Artificial light and its effects on colour 5

Level 2 Diploma in Painting and Decorating
© 2013 City and Guilds of London Institute. All rights reserved.
Artificial light and its effects on colour
Unit 230: Creating and applying colour

Introduction
• As you will now know, the source of colour is natural light – sunlight.
• Without light there is no colour but what about inside, under light
from a lamp or bulb?
• Colour is still visible in these conditions because of the effect of
artificial light on a surface.
• The following presentation will explain the different types of artificial
light and their effect on colour.

Sources of artificial light
Have you ever heard people say that colours on a colour card are not
the same as the actual colour of paint?
This is because they have probably viewed the colour card under one
of the many types of artificial lighting, which has a different spectrum.
The three most common types of artificial light are:
• Sodium
• Tungsten
• Fluorescent

Sodium lights
• Sodium lights are most commonly used in street lighting or in
motorway tunnels. They give off a amber/yellow hue.
• This will wash a surface with an orange/yellow glow, causing it to
appear warmer than it actually is.
• It could also cause greens to appear slightly brownish and blues
to appear slight violet, and other colours to appear different –
such as blues may take on a slightly violet appearance.

Tungsten lights
• The most common source of tungsten, also known as incandescent
light, is the traditional style light bulb, now slowly being replaced by
the more energy efficient CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps). Both of
these can effect the appearance of some colours causing them to
appear warmer.
• They may also reduce the effect of cool or retiring/receding colours.

Fluorescent lights
• The most common type of fluorescent lighting you will come across
are strip lights, commonly found in kitchens, offices, hallways and
factories.
• Fluorescent lights containing low-pressure mercury vapours emit a
cooler light with a slight tint of blue voilet. This is because the
wavelengths are at the high end of the colour spectrum.
• They do not cause colours to appear warm but they can still have an
effect on the overall appearance of a colour.

The metameric effect
• The metameric effect occurs because of the way natural light reacts
with the different properties of a coloured surface.
• The inks and dyes in some colours may absorb or reflect light
differently to each other. So a colour swatch for a carpet or set of
curtains may give the impression that the colours are an exact
match for a paint colour in a shop but may appear slightly different
when viewed in a room washed with natural daylight.
• This is why it is considered good practice to always select colours in
the environment in which they will be used.

Conclusion
• As you can see, these presentations display how science and
physics play a strong part in colour and decoration as a whole.
• The factors in these presentations can have a very strong bearing on
the success or failure of a colour scheme.
• By taking these factors into consideration you will be able to develop
colours schemes with confidence.

Any questions?

Artificial light and its effects on colour 5

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