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Star Ceilings... Painted or Fiber optics?

267K views 2K replies 236 participants last post by  NightSkyMurals 
#1 · (Edited)
Star Ceiling – Fiber optics vs Painted

A star ceiling is a definite plus for any home theater or bedroom... but what is the best way to go? Should you install Fiber Optics or have the ceiling painted (either by yourself or by a professional)? Well, that depends...

(Mural by Night Sky Murals. Black lights help this painted mural shine brighter when there is light in the room)


(This home theater is in California and was really fun to do. The owner built the soffit, on an angle, for the black lights and the stars to show up throughout the movie. I have a special mixture of paint that I use in home theaters for those who want to have bright stars during the movie. Otherwise, with the lights off... the theater looks like the ceiling has been removed and the stars are more subtle.)


(A Fiber Optic Ceiling with black lights around the edge for looks only)



Of course my view is going to be a little biased... but I will try to be fair to all three options.

First, lets go over Fiber optics.

They are great to view in almost any light. This is a big “pro” when compared to a painted ceiling. A painted mural acts just like a real night sky and disappears in the light. Fiber optics can still be visible in the light.

When there are lights off in the room... the fiber optics are visible and beautiful. When the lights are on... they are still visible and beautiful. And, you can even make them twinkle.


But, there are some downsides to fiber optics too... The "Cons"

* They are pricey

* They require a lot of extra work to have them installed.

* Holes need to be drilled.

* Wires need to be run.

* If there is no crawl space above the ceiling... then panels need to be prepared, covered, wired and
installed.

* If you don't want to do all of the work yourself.. then you would need to hire someone to do it for
you and they may not have much of a clue what to do.

* You usually get only about 1/10th of the number of stars that a painted mural gives you.

* The holes drilled for the fibers are visible.

* One, maybe two, different sizes of stars.

* Scheduling a few days, to a week, for it to be installed.

But, they ARE nice and the big advantage is that you can see the stars at any time you want basically.


Now... what about the painted night sky murals... DIY and professionally installed?


Well, here is where I can speak with more authority.

Let's start with the DIY option. This option can be both good and bad. Bad if you have no talent as an artist and you just throw up some paint with a paint brush. (I have seen, and painted over, many a ceiling where the owner, or their friend, tried to paint the night sky with glow-in-the-dark paint) It looks really easy, but there are definitely some techniques that need to be learned first.

But, if you or a friend are an artist and you want to freehand it... then go for it. And remember... you can always add more stars later if needed. Don't try to go too crazy at first. Paint, step back and look... and then paint some more.

There are also stencil kits that you can purchase on the Internet. Out of the 4 or 5 different stencils that I have tried out... there is one that is much better than the rest, and it isn't even the most expensive. So, do your due diligence or email me and I will steer you in the right direction. If you have more than one or two rooms to paint... you will be sore after painting with the stencil. Just sayin.


Pros for the DIY option:

* Cheapest method to get a star mural on your ceiling.

* Usually slightly nicer than the plastic stars.

* You can paint over it if it looks ugly and then try again or call a professional.

* You can claim credit for having painted it.

* If you have to tear out part of your ceiling to fix something up in there... then you can repaint that
area yourself.


The "Cons" to the DIY option:

* Sore neck and back

* It's very easy to create a very ugly mural if you aren't careful.

* It isn't nearly as nice as one done by a professional (at least the better ones)

* More unnecessary work to perform where you aren't already proficient.

* It is only slightly nicer than the plastic stars.

* It's frustrating.

* You'll probably glow in the dark for a few days from the paint that gets on you.


Now.. ”The Professional Option”. Are they really that expensive? Here's the quick and easy answer... Some are. Some aren't. And, by the way, I am. (But, I am a lot less than having fiber optics installed)

A quick word about “Professionals” here. There are many people/companies that will teach others how to paint a star mural. One problem is that most of them have never even painted one themselves. Usually they are either companies who want to sell their glow paint (so they teach you a method which creates a need for their paint, and they usually are terrible techniques)... or they are just lazy people who see a good idea and try to capitalize on someone elses success by marketing a “Star-Painting Business Kit” themselves. And, as a result, the people they “train” have learned really bad techniques from these non-skilled, snake oil salesmen. So you want to be careful who you hire.


Here are two examples.

This first picture is of a mural that was done by one of the popular companies painting and teaching others to paint these murals. Please don't ask who did this because I won't name them. I show it only to make the point that you need to check around. This picture was taken with a black light on because they probably didn't have a camera with a long shutter exposure. Thus, the background color. BTW... the picture at the beginning of this thread is of one of my murals with black lights on too.

(Another unknown "Professional's" mural)



This next picture is of a mural that I painted on a really nice ceiling with big beams in it.*


(Mural by Night Sky Murals)



Having said that... I have seen some work done by other artists that really surprised me because the murals they painted were actually really nice. They were much better than I had expected them to be after hearing who they'd learned from. But, these murals were painted by people who were already muralists before they decided to add star mural ceilings to their portfolio.

So please be careful when hiring an artist and try to see their work first... or at least have them drop by with, or send you a sample of their work that you can look at. I mean... do you really want to spend all that time decorating your theater room... only to have an amateur come in and destroy your ceiling? There are good artists out there... but you need to search to find them.

As for the cost... You can find people who will throw some paint up on your ceiling for anywhere from $1 to $4 per square foot. My prices start at $6 per sq. ft... and can go as high as $12 per sq. ft. depending on the detail and preparation before I can paint. I'm more expensive than most, but I am fair and the value that you get, I think, comes out to be a better deal.


OK... here are the “Pros” to having a professional paint the mural:

* The look is Incredible! (When done right by a true professional)

* Painted night sky murals blow fiber optics away in the dark. (Fiber optics excel in lighted areas) But for
realism... there is no comparison to a painted mural.

* You can have a realistic looking Milky Way in your mural, that has a cloudy look to it and has thousands
and thousands of tiny little stars.

* You can have other deep space objects and the moon added in. (I suggest only having a crescent moon
painted in... because I try to make the mural look like a night sky that you would see from a remote
location on earth. Galaxies and Nebula aren't really visible with the naked eye from earth) But, it is
possible to have all those things with a painted mural.

* You can create the illusion of mountains surrounding the room when the mural is brought down the
walls.

* Ceiling fans and heat registers can be painted too... so they don't become black holes when the
room is dark.

* If you feed some professional painters some cookie dough (ahem!) they might even throw in a
shooting star or two.

* Virtually invisible in the light.

* Thousands of stars in the mural... compared to hundreds with fiber optics and DIY options.

* 10 to 15 different sized stars in the murals. This is what creates an incredible 3D look.

* Paint (a good muralist should have this paint) will glow for up to 12 hours (the smaller stars will *
fade in about 3 to 4... and the larger stars will glow longer).

* The paint can be made to fluoresce under a black light for viewing during a movie. Not as bright as
fiber optics, but more natural looking.

* The mural actually changes the longer the lights are off. The mural will look one way when the lights
are first turned out... and totally different 3 hours later.

* The stars seem to twinkle... naturally. Something about the paint and the cones and rods in your eyes
will have you swearing that the stars are really twinkling.

* No smell.

* Can be painted on most finishes

* Usually done in a day.

* No need for a crawl space in your ceiling for the mural to be painted. Nor is there the need to add a
false ceiling. You regular ceiling is just fine.

* Invisible in the light... just like the real night sky. Your room looks like it always has in the light.


The ”Cons” to having a painted mural:

* The cost can get up there, but usually less than fiber optics.

* You need to make cookie dough for some artists. :)

* You need a fairly dark room for the mural to be seen as intended.

* You need a good fluorescent light source to charge the paint for 10 minutes (Still, plugging in a
black light or two is easier than wiring for fiber optics).

* You could get a bad professional (Do your due-diligence)

* Invisible in the light. This is a “Con” only if you want then to be visible in the light. (Note: The murals are invisible on light colored ceilings that also have some texture)



Here is what the painted murals look like in the light and in the dark. Again, we do have a special paint (and others might have something too) that will allow the stars to glow under a black light in a semi-lit room.





OK, I tried to give a fair overview of some different options for a star ceiling. But, whatever option you choose... get a star ceiling done. They are so incredibly relaxing and romantic. You've designed everything for the light... do this one thing for the dark. You will be glad you did.

If you have a day-sky (blue sky and clouds) painted on the ceiling... then get a night sky painted on top of that. When the lights are on, the day-sky will be visible. When the lights go out... the night sky will appear. It's very cool!

OK, I have gotten many questions about the murals from people who are building home theaters... and home theaters are probably my number one area to paint in.

Please ask any questions that you have and I will try to answer them for you.

If you are in the building stages.. and can still add in wiring to power lights... I can tell you where you should have them placed. If you can still add a soffit around the top... I can give you good ideas about how to build that too.

So, if you are considering stars in your ceiling.. ask away and I will try to help you out.
 
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#4 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by NightSkyMurals /forum/post/18867329


You are welcome... and i wish that I would have been less wordy. But, i hope it helps.

Thanks for the post - very cool effect. In the picture you posted, is the underlying ceiling colour black or a dark blue. Not sure if the lights are casting a color tint....
 
#6 ·
You know, I'd forgotten (I painted that room about 2 years ago) so I just called the home owner up and asked him (I'm glad I did because he invited me out to watch a movie and have dinner with them next week when I am in California) about the room.


He said that it is a pastel blue, or light sky blue (not dark at all). He said that when all of the white lights are off and the black lights are on... it has a blueish/purple tint to it. When all white and black lights are off... it looks like a dark gray color and the stars pop out



Quote:
Originally Posted by damonbrodie /forum/post/18868011


Thanks for the post - very cool effect. In the picture you posted, is the underlying ceiling colour black or a dark blue. Not sure if the lights are casting a color tint....
 
#7 ·
It is. It is one that I painted in California a couple of years ago. With the black lights on, you really can't pick out the Milky Way too well... but if you look closely enough, you will see it starting at the right side, just above the poster and round light under the soffit... and it stretches to the left and to the back of the theater.


There is also a crescent moon on the left side toward the front.


Quote:
Originally Posted by premiertrussman /forum/post/18868055


Is the picture at the beginning of the thread a painted mural?
 
#8 ·
That is excellent. I've been trying to decide what to do with my theater ceiling. I really like the star ceilings, but assumed they were all optical. I did not know they could be painted to look so nice.


Do you have any links to what techniques to use to get that sort of an effect? My sister is an artist and im considering hiring her to something similar in our theater.



Also, i have a ceiling fan in the middle of my room, do you think having a fan obstruct some of the stars detract enough from the illusion to make it not worth doing? Or perhaps could we do something with the ceiling fan to add to the effect? or would doing anything like that just seem cheesy?


Third question, I have rope lighting behind crown molding, the molding is quite large (7.5") but is only about 3.5" down from the ceiling, what kind of black light options are there that would fit?


Here is a picture of what i have to work with

Unfinished Ceiling
 
#9 ·
Haha, that will teach me to open my mouth before doing some reading!!....i just found the link in your signature and am scanning through the questions area!


I hand't put two and two together until i started reading through the website. I don't mean for you to give away and trade secrets, but i wouldn't ever be able to afford to hire out something like this, so any tips or tricks you woulnt mind sharing would be greatly appreciated.
 
#11 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by premiertrussman /forum/post/18869517


Haha, that will teach me to open my mouth before doing some reading!!....i just found the link in your signature and am scanning through the questions area!


I hand't put two and two together until i started reading through the website. I don't mean for you to give away and trade secrets, but i wouldn't ever be able to afford to hire out something like this, so any tips or tricks you woulnt mind sharing would be greatly appreciated.


Ha ha... no problem!


First, let me answer a couple of things from your last post. The ceiling fan is not a problem. Just have your sister add a few stars onto it (all of the non-moving parts) and it will pretty much disappear when the lights are out.


The area for the black lights is not, I don't think, enough room for the lights. It sounds like it is too close to the ceiling. You really need the light to be low enough to cast direct light onto the entire ceiling. Maybe you could get a large 4 foot black light that you could put out of the way until you want to charge it up. Then, bring it out and turn it on for 5 to 10 minutes, turn it off and put it away again. By the way... my California customer has an extra black light that he said he doesn't need. He is going to show it to me when i go out there next week... and he said that he would like to sell it. I will take a picture and get a price from him for anyone interested.


If your sister is an artist... then she can probably do a good job at it. But, it is a little different from painting murals for the light. I have artists around the country who have me paint the night sky for them when a customer wants one done. They do all of the art for the light... and let me do the night sky painting. But, if she wants to attempt it... then I would have her do a little practicing on some cardboard or another room first.


Your ceiling will look very nice. Just do the inside portion of the ceiling and it will look like a large window into space when it's done.


There are also some inexpensive painters who also do this type of mural... but be very careful who you get because there are an awful lot of bad ones out there.


You can also get a stencil on the Internet. They are not the best option... but you can get some stars up on your ceiling with it... along with a really sore neck and back. :)


By the way... your ceiling didn't look like it would be too expensive (and I realize that "too expensive" is subjective). From what I remember of your picture... I think that it could run anywhere between $500 and $900, depending on the detail that you want.


I hope this helps.
 
#12 ·
I am trying to remember if, over the years, i have ever painted a mural on a ceiling that had fiber optics. I don't think that I have.


The only reason that I can see doing both types of stars would be to have the fiber optics on when the room has the light on... and then turn them off and just let the mural shine on it's own in the dark. I think that fiber optics would be too distracting to the mural if they were both on at the same time because the fiber optics would be so much brighter.


When I spoke with the Calif. customer today... he told me that if he turns out the black lights, and if the paint if fully charged, then they can still see some of the stars during the movie. He said that when there is a bright scene, most of the stars are gone. With a semi-bright scene, the brighter constellation stars are visible... and during a dark scene... you would see a lot more stars. He said it was really like watching a movie outdoors because the mural reacts just like the real sky would to light pollution.


About photos with and without the lights on... not a problem. That's one thing that I discussed with him and he said to snap away. I also asked him about letting me interview him for a video testimonial and he was all for that too. Also, he said that he would be happy to talk with anyone about his ceiling. Now, that can get out of control... so I told him that we should try the video first. :)




Quote:
Originally Posted by HDGTX /forum/post/18869542


Have you ever combined fiber optics & painted stars on the same ceiling ? How would that look ?


How about some photos of the ceiling with & w/o lights on & the moon & Milky Way when you go visit those nice folks in Cali?


Thanks!
 
#13 ·
That is actually not as bad as i thought it would be. I cant remeber the exact dimensions but the perimeter was almost exactly 48'.


I showed this to my sister and she thought it was very cool. Shes one of the few minds that really like to blend art and science together. IE...she's an artist by trade, but does her own tech support.



I almost wonder if i could make a medallion that would go around where the ceiling fan attaches but suspend it far enough from the ceiling that i could hide black lights on top of it. So in the light it looks like a decorative piece and when the lights are off, becomes the source for the uv light.


There is already power there if i ever wanted to install the light kit on the fan, so it could be easily used to power fluorescent lights.


a crude illustration of what i mean. Obviously not to any sort of scale.

Ceiling fan illustration


What do you think?
 
#14 · (Edited)
Quote:Originally Posted by premiertrussman

That is actually not as bad as i thought it would be. I cant remeber the exact dimensions but the perimeter was almost exactly 48'.



With those dimensions... the price might be more like $1500 to $2200. I was trying to guess at the size from your last picture.




Quote:Originally Posted by premiertrussman

I almost wonder if i could make a medallion that would go around where the ceiling fan attaches but suspend it far enough from the ceiling that i could hide black lights on top of it. So in the light it looks like a decorative piece and when the lights are off, becomes the source for the uv light.

What do you think?



From the looks of your drawing... i am almost positive that the lights would be way too close to the ceiling. It is really important that the light hit the paint directly... so you'd almost want the lights a minimum of 18 inches down from the ceiling.
What about a couple disco black lights bolted to the wall at opposite ends of the room... and aiming towards the center?


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#15 ·
Sorry for this shout out... but it's my only option right now after accidentally deleting an email.


If you wrote me about possibly painting your theater room in California next week... please write me back. I deleted your email by mistake and now can't retrieve it. I will be in Sacramento sometime next week and working my way down to Los Angeles (or vise versa). So, if you see this... please get in touch as soon as you can. i will be leaving this Thursday to go out there.
 
#16 ·
I bought a HomeStar Planetarium projector for my son and I really like it a lot, it comes with two disks (you can buy additional disks), it project stars to the ceiling, it also rotates the Planetarium, one disk has sun, earth and moon, rotates one round every 10 minutes, really realistic and cool. However, it won't work well in theater environment because for one, you'd better have high ceiling to get larger image, and two, it only projects a round image and the stars on the edge of the image star to blur due to the nature of lens focusing . If you have a dome ceiling, then it could work very well and it is the dirt cheap compare to fiber optics and painted murals. Although I can't use it in the theater, I still like it a lot, my son loves it even more, I have to turn it on every night when he goes to bed.
 
#17 ·
Good point. I saw one of those when I painted a ceiling for a customer out in Beverly Hills. He showed it to me before I painted his music studio... and it was definitely better than most little projectors.


Good call...



Quote:
Originally Posted by theWalkinator /forum/post/18871927


I bought a HomeStar Planetarium projector for my son and I really like it a lot, it comes with two disks (you can buy additional disks), it project stars to the ceiling, it also rotates the Planetarium, one disk has sun, earth and moon, rotates one round every 10 minutes, really realistic and cool. However, it won't work well in theater environment because for one, you'd better have high ceiling to get larger image, and two, it only projects a round image and the stars on the edge of the image star to blur due to the nature of lens focusing . If you have a dome ceiling, then it could work very well and it is the dirt cheap compare to fiber optics and painted murals. Although I can't use it in the theater, I still like it a lot, my son loves it even more, I have to turn it on every night when he goes to bed.
 
#18 ·
Honestly, the best solution (although the most expensive) is somewhat a combination of both. What I do (when it is within the budget) is printed sky scene on acoustically transparent fabric mounted onto 2" OC 703 panels with fiber being placed on it. When the fiber is turned off, there is the printed scene, when the fiber is turned on, you see the printed scene plus stars. I'm working on a huge 8' x 12' one right now I will post some pics of later on.


Again this is a more expensive solution because the charge for printing is per square foot and you have to pay for the photograph rights from a photographer (unless you have your own) but you end up with a scene + actual fiber stars + a large 2" acoustic sound panel on the ceiling.
 
#19 ·
I for one would love to see that. I love the night sky and any product that will do a good job is fun to see. How would it be adding a third, painted mural on top of the other two?


You could have the "fibers-turned-off (in the light) so-that-the-printed-scene- is-visible" option. You could have the "fibers-turned-on-so-that-the-printed-scene-and-fiber-stars-are-both-visible" option. Then, you could have the "fibers-and-lights-in-the-room-turned-off-and-the-painted-mural-is-visible" option. That would be a serious ceiling... and all three options would give you a totally different look to the ceiling.


I get requests, from time to time, to paint acoustic ceiling panels and which i have shipped around the country... and even a few Internationally. I feel a new, upgraded product coming on here. Maybe not as expensive as you are going... but maybe have a day sky painted on the acoustic tiles and then the night sky painted on top of that. Hmmmmm.....


Great idea you have. Would love to see it when you have it finished!


Quote:
Originally Posted by diamond design /forum/post/18873160


Honestly, the best solution (although the most expensive) is somewhat a combination of both. What I do (when it is within the budget) is printed sky scene on acoustically transparent fabric mounted onto 2" OC 703 panels with fiber being placed on it. When the fiber is turned off, there is the printed scene, when the fiber is turned on, you see the printed scene plus stars. I'm working on a huge 8' x 12' one right now I will post some pics of later on.


Again this is a more expensive solution because the charge for printing is per square foot and you have to pay for the photograph rights from a photographer (unless you have your own) but you end up with a scene + actual fiber stars + a large 2" acoustic sound panel on the ceiling.
 
#20 ·
Painting murals might not be a DIY job for most of us non-artists, so I would like to see some one to develop wall paper murals, that will be so cool. A company that I used to work, has very large format plotters that can print as wide as 8", and they can print on vinyl sheet for 40' tractor trailer, really cool.
 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by theWalkinator /forum/post/18874351


Painting murals might not be a DIY job for most of us non-artists, so I would like to see some one to develop wall paper murals, that will be so cool. A company that I used to work, has very large format plotters that can print as wide as 8", and they can print on vinyl sheet for 40' tractor trailer, really cool.

If you could figure out a way to print with high quality glow in the dark paint that would be something!
 
#22 ·
My bad, I meant the large format plotter can print as wide as 8 feet, not 8 inches.
 
#23 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by premiertrussman /forum/post/18874418


If you could figure out a way to print with high quality glow in the dark paint that would be something!

It shouldn't be too difficult, what it needs are three things, one, pre-sprayed dark paint media, vinyl sheet or something else, two, special glow ink the plotter can print on the media, three, printing software. The most difficult part is the special ink I guess.
 
#24 ·
I dont have it up yet but this is photo of the project I was talking about. As you can see from the size of the fabric compared to the 60" TV (or perhaps the DirecTV remote in the floor) this is a very large one. It is approximately 9 feet wide and 13 feet long with the image being on a little over 8' x 12'. I search for stock photos for clients based on what they are looking for, buy the rights from the photographer, print it on acoustically transparent fabric (shown), then place it on 2" thick OC 703 panels. Then you run the fiber through it and you get (in this instance at least) clouds, moon, and lit stars, shooting stars, etc.




The final step is you mount it to the ceiling and build a nice frame around it (or soffit)


I'll post a pic of it on ceiling when I have it up.

If acoustics aren't an issue the painted mural is a cheaper approach. This was for an install in a large room with acoustic issues.
 
#25 ·
What does a print like that one above cost an end user to have mounted ? Just curious. It is beautiful, thanks for sharing, Looking forward to seeing more photos. Great ideas here, love this forum !


Here's an awesome (only way to describe this image) photo from Orion Telescope's FaceBook page, a photo of galaxies M8 (the Lagoon Nebula), M20 (the Triffid Nebula) & NGC 6559. This would make some ceiling vista !

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php...id=87123139665


John
 
#26 ·
Wall images mounted on 2" thick sound panels are usually in the $55 per square foot range (so a 3' x 4' photo or image mounted on 2" thick panel would be $660 ballpark).

Ceiling images are different. Due to the tons of labor required it is just the print cost which is usually in the $30 per square foot range plus labor and materials (sound panels, Z clips or other mounting hardware, frame, etc.).


I love the image you found. With that you wouldnt want to do fiber stars unless you just chose some of them and "poked them out" with fiber. The above image was chosen because it was star-free and all stars will be lit by fiber. This same theater also has 4 huge wall panels that span 2 walls that were made from a great photo of Las Vegas as well as 3 panels made from movie posters, I can't wait to see it all done.
 
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