Bulbs to Paint By

[Trickstick]

I just ordered a fancy articulated lamp to help me paint. So I would like to hear what bulbs people use to paint. I imagine different bulbs could drastically change the colours you perceive when painting. I am guessing that energy saving ones are not the best, although I could be wrong.

[emptyhat]

I think the energy saving bulbs tend to be more white so when you see your models under sunlight they do look a bit different.

[badgersplatter]

My standard answer is related to what Empty says - consider the light you'll be viewing them under. I certainly can't remember the last time I played a game in direct sunlight! You'll obviously want good bright and moveable lighting, but if you paint under white then play under yellow you may find you paint in warmer shades than you'd like to see when you're gaming.

[Adkenpachi]

Blue light is recommended for a daylight substitute... But im yet to find a cheap bulb

[BG. Foster]

I use a natural light halogen bulb or my spare aquarium bulb, again this is a natural light one.

[magot]

I use a mix of the old fashioned tungsten with LED,
See the photo's in my thread for the looks.
They are indeed a bit "warm" of tone and just as the others say, playing in sun light doesn't happen that much unfortunately

[cheminhaler]

Nov 20, 2012 23:01:27 GMT -5 emptyhat said:

I think the energy saving bulbs tend to be more white so when you see your models under sunlight they do look a bit different.

No. Energy savers can be anything..

If it says 2700k on the box it's warm white, which gives a yellow colour. These are the cheap variety you get in DIY stores and supermarkets.

4000k is white, almost pure white. These are about £5 - £7.50, quite hard to find, usually available in 20watts (100 watt equivalent), 15 watts (75 watt equivalent) or 11 watts (60 watt equivalent)

6400k is daylight (white with a blue tinge), again quite expensive £5 - £7.50. You can get really bright daylight bulbs. I've seen 25 watt (150 watt equivalent) and massive 30 watt ones (200 watt equivalent)


For my painting light I just use an LED GU10. Gu10s are standard mains 240 volt halogen spotlights, and the type of bulb I use is now about £10 - £12.50, but were about £20 a couple of years ago.
Try to get a cool white, about 4 watts, which gives roughly the lumens of a 40 watt bulb, only it's much harsher to look at. Also look at the lumens number and try to get 'superbright' bulbs, as there are a lot of cheaper, less bright bulbs around.

The technology is always improving, though. New LED GU10s are on the market, which have the new 'Cree' chip. These are 5 watts and worth over £20 / bulb. They just blind you; that's how bright they're getting...

[Empirespy]

Chem, I imagine the quality differs greatly, but I needed some GU10s for my cabinet, and picked up a pack of two at poundland. They seam to work fine, but I haven't another brand to check it against.

[cheminhaler]

Nov 21, 2012 18:21:58 GMT -5 Empirespy said:

Chem, I imagine the quality differs greatly, but I needed some GU10s for my cabinet, and picked up a pack of two at poundland. They seam to work fine, but I haven't another brand to check it against.

Are they LED gu10s or the normal gu10s? If it gives a wattage then 20w, 35w and 50w are normal, incandescent (halogen) bulbs. If it's long and has a flourscent bulb inside then it's energy saving (usually 5, 7 or 11 watts - but these are becoming obsolete), or if it has small bulbous domes inside the glass then they're the diodes for an LED.

For a cabinet light it shouldn't be too bright, anyway. Try comparing it to a normal lightbulb or if you ever get to go into an electrical shop ask to look at superbright cool white LED gu10s, and ask about price.

[Trickstick]

Thanks for the advice, I'll look into some of the things you mentioned.

[3ff3ct]

I love Chem getting his lightbulb geek on

[cheminhaler]

You know it..

Also for colour codes sometimes you'll see /835 instead of 2700k for warm white and /840 for cool white.

[3ff3ct]

All this stuff I never knew! Nice one! I think my kitchen lights may get sneakily changed sometime soon....