Projection mapping a box: how to wrap a cube in light from an iPhone

Projection mapping a box is the best first project there is. A box has flat faces and sharp corners, so it's easy to fit, and once the light hugs every side it looks like the box itself is glowing. In the clip beside this article, a plain cardboard box on a living room floor is mapped from an iPhone, then cycles through some of the newest shaders in EasyMapper Studio: glowing fractal shapes, electric veins and swirling marble, wrapped around all three visible faces.

Here's how to do it with one projector and a phone.

• A box. Cardboard is perfect. White, cream or light brown faces show colour best; dark or printed boxes soak it up.
• A projector. Any projector with HDMI or AirPlay. For a box in a dark room, a small 500 to 1,000 lumen projector is plenty.
• An iPhone or iPad running EasyMapper Studio (iOS 15.1 or later), plus a USB-C or Lightning to HDMI adapter or AirPlay. The connection guide shows the options.
• A dark room. The darker it is, the more the box seems to glow on its own.

Put the projector in front of the box and a little to one side, so the beam lands on the front face and one side face at the same time. If the projector sits higher than the box, it also lights the top, which gives you three faces and the strongest 3D look. Any face the projector can't see can't be lit, so the back of the box stays dark.

Keep the projector and the box still once you start. A small nudge to either one means re-fitting the corners.

1. Map the front face. Add a layer and drag its four corners onto the four corners of the front of the box.
2. Map the side face. Add a second layer for the side. Its corners on the shared edge should sit exactly where the front layer's corners are.
3. Map the top. If the top is lit, add a third layer and fit it to the top's four corners, which meet the other two layers along the box's top edges.

Each layer shows a solid colour or a grid while you work, so you can see when it's on the face and when it spills over. Nudge each corner until no light falls on the floor or the wall behind.

Patterns that cover the whole face work best, and putting the same pattern on every face makes them read as one solid object. In EasyMapper Studio's latest update you pick a visual once, then tap every face to put it on all of them.

• Live shaders. Moving patterns that fit any shape. The newest ones, including Nebula Ink, Newton Bloom and Living Julia, are swirling ink and glowing fractals that look great on a box.
• Stacked visuals. Layer several visuals on one face and adjust each one's opacity, speed and colour so they blend.
• Your own videos and photos. Anything in your camera roll can play on a face.

Map the box the same way, then play one of the built-in Christmas shaders: Christmas Trees, Christmas Baubles, Christmas Tartan Stars or Candy Snowflakes. The pattern wraps every face like paper, so a plain box becomes a present. Stack two or three boxes of different sizes and give each its own paper.

The Christmas projection mapping app page has more on the Christmas set.

Is this the same as 3D projection mapping?

It's one kind. Mapping a real box is 3D projection mapping onto an object. You can also fake a box: the 3D projection mapping guide shows how to draw a cube into the corner of a room.

Can I map more than one box?

Yes. Add layers for each box's faces. One projector can cover a stack of boxes as long as it can see every face you want lit.

What size of box works?

Anything from a shoebox to a stack of moving boxes. Bigger boxes need the projector further back so the beam covers them, and a brighter projector if the room isn't fully dark.

Find a box tonight: open EasyMapper Studio, map its faces and wrap it in light.