Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2009 - 40

remember that UV paints
easily be tacky or

It is important to
...they can
Another effect is to make objects shimmer or move. Paint
two objects similarly, one in regular paints and the second in
ultraviolet paints. When an ultraviolet moving light scans over
the second object, the image seems to move.
It is important to remember that Uv paints are intended
for specific effects. lighting designer Norman Coates, head of
the lighting program at University of North Carolina School of
the Arts, warns that they can easily be tacky or crude looking,
and are most effective when used delicately. Another reason to
use ultraviolet paints precisely and in close collaboration with
the other creative staff is their expense. This article will explain
how these paints work and will hopefully lead to many creative
and cost-effective uses.

ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT AND ULTRAVIOLET PAINT
Ultraviolet light is defined as the part of the electromagnetic
spectrum between visible light and x-rays-roughly between
400 and 10 nanometers. Uv lamps used in blacklight effects
emit a little bit of visible light but mainly emit radiation in the
"long-wave" portion of the Uv spectrum-between 325 and
400nm. This long-wave or "soft" Uv light is invisible to the hu-

man eye but is good at exciting the phosphors in the Uv paint.
(Note: exposure to Uv light is harmful to the skin and eyes.
long-wave Uv, also know as UvA, is somewhat less harmful
than the shorter wavelengths, Uvb and UbC.)
Ultraviolet paints are also commonly known as fluorescent paints. The glowing colors we see in Uv paints (when
they are illuminated by ultraviolet light) are produced by
photons of light being emitted from fluorescent substances in
the paint. As explained by Margaret livingstone in Vision and
Art, the Biology of Seeing, "day-Glo pigments absorb shortwavelength light, and their electrons then emit light over a
narrow range of longer wavelengths." (livingstone 2002, 19)
The stronger the light waves are when they hit the paints, the
stronger the effect. In an interview with Jenny Knott, Rosco's
Paint Product Manager, she explained, "Think of the makeup
of these paints as similar to standard paints. They have pigment particles suspended in a clear form of binder, such as
clear acrylic. The binder must be clear so the light can get
to the particles." If you block the ultraviolet light from those
pigment particles, they will not work. In general, this means
that applying a sealer coat over ultraviolet paints will lessen
the strength of the effect.

SAmPlES UndEr wHITE lIgHT

SAmPlES UndEr UlTrAVIolET lIgHT

red
orange

purple
black

yellow

blue
green

Pigment Color wheel (subtractive mixing).
Primary colors-red, yellow, blue-when
mixed in equal parts create the secondary
colors of orange, green, and purple.

theatre

design

Pigment Color wheel using standard ultraviolet paints-shown under regular white light and under ultraviolet
light-painted on a white latex base by Anne Clark. In the outer ring are samples of eleven rosco Vivid
FX colors; in the second ring are Vivid FX Scarlet red, lemon Yellow, and Brilliant Blue (representing the
primaries red, yellow, and blue) with mixing to get other colors; in the third ring are wildfire's luminescent
Bright red, Brilliant Yellow, and deep Blue, with mixing; and in the fourth ring are eight wildfire luminescent
Paint colors. (note: while the colors in these wheels appear different than the primary colors in the theoretical
Pigment Color wheel, the pictures accurately represent the painted samples for this article.)

technology

S P R I N G

2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2009