I keep seeing ads online for paint by numbers kits and they looks like so much fun. I haven’t done one since I was a kid and these seem like they are of better quality than what I had back then. I am furloughed next month and will likely be spending a lot of time working on projects around the house, but thought I should have a fun, frivolous project to give myself a break and the paint by numbers ads keep popping up. So, have any Dopers mastered the art of paint by numbers? Any advice? Good brands/not so good brands? Other thoughts? If it turns out well, I will share pics.
Nope, but I know some people who do adult coloring books, with pen, colored pencil or watercolor. Maybe try out some of those first to find if you like the coloring-in activity, before making the commitment to a more expensive paint-by-numbers kit that produces a more substantial painted canvas?
I painted three custom paint by numbers. Using vacation photos with my family.
Got mine here a few years ago. I see the custom ones are on sale.
I’d suggest selecting a photo with a family member and interesting background. One of mine was taken at a state park.
Duplicate
As an art teacher, I’m constantly being asked to participate in faculty art shows. Often at the last minute, when they realize the college gallery’s going to be empty for a week.
So one time I made a Jackson Pollock paint-by-number, painted about half of it, and framed it so you could still see the instructions*.
*1 = Pale White, 2 = Hot Topic Pink, 3 = Emesis Green, 4 = Fluorescent Black, 5 = Puce, 6 = Burnt Sienna, 7 = Raw Sienna, 8 = Toyota Sienna … etc.
I just got started on my first one. It is Van Gogh’s Irises. I got it as a gift, so I’m not sure where it’s from.
What I find frustrating is that it does not seem to replicate the act of painting. I find it to be more like constructing a jigsaw puzzle, by painting the numbered spaces. It appears that they use some computer model to render the numbered spaces, so in this case every small variation in color gets it’s own tiny randomly shaped area. We’ll see…
Some of the spaces to be painted are very tiny. I’ve heard it’s better to paint each corner separately than try to fill in all the same colors at once on the whole thing. I would read some reviews of paint by number kits on Amazon, the good and the bad. (I remember the oil paints to fill in things like “The Old Mill” and “Autumn Countryside” years ago.)
Don’t forget the Sad Clown
My Grand parents and my parents all did paint by numbers in the 50’s.
Thanks for all the comments. Seems like paint by number kits aren’t terribly popular with the Dope.
Kimstu I’ve tried the coloring books, but not really a fan. You may have a point but somehow paint by number feels different.
Skywatcher I had a similar app on my phone for a while and loved it. Took up too much memory though and I had to remove it. Don’t know why I loved the app and didn’t go for the coloring pages
aceplace57 I saw the custom ones; they look cool too.
digs Love it.
Icarus Good luck with the irises!
salingmind Thanks for the technical advice. Working section by section does seem to be the way to go rather than color by color.
GaryM I will be avoiding the Sad Clown.
I also do pysanky in my spare time and recently purchased by first ostrich egg . Maybe I will do that instead.
Thank you, I feel fortunate that I can go see the real thing nearby for comparison.
I did one once, of a cat. I was 12 at the time, and I still have it. In the basement.
I use the app “Happy Color.” It is meant to be mindless, and that is exactly what I’m looking for. I typically use that or Solitaire when my neck is REALLY bothering me. The mindless efforts distract me until the pain pill kicks in.
A friend recommended the app “Recolor.” In that one, you choose your own colors, and you can choose to fade, blend, or make patterns. While that is a lovely idea, it doesn’t suit for my purposes. Pain doesn’t allow me to function on that high of a level, and I end up getting frustrated instead of distracted.
~VOW
I did a paint by numbers painting of a horse when I was going through that phase.
This book, about the history of the company, is a lot of fun: Whatever Happened to Paint-By-Numbers?: A Humorous Personal Account of What It Took to Make Anyone an 'Artist’, by Dan Robbins
I use a similar app called, appropriately enough, Coloring Book. Lots of categories, lots of different pictures including some by “the masters”. They’re all animated once finished where the app will playback what strokes you made in which order.
I’ve done over 100 of them since downloading it maybe 2 months ago? I get very fidgety while watching TV. The coloring app doesn’t take a whole lot of brain power. If I were doing an actual paint by number I’d have to make space for it in another room. This way I can “multitask”, as it were.