection to pipe. 

Cx2mom posted:

I am struggling with using my projector. The stand I have is from Amazon. When I go to trace anything onto my cookie, the shadow from my hand prevents me from seeing what I am doing. What am I doing wrong?

Use a pen, trace it onto your cookie and work alway from the Pico. I can't work wirh RI and use the Pico at the same time. 

It's a very interesting theme!! Thanks dear Samantha for the precise description and for sharing !! 😘  @Aproned Artist