Does anyone here use any sort of magnifyer or specalised lamp or even a specalised magnifying lamp?

I got a cheap crappy one off ebay for a fiver and its good for having a good look and making sure ur models are clean from dirt, and having a close up of your hard work but I find that if I try to use it while im painting I loose my 'brush/eye' coordination.

I have a lamp very close to me so I dont get shadows, but it's very hot so I am looking for a hallogen lamp.

Any advice? Whats your sets up?

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At the moment, I don't use any sort of magnification when painting, bacisally for the same reason as you, re. the loss of brush-eye coordination.
As for lighting, I have a light in the ceiling directly over my painting desk.

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Yeah its the same for me too. No magnification. No problem with the light( got one right over my head)

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Hmmm...I find that when i use a light right over my head I hunch and get a bad back.
I do pretty much all my painting sitting back so I need a light at eye level. I have joked about a torch on a head strap. But thats going a bit far.

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It's all fun and games untill someone gets hurt.
Then it's a sport.

Try LED lamps - they are more efficient than incandescent bulbs. I do occasionall use a medical grade magnifier with built in annular bulb, but it was expensive (I use it for other hobbies and also fixing odds and ends for friends and relatives).

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I personaly do have a magnifying thing that i brought at a model show a few moths ago but i rarely use it as i find it weird to look through and try and co ordinate my paintbrush. I do though use it for checking models to see if ive missed bits etc sometimes.

As for lights i tend to paint during the day in natural daylight and i sit next to a south facing window which provides plenty of light. If i am painting in the everning i have a good LEd desktop light i use and a general light over my desk.

Natural daylight is definitely best as it also doesn't 'skew' the colours like artificial light does. I don't use a magnifying glass, but then again my painting is not so great - block painting followed by heavy washes. I only paint for myself and the games table, so I am not too fussed with minor glitches, only major ones that can be seen when the figure is held about a foot away.

When doing detail work, I often use these (they come in various magnifications):

http://www.amazon.com/Donegan-OptiVisor ... 0015IN8J6/

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Normally, I use a mixture of ceiling floresent bulbs, with a 1/1 ratio of the ones that glow slightly red to slightly blue. I generally find that gives me a pretty balanced light source. However, I do have a small LED handy in case I need it - it makes everything look kinda blue, though.
As to the magnifying, I only use that on some of my sculpting - you can't make decent teeth on anything smaller than a troll without it.

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