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
Hi A.C.,
We would recommend our Neutral White Glow Paint to create stars that will be invisible in the light and glow in the dark. You will need to charge the glow paint with UV light or sunlight and then view it in a dark room to see the glow.
I want to some all black art textured paintings with one or more ‘bright’ white stars (dots) that can be seen in the dark as if in a black night sky.
Any advice, like fluorescent?, or how or what to do or use to chieve this please? Many thanks
AC.
Hello Blessy,
You can apply your glow paints on any color surface, however white or light surfaces will result in the brightest glow since most of the glow you will see is actually reflected light. The surface can be either gloss or matte – this will not affect the glow :)
Hi. I read in one of your guides that the glow in the dark paints is best applied on a white surface. Does the white surface have to be matte or glossy, or it doesn’t matter?
Hello Kelly,
Our glow powder contains particles up to 50 microns in size, so as long as your equipment can handle particles this large it should work fine.
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