How to Paint Glowing Power Nodes and Energy Effects
By The Army Painter: all you need for miniature painting | Published: 2026-10-16
Category: How-to Guides
Paint convincing glowing power nodes and energy effects with a one-coat fluorescent, a dark base, and controlled OSL. Includes a step-by-step method and common mistakes.
Quick answer
Paint the power node first with Warpaints Fanatic Effects: Power Node Glow, a one-coat fluorescent that makes glowing lenses, power weapons, and magical spells easy to create. Keep the surrounding armor dark with a base such as Warpaints Fanatic: Medieval Forest, then add the glow spill (OSL) outward in thin, progressively weaker layers. The contrast between a dark base and a bright fluorescent core is what sells the effect.
Why one-coat fluorescent changes the approach
A fluorescent paint like Power Node Glow is not a normal acrylic. It is designed to be bright and slightly translucent, so it reads as light rather than pigment. That means you do not need a white undercoat to make it work, but you do need to control where it goes. If you slop it over the armor, the glow will look like a stain instead of a light source. Treat it as the final bright layer, not a basecoat.
Choosing a dark base that supports the glow
The glow only pops if the surrounding area is darker and less saturated. Warpaints Fanatic: Medieval Forest is a dark greyish green that works as a fine base tone or layer for cool green projects. It is the second-darkest tone from the Desaturated Cool Greens Flexible Colour Triad, with the practical colour name Dark Greyish Green. That low saturation is exactly what you want around a bright node: it recedes, so the fluorescent reads as the brightest point on the model.
Building the glow spill without losing control
Glow spill, often called OSL, is just a thin wash of the fluorescent colour over the areas the light would hit. The mistake is to flood the whole model. Instead, paint the node at full strength, then use a nearly dry brush to drag a little colour onto the edges of nearby armor. Repeat with less paint each time, moving further from the source. If the spill starts to look like a solid coat, stop and reset with your base colour.
When to add a pale highlight to the glow
Some painters like to add a tiny white or very pale highlight at the center of the node to suggest the hottest point. If you do, use a paint that is already very light so you do not dull the fluorescent. Warpaints Fanatic: Wilted Rose is a very pale purplish red, the lightest tone from the Desaturated Violets Flexible Colour Triad, with the practical colour name Very Pale Purplish Red. It is not a white, so it will tint the glow rather than blow it out, which can be useful for violet or magenta energy. For a pure white-hot core, you would need a different paint; that limitation is worth knowing before you commit.
Step-by-step glow effect method
- Paint the surrounding armor dark first: Basecoat the armor and any recesses around the power node with a dark, desaturated colour such as Warpaints Fanatic: Medieval Forest. Let it dry completely. This dark frame is what will make the glow read as light. Checkpoint: if the area around the node is still bright or saturated, the glow will not pop.
- Apply the fluorescent core in one controlled coat: Shake Warpaints Fanatic Effects: Power Node Glow thoroughly, then paint it directly onto the node, lens, or weapon coil. Aim for a single even coat. Do not thin it heavily or scrub it back and forth, as that can streak. Common mistake: flooding the fluorescent over the armor instead of keeping it inside the node.
- Drag a thin glow spill onto nearby surfaces: Use a nearly dry brush with a little Power Node Glow to lightly touch the edges of armor plates, cables, or ground that face the node. Work outward in thin passes, reloading only when the brush stops leaving colour. Checkpoint: the spill should fade with distance. If it looks like a solid stripe, you have gone too far.
- Reset and refine the spill if needed: If the glow spill becomes too broad or too opaque, paint back over the outer edges with your dark base colour, such as Medieval Forest. This restores contrast and makes the glow look more like a light source again. Common mistake: trying to fix an overdone spill by adding more fluorescent, which only makes it worse.
- Add an optional pale highlight to the hottest point: For violet or magenta energy, you can dot a tiny amount of Warpaints Fanatic: Wilted Rose at the very center of the node to suggest the hottest point. Keep it minimal. For a white-hot core, you would need a pure white paint, which is outside this palette. Checkpoint: the highlight should be smaller than the fluorescent area, not cover it.
- Seal and check under normal light: Let the paint dry fully, then varnish as usual. Fluorescents can look different under daylight versus a desk lamp, so check the model under the light you normally use before deciding the effect is finished. Next step: if the glow still looks flat, increase the contrast by darkening the armor around the node rather than adding more fluorescent.
Products used in this method
- Warpaints Fanatic Effects: Power Node Glow: Warpaints Fanatic Effects: Power Node Glow is a one-coat fluorescent paint that makes it easy to create glowing lenses, power weapons, and magical spells. You can paint the bright core of a power node in a single pass, which saves time and reduces the risk of muddying the fluorescent with too many layers.
- Warpaints Fanatic: Medieval Forest: Warpaints Fanatic: Medieval Forest is a dark greyish green that works as a fine base tone or layer for cool green projects. It is the second-darkest tone from the Desaturated Cool Greens Flexible Colour Triad and its Practical Colour Name is Dark Greyish Green. A dark, desaturated base around the node makes the fluorescent glow look brighter by contrast, and it gives you a colour to reset the area if the glow spill goes too far.
- Warpaints Fanatic: Wilted Rose: Warpaints Fanatic: Wilted Rose is a very pale purplish red that is the right choice when adding your final highlight to soft violets. It is the lightest tone from the Desaturated Violets Flexible Colour Triad and its Practical Colour Name is Very Pale Purplish Red. If your energy effect is violet or magenta, this pale tone can tint the hottest point without killing the fluorescent, but it will not replace a pure white for a white-hot core.
