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It seems to me that the 'glow' effect of painting lights has been running wild. I don't know if that's the correct term for it, but what I'm talking about is when something is supposed to be lit, like a space marine's eyes or a plasma weapon, people are painting the 'splash' of light around the lit portion. I don't recall seeing this until recently and most of the models painted in the codexes don't seem to have this.

I've seen it done well, where it's not distracting and doesn't deter the eye from the rest of the model. But usually, especially in the case of my own experimenting, it looks really bad. The bad ones are distracting and seem like a well painted model is being hidden by the glow effect to the point where the glow effect is all you end up seeing because you can't help but stare at this massive blob of light blue color that is splashed over a dark model.

What do you guys think of the glow effect? Do you like to use it because it's faster to paint or because you think it looks nice? Is there a guide on how to do it so that it isn't distracting the eye from the rest of the model?

It's called OSL, Object Source Lighting.
And yes if done badly it looks really really bad.
But if done properly it adds to the mini.
I suggest youtube for some great tutorials..

Zimko, I completely agree with you. I think the vast majority of the time that I see it, it is way OTT, and detracts from the rest of the paint job. In general people make the OSL area much too large, and it can be very dominating/distracting.

Ah so that's what it is called! I haven't noticed it until the last year or so. One of my friends at the local shop had a Space Marine biker army painted for him and it had this effect. It looked lazy, like instead of putting the time into painting the lights they just sprayed the general area of the light and called it a day. I grimaced at it but he didn't seem to notice. I thought maybe it was just experimental but now I'm seeing it all over the place.

Thank you for letting me know what the correct term is so I can maybe learn how to do it the correct way.

The cardinal rule is light makes stuff er, lighter. If your colour tint is darker than the base colour it's going on, the effect won't work.

The second rule is light is stronger on facing surfaces so highlight toward the light source.

There is a correct way of doing it and a bad way of doing it IMHO

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/601299.page
Correct Way

Search for a P&M thread called "are OSL effects being overdone" (sorry, can't link from here) for more opinions on the matter. Personally, I think it detracts from the vast majority of paintjobs, but it certainly can be done well. Was it Victoria Lamb who did that amazing Joan of Arc diorama? That is OSL done right - both technically and because it serves a purpose.

The latter bit is important. It seems to me like a lot of people use OSL simply because it's the "new shiny" technique that everyone and their mother (according to the internet) is doing. Token responses to "critique this model" threads have expanded from "needs a wash" to "needs weathering and OSL." Commission painters love it, because it allows them to just blast an area with the airbrush insead of spending time highlighting. Want to make a commission painter's day? Ask for OSL - he can charge you extra for making his life easier.

If I ever use it on a finished piece, it will be for a specific purpose, beyond simply "trying it out": A diorama where it can help set the narrative, a display piece where it reinforces the model's character, etc. OSL on a darkened Space Hulk set makes sense. Heavy OSL on a whole 40k army fighting in a bright desert makes them look like the losers of a particularly brutal paintball game.

A lot of people do overdo it and it's quite tricky to get right, I've just started to have a play myself some come out too little and some come out too much, trying to find the balance is key. Something I'm still learning

Less is more, which is the mark of a truly good painter.

I personally dislike it unless very sparsely used, and only then, it has to make sense.

I like it if it isn't too abundant and takes up all of the model. I seen a great OSL with a Golden Demon entry at Warhammer Fest. It was a Plasma Cannon on a Guard Sentinel. Really achieved a great effect with it.

Yeah I think can be overdone as well, and I think the reason you may be seeing more of it is that Florescent paints seem to be more well known now.

Here is about my old decent stab at doing it

Everything in moderation. You see some peoples where every ligjt and eye is glowing and it bugs me. For larger lights i think its ok. I sometimes use it for torches in dioramas. But when its every space marine eye it goes a bit too far. I dont think some things translate at that small a scale