Assorted questions about Custom Paint By Numbers
December 27, 2020 9:55 PM Subscribe
I'm thinking of getting a relative a paint by number kit. I'm thinking she'd like a picture of a particular cathedral. I've created a picture, please tell me if this is suitable for making into paint by numbers. Also, any other advice on doing this, including any particular company or etsy seller you recommend and what sort of kit to get. Specific subquestions inside.
1. The image
A) Yes, I'm aware of the watermark. if something like this is workable, i'll buy the image.
B) I was testing it out on indexed colour (indexed to 24 colours) to see how it would look with the palette shrunk down and I forgot to undo before saving. So this is indexed colour. If I did a paint by numbers kit, I would send the unindexed image and let their algorithm do the colour blocking.
C) I'm concerned by what seem like quite large areas of the same colour. Is that good or bad.
D) IF, for whatever reason, the image is not suitable is it fixable or this just somehow incompatible with PBN. What do I look for to know if an image is suitable?
The Kit:
A) So I assume more colours is better, yes?
B) But what about rolled, vs. stretching kit vs. stretched? The price difference is quite large. Some of the FAQs I've seen recommend the rolled as being easier to work with. Does that sound right? I would have thought stretched would be easiest.
C) Can you recommend a paint-by-numbers kit maker that you've liked? I don't think we want to mix any paint. The colours should be pre-mixed.
D) Do they send you colours mixed to match your image or it it basically "we have these 5 shades of green, and here is the one closest to your green"?
E) What's optimal size for a beginner? I assume bigger is more work but also easier, right? Where's the right balance?
Anything else I need to know?
1. The image
A) Yes, I'm aware of the watermark. if something like this is workable, i'll buy the image.
B) I was testing it out on indexed colour (indexed to 24 colours) to see how it would look with the palette shrunk down and I forgot to undo before saving. So this is indexed colour. If I did a paint by numbers kit, I would send the unindexed image and let their algorithm do the colour blocking.
C) I'm concerned by what seem like quite large areas of the same colour. Is that good or bad.
D) IF, for whatever reason, the image is not suitable is it fixable or this just somehow incompatible with PBN. What do I look for to know if an image is suitable?
The Kit:
A) So I assume more colours is better, yes?
B) But what about rolled, vs. stretching kit vs. stretched? The price difference is quite large. Some of the FAQs I've seen recommend the rolled as being easier to work with. Does that sound right? I would have thought stretched would be easiest.
C) Can you recommend a paint-by-numbers kit maker that you've liked? I don't think we want to mix any paint. The colours should be pre-mixed.
D) Do they send you colours mixed to match your image or it it basically "we have these 5 shades of green, and here is the one closest to your green"?
E) What's optimal size for a beginner? I assume bigger is more work but also easier, right? Where's the right balance?
Anything else I need to know?
I can only address the user side of this, but I just did my first grown-up Paint by Number (thanks, 2020) so I think I'm similar to your audience.
I think the image you chose is lovely.
Choose a smaller canvas over a larger one and you won't have the "large swaths of color" problem. I think mine was 18x24 and I wouldn't go much bigger for a first Paint by Number experience. You don't want it to be daunting or difficult to reach into the middle. Plus, who wants to hang a giant canvas when it's done? Smaller is more flexible.
As the FAQ says, rolled is indeed better (stretched takes up wayyyy too much room!).
Order double paints if possible since the colors will be impossible to replicate and the tiny pots sometimes get dried up.
posted by nkknkk at 7:33 AM on December 28, 2020
I think the image you chose is lovely.
Choose a smaller canvas over a larger one and you won't have the "large swaths of color" problem. I think mine was 18x24 and I wouldn't go much bigger for a first Paint by Number experience. You don't want it to be daunting or difficult to reach into the middle. Plus, who wants to hang a giant canvas when it's done? Smaller is more flexible.
As the FAQ says, rolled is indeed better (stretched takes up wayyyy too much room!).
Order double paints if possible since the colors will be impossible to replicate and the tiny pots sometimes get dried up.
posted by nkknkk at 7:33 AM on December 28, 2020
More colours will give you either more details, or a smoother gradient between colours - some of those larger blocks of colour in the sky might end up as several different shades of pink/peach, for example.
However, particularly with smaller canvases, it can mean much smaller areas per colour, so that you end up needing a lot more accuracy with the brush. As well as having to switch colours more often.
You need to make sure that you have a balance between size and number of colours, so as to have a balance between the large blocks of colour you mention, and having tiny areas everywhere.
(Ravensberger has a kids range of paint by number, for example, and I’ve noticed that as the specified age goes up, either more colours are used, or the picture gets smaller.)
posted by scorbet at 8:37 AM on December 28, 2020
However, particularly with smaller canvases, it can mean much smaller areas per colour, so that you end up needing a lot more accuracy with the brush. As well as having to switch colours more often.
You need to make sure that you have a balance between size and number of colours, so as to have a balance between the large blocks of colour you mention, and having tiny areas everywhere.
(Ravensberger has a kids range of paint by number, for example, and I’ve noticed that as the specified age goes up, either more colours are used, or the picture gets smaller.)
posted by scorbet at 8:37 AM on December 28, 2020
Some good responses above. A couple of answers to your specific questions: typically the paints are pre-mixed to match your image and come in small numbered containers, you also get three basic, small brushes, and usually a printout of the image with the paint numbers for reference. I've used this place and been impressed with the quality of their image rendering and their canvas, https://usa.masterpiecebynumbers.com. In terms of size, I think 16x20 is probably the largest you want for someone who's trying it out for the first time.
posted by Ensign at 9:39 PM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Ensign at 9:39 PM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I came here to second Masterpiece by Numbers - I bought a canvas of my cat at the start of lockdown and gradually filled it in over several weeks of government-imposed isolation.
I found the colours weren't all *totally* true to the photo I uploaded, so I'm not sure if they just send you the closest match they've got, but for the price I was really impressed with the kit. As @Ensign says, you get a rolled canvas with a numbered outline of your image, paints in pots, three brushes and a little reference picture.
If your relative is crafty I'm sure they'll love it.
posted by cardamine at 3:02 PM on December 29, 2020
I found the colours weren't all *totally* true to the photo I uploaded, so I'm not sure if they just send you the closest match they've got, but for the price I was really impressed with the kit. As @Ensign says, you get a rolled canvas with a numbered outline of your image, paints in pots, three brushes and a little reference picture.
If your relative is crafty I'm sure they'll love it.
posted by cardamine at 3:02 PM on December 29, 2020
Response by poster: Ok, so I finalized my image and then emailed the Masterpiece by Numbers people and they said my image wasn't suitable because it was flagged as copyrighted. I explained that I had paid for the stock image and could email them the receipt. They emailed back that I had only paid to have it, not reproduce it. (uhh...what the hell would be the point of a stock image site that just let you have the image and not reproduce it?) so I sent a link to the license saying I had the right to reproduce it up to 500,000 times. But they said you can't reproduce an image "from a web site".
So I'm guessing the CSR I'm dealing with is not a lawyer. I will ask her nicely to kick it up a level, but if that doesn't work, any other suggestions for where to order? I'd like a place that will let me preview the image and that will hopefully mix the paints not send colours from a limited palette.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:52 AM on January 1, 2021
So I'm guessing the CSR I'm dealing with is not a lawyer. I will ask her nicely to kick it up a level, but if that doesn't work, any other suggestions for where to order? I'd like a place that will let me preview the image and that will hopefully mix the paints not send colours from a limited palette.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:52 AM on January 1, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by hydra77 at 10:34 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]