Just as with knitting, or any craft for that matter, good lighting is essential for DPers. This can be achieved by positioning your desk in daylight (mine is near a large window) but if you want to dot at night you will need a lightboard and / or lamp. The difference a lightboard makes can't be underestimated. They typically are available in sizes A4 to A4. I have an A3 one which is a good size for most projects and sits comfortably on my lap table and adjustable stand.
The pictures below show before with the lightboard off, and then after with the lightboard on. My lightboard has three levels and this is just with the lowest level of lighting.
The downside of lightboards when using them at night is that all the dots look a similar colour so if you've got a rogue dot in your bag you might not notice it when putting it on your painting. Also lightboards can be expensive and it's important to get a good quality one so that it lasts. A similar effect can be used by putting a torch under a glass table. We once did this to mock up a lightbox to look up x-rays. Before getting a lightboard I was using a lamp but it was still tricky to see dark numbers on dark colours at night.
DP pens that light up are available but I haven't tried them. I imagine it would be a similar experience to using a lamp but more localised. I tend to use just a lightboard now but my lamp has a magnifying glass (similar to this one from Bunnings) so it's handy for small / unclear print or similar symbols like M/N/H or 6/8.
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