Tree dark by day whose shape shows in lights once the room is darkBlack, deep green, yellow green. Dot between the leaves, then glow paint. Lights off: a tree made of dots.
Field under a rising full moon, the lights dimmer near its glowNavy, cream, yellow. Paint the dots near the moon smaller and paler than those in the dark corners.
Riverbank trees whose lights all blink in the same instantBlack, deep green, lemon. Dot every light the same size and brightness, as if caught in one flash.
Close-up of the glass: three lights and one curved highlightBlack, yellow, white. One long white curve down the left side is all the glass needs.
Empty jar in the grass, the lights it held rising in a column above itDark green, navy, yellow, white. Make the dots smaller and paler the higher they climb.
Jar as a night-light on a bedside table, an open book lit beside itNavy, amber, cream. Glaze thin amber over the dry table top where the jar's light falls.
Jar drawn in one white line with a single firefly insideBlack, white, yellow. On a dry black ground, draw the jar with a liner brush and place one yellow dot.
Jar held up against the sky so its lights sit among the starsNavy, black, yellow, white. Paint hands and jar as one black shape, then dot yellow inside and white above.
Jar on a dock edge, its lights doubled in the pond belowNavy, teal, yellow, white. Repeat each dot below the dock as a short broken dash.
Jar on a fence post with the field behind it blurredDeep green, navy, yellow. Soften the field with a damp brush, let it dry and paint the jar sharp on top.
Jar on a windowsill, its glow repeated in the dark pane behindIndigo, yellow green, gray. Paint each dot twice: bright in the jar, fainter in the glass.
Jar on its side in the grass, the last light walking out of its mouthDark green, gray, lemon. Paint the grass dark first; one dot at the jar's mouth is the whole story.
Jar seen from straight above, a ring of lights around the open mouthBlack, pale blue, yellow. Paint two pale blue circles for the rim and dot the lights between them.
Jar tied with twine and hung from a branch like a lanternBlack, navy, lemon, tan. Branch and twine go on first in black; the jar is a pale outline around the dots.
Jar with a fern frond inside, a light resting on each leafletBlack, sap green, yellow green. Paint the frond dark green on black, then set a dot on each leaflet tip.
Jar with a paper tag on a string that reads BACK BY BEDTIMENavy, cream, yellow, brown. Letter the tag in pencil, then paint the dark around the letters.
Jar's glow lighting a ring of grass around its baseBlack, dark green, yellow. Drybrush yellow green on only the blades nearest the jar.
Lid set down beside the jar, one light perched on the lid's edgeNavy, gray, yellow. Paint the lid as a gray oval and keep the only bright color for the one dot.
A field at dusk 15
Barn on the horizon with one lit window over a field of smaller lightsNavy, black, amber, yellow green. Make the window amber and the fireflies greener, so the two lights differ.
Black tree line against a band of orange, lights only below the horizonOrange, violet, black, lime. Blend the sky first, then keep every dot inside the black of the field.
Corn rows at a field's edge, lights weaving between the stalksDark green, navy, yellow. Paint the stalks as dark upright strokes and set dots at three heights.
Edge of the woods, lights drifting out from between the trunksBlack, navy, yellow green. Trunks first, as black bars; the dots go in the gaps, never on a trunk.
Field under a rising full moon, the lights dimmer near its glowNavy, cream, yellow. Paint the dots near the moon smaller and paler than those in the dark corners.
First light of the evening: one dot over a field that is still greenSap green, peach, yellow. Paint a daylight field under a low peach sky and add a single early dot.
Flash trails: each firefly painted as a short dotted curveNavy, yellow. Paint three to five dots along a rising curve for each flight.
Hillside so full of lights that the dots alone draw the slopeBlack, yellow green, lemon. Leave the hill bare black; the dots stop at the skyline and show it.
Looking up through grass stems at the sky, lights caught between the bladesPeach, navy, black, yellow. Pull long blades up from the bottom edge; the dots go between them.
Mist lying low on a pasture, the lights soft inside itGray blue, navy, pale yellow. Scumble thin gray over the dry field, then dot into it while it is damp.
One oak in a meadow, the lights thickest under its branchesNavy, black, yellow green. Paint the oak as one black shape and cluster the dots in its shade.
Path mown through tall grass, lights lining it like runway lampsDeep green, black, lemon. Paint two rows of dots that close toward the far end of the path.
Pond reeds at dusk, lights hanging just above the brown seed headsBrown, navy, olive, yellow. Paint the seed heads as brown ovals on thin stems, then dot at head height.
Riverbank trees whose lights all blink in the same instantBlack, deep green, lemon. Dot every light the same size and brightness, as if caught in one flash.
Split-rail fence running back into the dark, lights on both sidesIndigo, gray, yellow. Paint the far rails thinner and paler so the fence leads inward.
Glow-in-the-dark paint 15
Black cat on a sill watching a yard of glow dotsBlack, navy, lemon. Glow paint on the dots; cat and sill stay black. Lights off: only the dots are left.
Black picket fence with glow dots drifting through the gapsBlack, navy, lemon. Pickets in black over dry navy; glow paint on the dots in the gaps.
Constellation made of fireflies, glow dots joined by thin painted linesIndigo, white, yellow. Rule faint white lines between the dots; only the dots get glow paint.
Dusk meadow whose fireflies stay lit after the lamp is switched offNavy, deep green, yellow. Dab glow paint on each dry yellow dot. Lights off: only the dots remain.
Flight of one firefly as a dotted spiral in glow paintNavy, yellow. Dot a spiral in yellow, let it dry and top every dot with glow paint.
Glow fireflies around a painted moon that does not glowNavy, cream, yellow. Leave the moon in plain cream so only the fireflies stay lit in the dark.
Lights crowded along the bottom edge and thinning to one at the topBlack, yellow green. Crowd the dots low, thin them upward and top each with glow paint.
Name spelled in firefly dots over a painted fieldNavy, green, yellow. Pencil the letters, dot along them and put glow paint on every dot.
One large firefly, glow paint only on the lamp at its tailBlack, brown, yellow. Paint the beetle in day colors; glow paint covers the lower abdomen only.
Pond with glow dots above and plain yellow reflections belowNavy, teal, yellow. Glow paint above the waterline only. Lights off: the reflections go dark.
Small canvas for a nightstand: five lights over an edge of grassNavy, black, lemon. Five dots and no more, each topped with glow paint.
Ten fireflies to count before sleep, each beside a small painted numberNavy, white, yellow. Paint 1 to 10 in white; glow paint goes on the dots, not the numbers.
Three small canvases, one light on each, hung as a rising trailNavy, yellow. One dot per canvas at a different height, each topped with glow paint.
Tree dark by day whose shape shows in lights once the room is darkBlack, deep green, yellow green. Dot between the leaves, then glow paint. Lights off: a tree made of dots.
White window frame around a night garden of glow dotsBlack, white, deep green, yellow. Glow paint on the dots only. Lights off: the frame goes and the dots float.
Children catching fireflies 15
Bare feet in wet grass, lights at ankle heightDeep green, peach, yellow green. Crop at the knees and hang the lights low among the blades.
Butterfly net resting on the grass, a light sitting on its rimWhite, navy, green, yellow. Paint the net in thin crossing white lines over the dry dark grass.
Child asleep in a hammock, lights circling aboveNavy, white, black, yellow. Hang the hammock as one curved white band between two black trunks.
Child in pajamas at an open window, one light on the sillIndigo, cream, yellow. Frame the child with the window's dark edges and set one dot on the sill.
Child letting the jar's lights go, the lid in one handNavy, black, yellow. Paint a loose stream of dots leaving the jar's mouth and widening as it rises.
Child lying in the grass, the lights overhead mixed up with the starsNavy, black, white, yellow. Stars are white pinpoints; fireflies are bigger and yellow.
Child on tiptoe, one hand reaching for a light just out of reachNavy, black, yellow. Paint the child as a black shape and put the dot a finger's width past the hand.
Child's face lit from below by the jar in her armsNavy, peach, amber. Put the lightest skin color under the chin and nose, the reverse of daylight.
Dog sitting very still with a light on the end of its noseBlack, tan, yellow. Paint both of the dog's eyes turned in toward the dot.
Firefly walking across an open palmPeach, brown, black, yellow green. Paint the palm large and warm, the beetle small, its tail the brightest spot.
Flashlight beam crossing the yard, the fireflies brighter outside itNavy, pale yellow, yellow green. Glaze a pale cone for the beam and keep every dot outside it.
Grandparent and child on a garden bench, backs to us, the lawn full of lightsBlack, navy, yellow. Paint both backs as one dark shape so the lights hold all the color.
Long shadows of children fanning away from one jar on the groundNavy, black, amber. Start every shadow at a pair of feet and point it away from the jar.
Three children running downhill, the smallest last, lights all aroundBlack, indigo, lemon. Make the figures smaller toward the back and keep the dots one size.
Toddler pointing at one light, a grown-up holding the other handBlack, indigo, lemon. Two silhouettes joined at the hands and one dot where the finger points.
How it works
Fireflies are beetles that give off their light mainly at twilight. In paint that is a dark picture with a few bright dots, and the dots go on last.
Read the full guide
Simple firefly painting ideas: dark first, glow last
Acrylic is opaque, so a pale dot covers a dry dark layer. Paint the night, let it dry, then dot the lights with a cotton swab. Two colors are enough for Flash trails: each firefly painted as a short dotted curve. Hillside so full of lights that the dots alone draw the slope leaves the hill as bare black.
Glow-in-the-dark paint on top
Glow-in-the-dark paint is phosphorescent: light charges it and it keeps glowing afterward, typically pale green. The group of that name plans two looks, lamp on and lamp off, as in Glow fireflies around a painted moon that does not glow. For how long yours glows, read its label.
The simple ones sit under More filters, Level: 17 pictures made of a dark ground and a few dots.
Questions and answers
How do you paint a firefly's glow?
Dot the light in white or pale yellow on a dry dark ground, then glaze thin yellow around it for a halo. A few dots are enough, as in Close-up of the glass: three lights and one curved highlight.
What colors do you need to paint fireflies?
One dark for the night, such as navy, black or deep green, and one light for the dots. Real fireflies glow yellow, green or pale red, so lemon and yellow green both ring true.
Where is the light on a firefly?
Usually on the lower abdomen, though the place varies from kind to kind. In One large firefly, glow paint only on the lamp at its tail, the beetle is in day colors and only that part glows.
Do you need a black canvas for fireflies?
No. Any canvas painted navy, black or deep green and left to dry does the same job. Jar drawn in one white line with a single firefly inside starts from a dry black ground.