Best light source for modelling at night/evening?

Small wonder! I'd start out with at least a 100 or 200 watter coming from behind your shoulder. I use a combo of fluorescent and incandescent; the fluorescent being the primary. If you don't want to spring for a fixture; go to a well stocked camera store and get some color correct photo bulbs. Not cheap but the color balance is impressive. hth

The Keeper (of too much crap!)

backlighting works best for me. i bounce 2 light sources off the walls to my modeling table. ge natural light bulbs are some people's choise, but i use the 35 watt florescent regular base light bulbs. after the bounce, the light is just right without killing my eyes. ymmv.

I have an OTT-lite desklamp. I haven't tried painting under it yet, but it is a low wattage, color compensated, flourescent. I hve one of the flip-up desk types - nice because you can move it around, and it's relatively small.

My favorite is still my clamp-to-the-edge-of-the-table incandecent drafting lamp, on an articulated arm. Again, because I can point it where I want. If I'm working on something really close, I like to have it over my shoulder behind my head - it lights interiors well that way. Bulb of your choice...I have no particular preference.

I use an overhead room light of 100W and a "arm lamp" of 60W. Both bulbs are manufactured by General Electric under the Reveal brand name. The Reveal bulbs cast a natural light that is much less yellow than ordinary bulbs. I highly recommend them and they can be found at most supermarkets, hardware, and discount stores. More info about GE Reveal light bulbs can be found at:

What kind of lighting will the model be displayed under when it's finished? You should work under the same kind of lighting; maybe brighter so you can see more clearly, but still the same type. When you're painting the model, you want to see how the colors will actually look on your display shelf, not how it'll look in your back yard under natural sunlight. Otherwise you may find that the colors looked perfect on your workbench but not in your display case.

If you plan to enter the model in a contest and think color acuracy might be a factor in the judging, try to use the same type of lighting that there will be in the contest hall, or check your model under several types of lighting while you're working on it.

As a retired electro-optical engineer, in my opinion the 'color' of the light source is far less important than its brightness. The brighter the light source, the smaller the eye pupil opening. This gives us better depth of field and allows us to see closer up than we can in dim light. Photographers who use adjustable cameras understand this as high aperture settings.

The question of color shifts can lead to a whole long thread on color accuracy that should be a completely different thread.

I also believe one should have TWO light sources for modeling. First, a general area illumination- a room light. Second, one (or even more) positional lamps. I personally use one of those ring light/magnifier combinations. Terrific. If need be I can resort to the magnifier if my closeup glasses don't do the job for the detail I am working on.

Positional lights are very important for painting gloss finishes, as one needs to position the light so you can see a specular reflection in it. This tells you when you have a thick and smooth enough coat.

Hi

This is the original poster. Thanks for all the great answers. It's all printed and i will go to the store this W.E. to buy lighting supplies.

Thanks again