How To Make A Glow In The Dark Canvas Painting
Click here to purchase our glow in the dark paint!
By now you may have seen some viral videos showing canvas paintings that transform at night with the magic of glow in the dark on YouTube or Facebook. These images are indeed magical, and in fact, anyone can enjoy creating their own glow in the dark works of art. Painting with glow paint can be even easier than painting with normal paint and even beginners will be blown away by their creations!
In this "How To", we'll show you how you can make any picture glow in the dark by simply painting over the existing image with our glow paints. You heard correctly, our glow paints dry completely invisible when applied in thin coats so you won't need to worry about ruining the underlying image.
To get started you'll need:
- A canvas or similar painting surface
- Acrylic paint
- Brushes
- A water cup
- Glow In The Dark Paint
- An ultraviolet light (optional)
First, you will need to paint your canvas with an image of your choice or find a pre-existing one to embellish. Once you have your base image, it's time to break out the glow paint!
Painting with phosphorescent paint is typically done in one of the following three ways:
- In normal light
- With an ultraviolet flashlight in a dim room
- With a black light fixture (long fluorescent tube) in a dark room
For the pros and cons of each of these methods you can check out our FAQ page but for our “How To” we’ll focus on option 2.
Once the base painting is finished and dry, find a dark (but not pitch black) space to apply the glow paint. Using an ultraviolet light like our 9 LED flashlight, you'll want to charge your paint for 3 to 5 seconds before starting. Once charged, you'll be able to easily see the paint as it is applied over the existing image.
Trace your existing painting with your glow colors of choice. You can apply the paint as you would any other paint, but we recommend that you apply thin coats for the best results. Once you're done, let it dry and voila, you've got a glowing work of art that can be recharged thousands of times! We do recommend charging your painting with a UV light to get the full effect and have it glow all night long.
UPDATE: Check out our Top Ten Tips For Painting With Glow In The Dark Paint
Be sure to subscribe to our blog for more glow in the dark projects like:
- Glowing Resin Jewelry
- Glow In The Dark Coasters
- Glow In The Dark Sand Pictures
- Glow In The Dark Fairy Jars
- Different methods of painting with glow
- And much, much more!
Please comment below with any questions you may have!
Artist: Yisha Zhao
Can I put acrylic paint into my air gun and use your glow in the dark acrylic paint in my air gun
Hello MK,
You would actually want to apply your glow in the dark message over your painting. Our glow paints are designed to be thinner than regular acrylics, so they go on nearly transparent for the first few coats. This allows them to be layered over regular paints to create hidden glowing details in paintings of all sorts! Since most of the glow you will see is actually reflected light, the glow will be much brighter over a white or light-colored background than over a black background.
Hi! I’d like to paint a hidden message, then do a poured paint over, so that it would be invisible in light, and appear in dark. WOULD THIS WORK? Or will paint over the glow paint make it invisible?
Hello Cindy,
The best way to fix a sticky surface left over after curing is to scrape off the excess resin that has not cured. Then, wipe down with a cloth and apply a new layer that is perfectly mixed with a 1:1 ratio of resin and hardener.
Double-check that the workspace temperature is 72°-85°F. Check the resin storage temperature, if the bottles are cool, use a warm water bath to raise the bottle temperature. Lastly, be precise with the 1:1 ratio of resin to hardener.
What if you finished your project, an it didn’t get measured correctly , an it’s still sticky , to much resign on a large rock . How do I make it dry ? Is there a way?
Leave a comment