Daylight balanced bulbs

[NiceGuyAdi]

I've been slowly getting back into the hobby lately, adding bits of kit as I go. I recently added a second lamp whilst painting which I felt made a huge difference over just the one.

 

But then this morning, with some rare London sunshine coming through our flat window, I held one of my Scouts up to the daylight and was really surprised by what I could see that I'd missed under lamps. Some I liked (eye lenses have come out better than I thought), some I didn't (my layering needs work).

 

The lamps I'm using right now are tungsten balanced, so warmer/yellower than daylight. To those using daylight balanced bulbs to paint by: do they make that much difference, or is it just that the sun's a touch brighter than my desk lamps (even if it is winter)?

[DistroyA]

Indeed they do. Daylight bulbs show colours more accurately than the average bulb. Blues and purples look richer in a daylight bulb's light. :-)

[NiceGuyAdi]

Thanks man. I should know this as it's part of my job, but people's practical experiences are always more useful than theory.

 

Time to get some bulbs ordered up, then...

[Obeliske]

Oh, god they really make a massive difference. My biggest issue since checking this out myself has been finding ones bright enough to be useful. At this point I've started using a desktop LED and it works but I wish it gave a larger area of light.

[Bryan Blaire]

I prefer the bright white bulbs to either the warm white (more yellow) or "daylight" coloration (which can be a bit blue), and they seem to be more true to color that I have been able to tell with regards to looking at your models under the painting lights vs. out in the day time.

[Ovidius Incertus]

I just changed out my two painting lamps for daylight LEDs and they definitely tend more to the blue, but they also wash out (although blend together) airbrushed shading more than the warm incandescents I was using previously.  I won't say it's bad, but there is a not-at-all-subtle difference between the bulb types, which surprised me.

[leoparden]

Daylight bulbs (LED daylight bulbs) make a huge difference. I made the move a couple of years ago and would never go back when working with colours in any capacity (miniatures, art and what not). When I look for new bulbs I search for bulbs with a colour temperature around 6000-6500K and light amount around 600-700 lumen. With LEDs getting cheaper and cheaper and more and more durable than other bulbs they aren't even that expensive tbh. Some people react to the light a lot and might experience trouble getting to sleep if they sit in the light till late at night, I haven't had that problem thus far though.

[NiceGuyAdi]

Thanks for the help, all. I've got a pair of 350 lumen spots. They're hanging a bit high right now, so they can dazzle me a bit and I need to flag them off a bit to keep them out of my eyes and on the models, but I've definitely noticed I can pick out blues I'm adding more easily than before.

 

I went with a warmer bulb than a number of people suggested, so closer to 5600K. I did this because my painting station is also used for video editing and colour correction, and 5600K is the standard "white" for video work. But then actual daylight can range from >4000K to <7000K anyway, if memory serves.