Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Draw on a Lightbulb with a Sharpie

"draw on a light bulb, and you can have really cute designs shine on your wall at night." 



Yes, another sharpie pin. I've been meaning to test this one out for some time, but most of my light bulbs are CFLs so I've been waiting until I remembered to pick up some old fashion light bulbs. This week was the week. I've been unable to find the original source of the image so I can't tell you for sure if this is what the image is really telling us, or if there is some other craft that has been lost in translation. Often times you find images on pinterest saying one thing, but the source is for something entirely different (like the coffee for hair loss, the brown sugar straightener, the spray painted lightbulb and coffee beans).

Simple enough to test out, I spent about 10 minutes this evening doodling on a light bulb with a Sharpie. 

Here's the finish product:



And here it is, plugged into my table lamp, casting... light. No shapes, no patterns, just bright white light.



 I knew this wasn't going to work, because if you've ever looked at a light bulb, they usually have markings printed on the top of the bulb listing the make, manufacturer and wattage of the bulb. If drawing on them worked well enough to cast shapes, then you'd see the marks from any light bulb being cast on to your ceilings as well. 

26 comments:

  1. Anonymous20/4/14

    I think this might be the original image - but can't say for sure: http://sublime-decor.com/2013/07/24/did-you-know-if-you-draw-on-a-lightbulb-with-a-sharpie-itll-decorate-the-walls-with-your-designs/

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  2. try a low watt bulb 25 or 40.

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  3. It has to be a clear light bulb not frosted or white. And a 40 watter:)

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  4. Anonymous24/2/15

    You would have a better chance at success with a clear light bulb, but even so, the filament is about an inch long. It isn't a pin-point of light that would cast shadows.

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  5. Anonymous26/3/15

    A lower wattage bulb may do better

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  6. Has anyone tried this with a lower watt and/or clear bulb?

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  7. It has to be a clearbulb and a colored sharpie

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  8. No, it's not going to work as depicted no matter how you try it. If you hold a finger up in front of a lightbulb, do you get a crisp, small shadow on the wall? No, you get a big blurry shadow. You'd have to use thick black lines, and even then the light would be too diffused to see anything more than vague lines once it got a few feet away.
    The only thing that *might* work is if you colored the whole bulb, and left your design as the clear spaces. Even then the ink might not be thick enough to effectively block the light.

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  9. No, it's not going to work as depicted no matter how you try it. If you hold a finger up in front of a lightbulb, do you get a crisp, small shadow on the wall? No, you get a big blurry shadow. You'd have to use thick black lines, and even then the light would be too diffused to see anything more than vague lines once it got a few feet away.
    The only thing that *might* work is if you colored the whole bulb, and left your design as the clear spaces. Even then the ink might not be thick enough to effectively block the light.

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  10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xufkioe7iWk

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    Replies
    1. This video shows someone doing it and while not perfect it worked.

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  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. I tried this and it does not work no matter what kind of lightbulb you use. I even tried it on the clear bulbs and different wattage. The clear bulbs showed some color blobs on the wall when it was positioned very close to it but there was no discernable pattern.

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  13. I wouldn't care for the heat-diffused sharpie ink invading my space....

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  14. i did magenta & forest green thick twisted stripes on a light bulb. i love it. my room is cotton candy colors at night

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  15. My lightbulb started smoking when i turn the light on... i colored a small clear lightbulb with sharpie marker, green and magenta twisted stripes...has this happened to anyone elses?

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  16. I don't how are you guys this good with sharpie.
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    ReplyDelete
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