Best Desk Lamps for Painting Miniatures in 2025
Let’s Shed Some Light on This Subject. Yes, I Wrote That. I’m Sorry.
Let Me Dip a Toe Into the Field of Architecture
On an empiric approach, you need to properly look at what you’re working on whenever painting miniatures. How much light is enough? Enough so you can see your mini’s details clearly. If your eyes are watering, you’ve overdone it. So let’s understand how to get the best desk lamps, or at least, the right one for you.
To get a bit more technical, it’s important to think about light intensity and temperature, or lumens vs. Kelvin, when browsing for options. The former is the perceived power of visible light emitted by a source and one of the most common units offered by manufacturers. For our purpose here, 1.000-3000 lm is enough. Kelvin, on the other hand, refers to the appearance of light that comes from these lamps. A typical sunny day has the light at about 5.000K, and is usually what a “neutral” white lamp produces. Get something in the 4.000-6000 range that reflects the environment your minis will most likely be displayed on. Your play area probably doesn’t veer away from this.
There’s another element, CRI or Color Rating Index, which shows how close to natural sunlight various colors look under a certain light. While most decent lamps have their rating above 80, there’s not a definite consensus if it’s worth it to invest in equipment with a higher index. Besides, since we assume your game room/living room/game table isn’t equipped with such high-end lighting either, all the nuances you might be capturing and emulating into your miniatures won’t show.
This article will provide some of the best lamps for painting miniatures in different price ranges. Some of these are U.S. only, but the general guidelines should benefit everyone.
The Best Desk Lamps Inexpensive Options
For a solution that can consistently be found on big stores at a low cost, head to IKEA. Their Tertial lamps can be fitted with a daylight bulb and provide enough luminance. These models are extremely popular because of their cost, malleability and lightweight – one of them at each side and you’ve got little to no shadows on the miniature you’re painting.
Albeit the skittish and slim appearance, the Tertial are known for their viciousness – which makes them into nimble and efficient predators. In this frame, one of them spots (ha!) a suitable prey. Notice how the remaining pack draws distance from the unfortunate soon-to-be victim. The “I” utters no prayer. It knows that it’ll soon meet its maker. Source: Pixar logo.
Aside from that, many inexpensive options can be found in other popular stores and marketplaces. You might want something with a clamp mount, or simply do not like the Tertial’s appearance. When browsing for desk lamps alternatives, keep in mind a few things, such as luminance and temperature, and avoid some purposeful misleads that get inserted to mask a lackluster product. I’d steer away from listings that just show the power consumption, or wattage (W) of a product. The power drawn by this lamp might get lost to heat and not necessarily translate into light – what we look for in a lamp. Good advertisements display lumens (lm), and that provides some form of standardization regarding luminosity that you can compare with alternatives. If this is being hidden from you, perhaps the company would not benefit from the comparison.
Maybe I Deserve to Treat Myself
Good! We’ll head into the recommendation for pros, then. Just a quick disclaimer: we’re, unfortunately, not endorsed by the products recommended ahead. Would gladly change that, though!
Neatfi is a staple recommendation for a mid-price task lamp amongst miniature painting enthusiasts. Some features contribute to its popularity: the 2,200 lm LED is dimmable, therefore adaptable to most environments and people. LEDs last a lot longer than regular light bulbs and their three-year warranty reflects that. At Loot Studios, a model not much dissimilar to this one is used by our painters!
The R9 desk lamp from RedGrass has won design awards, has glare-free and flicker-free technology and boasts over 98.5 CRI with its 96 pure daylight LEDs. It’s the most expensive option of this list running well over double the cost of the Neatfi XL, but RedGrass claims it’s a state-of-the-art product designed to meet the needs of all creative people.
Chosen Yet?
As with the many facets of miniature painting, finding the best desk lamps can get as simple or expensive as you want it to be – honestly, it boils down mostly to personal taste rather than how much you’re investing in top-notch equipment. The absolute best lamp won’t make you a better painter. Painting will. Why not delve again into the world of miniature painting? All that light won’t matter much if you don’t know what you’re doing with those new nuances in color. Oh, how convenient – we got just the right thing for that.
Loot Studios can help you paint highly detailed minis, statues, and props. Choose your favorite bundle from our previous releases or sign up for Fantasy or Sci-Fi to receive a new bundle every month. You can also check out some tips at our YouTube Channel.
