"What are the best types of lights for painting?" Topic

Well, maybe not halogen by the sounds of the previous topic. I've heard 'daylight' bulbs are great for painting but would like more info. Would love to hear recommendations from all you painters out there.

I've invested in a Daylight bulb relatively recently (also known as "Craftlight" in the UK) for my painting desk lamp & its a great tool to have IMHO to get paint jobs that little more accurate for viewing in ideal conditions.

However, the heat is a factor & it easily reaches temps that make it hard to paint under.

What I do is paint under my normal room lighting & window light, them check every now and again how it looks under the daylight bulb. Any blends that then seem too sharp or other areas that are slightly off, I correct accordingly back under normal lighting. I very rarely actually paint under the dalight bulb itself.

Daylight bulbs are great for any kind of hobby work as it gives you a good similarity to real daylight.

Mind you, how many of us game under real light.

I use a magnifier with built in bulb. You can get them cheaply with normal bulbs or more expensively with daylight bulbs

The artists combo is one each iridescent (yellow) and fluorescent (white), which taken together simulate natural sunlight. I have a ceiling fluorescent and an adjustable arm iridescent attached to my table. Works great. I once had a single lamp that had both kinds of light fixtures on an adjustable arm, but the combo I have now works better.

hurcheon has a good point - the competitive painter in our club has many a tale about people who do beautiful work in natural light only to have it look terrible under the artificial light of the competition.

I use the same flourescent desk lamp I have had since I was a teen.

I'm a big fan of daylight bulbs too as it gives a nice crispy white light - and they fit in my current lamps. To be honest I like daylight bulbs in everything, though. :)

Skip the bulbs. If conditions are ideal, the morning sunlight streaming through my window is my best light source.

Well, despite the warnings, I am still rather fond on the halogen desk lamp I use. Mind you, I NEVER leave the thing on unattended.

Doug

I love my Daylight Bulb. Fantastic. I play under incandescent, and the figures look good.

You kbnow, it' the same thing for make-up...(I only learned this recently from an "expert"....a "Miss Canada" runner-up!!!!)....there are different lights for putting on make-up, and any girl worth their salt has a kit with the two types of light, flourescent and daylight....I kid you not!..there is so much in this world we just don't understand....

I use several lights on movable arms to remove all shadows when I paint. That or the glow from the TV.

PJ

I doubt that any special lightbulb will make that much of a difference in your painting. Lack of light will certainly make a difference. I have never played a game under "natural light" conditions - no convention hall has "natural light" bulbs that I know of - so I go for standard bulbs with plenty of light. Unless you are a fanatic - which I am not - special bulbs only cost more $$ and produce more heat. Right now I paint with three regular 100 watt soft white lightbulbs and haven't noticed a difference in my paint jobs when gaming. The colors you use should be consistent regardless of the light conditions unless you mix your own colors.

Just my two cents.

I've got two swing-arm lamps on either end of my worktable fitted with 60-watt Reveal bulbs by GE. They're supposedly full spectrum bulbs and they work well for me. They don't cost an arm and a leg, either. I like using two lamps because it's easier to get rid of shadows.

I use the exact same setup as PH Lewis, and I find it be ideal. I'm to the point where I can't paint without my two Reveal bulbs.

Daylight's the deal. I've had mine for nearly a year and I have virtually no eye strain, regardless of the amount of time I spend painting.

I've got two OTT-Lite floor lamps. Full spectrum color. Love them.

A bit pricey, so you may want to get on a mailing list of some place that sends out 40%-50% coupons. In the US we have Joann Fabrics (joann.com).

Liam

I made my own OTT-Lites. Buy their bulbs (a bit pricy, but I found them at Office Depot for $11) and put them in the 13 watt fluorescent fixtures of my choice. (Which happened to be a $13 flip-top and a $19 clamp-on swing arm from Lowes). I paid $54 for what I would have paid $108 if everything was OTT-Lite.

HTH - Terrell

Its easier if you use brushes : )

Halogen desk lamps (2) with adjustable necks. That way I can interrogate them to when I paint em. "And just where were you hiding when I was painting the straps on your unit, private?" as I shine both into his little beady eyes.
James

OTT Light. Full Spectrum, has made my painting eassier as well as making me more productive.

Look for these on sale at Fabric stores

Daylight. Real daylight. Tried all kinds of bulbs/lamps etc and now I just find it easier & better to paint during the day.

A friend gave me one of the OTT flip up lights for painting and I liked it so much I bought a second one. Best lights I've ever had.

I paint by natural light from a window and have an OTT flip to add to the mix. It helps immensely for an average painter like myself.

I love to see the colours in natural daylight, but after having experiented with daylight bulbs, and SoLux and others I find that they don't make much difference in the finished product. I can paint at night in the dead of a northern winter under incandescent ceiling light and my mag lamp with the flourescent tube or by window light in the day and I use the same paints and same colour choices in both cases.

Where I believe it can make a difference is in the photography.

Kenneth

Is this the Ott Flip-light you guys mentioned?

link

I would like to buy one and want to make sure I am getting the right one.

These things expensive!

Are expensive.

Hawr hawr

That is what I have though I found mine at a discount store for I think about $10 or $20 less than the discount your site shows. Maybe I was lucky or they were getting rid of them?

I have a question.

Will an ott-lite lamp that comes with a default 13 watt bulb accept an 18 watt bulb?