How to make DIY painting by numbers?

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:35

Painting by numbers is a way of creating a picture, in which the image is divided into shapes, each of which is marked with a number corresponding to a certain color. You paint in each area with the desired shade, and eventually the picture becomes complete. The completed painting by numbers will help you learn how to analyze the subject and observe how the whole composition comes out of the colored areas.

The art of spot grouping

The "paint by numbers" approach is often ridiculed as simplistic, uncreative and formal. But it is worth noting that the picture is created using many colored spots. They often seem meaningless apart from each other and don't look like anything "real", but together they form a group. The next step in developing as an artist is to learn to see such color spots in the picture on your own, without the help of a printed circuit. This will help you focus on howlook like a finished object without looking at small areas and guessing what colors they should be painted in.

Start with the darkest color and end with the lightest or vice versa, leaving all the segments that have a mixed color until the rest of the shades run out. This will help you learn a little about tone and halftone in painting.

Composition of the paint-by-numbers kit

Paintings for coloring can be found in almost any needlework store. The "Painting by Numbers" set will include a brush, small cans of paint in any desired number of colors, and a pattern printed on a canvas or cardboard base. You may think that there is not enough paint in it. But it should be enough to complete the picture.

Each set contains a specific type of paint, acrylics and oils are the most common, but there are options with watercolors and pencils. Still, the last option suits few, because painting by numbers is a great exercise in brush control. In this case, you know exactly where the paint should go, and you can fully concentrate on applying it.

The virtues of painting by numbers

Controlling the brush to accurately paint to the edge or to a specific point is an essential skill that every aspiring artist should develop. In sets, it is usually small so that you can draw the smallest shapes in the picture. Just follow the pattern and you will be amazed at what you can create. Duringwork, it may turn out that some figures have two numbers, and not just one. This indicates that two colors should be mixed together. The benefit is that you will learn how to divide the paint into equal portions to create the right color.

But don't dip the brush from one container of paint into another as the colors will get dirty. Mix a large amount on a non-porous surface, and then paint over the desired area. If you try to mix two colors in the actual picture, you might end up with too much paint coming out of the edges of the shape.

How to make your own number painting kit?

Wishing to save money or not finding a suitable version of the painting, many artists begin to think about how to make paintings by numbers with their own hands. This is not as difficult to do as it seems. Do-it-yourself painting by numbers from your own photos can be made using special services and programs. If you know how to use graphic editors, such as Photoshop or Illustrator, and know what tracing is, you can take the picture yourself into fragments with a certain color and number them manually, placing each color on a separate layer.

But this process is quite laborious and time consuming. Therefore, for image processing and creating a picture by numbers with your own hands, it is easier to use ready-made programs. Paid versions are usually more convenient and contain more features,for example, the selection of paints with indication of proportions for mixing. These programs include "Coloring" and Stoik Color by Number. Free services are usually only able to disassemble the image into areas, but they do not offer a selection of colors. These options include mozzz.art and PhotoPad Photo Editor.

Selection of art materials

But first you need to decide on the appropriate type of paint. Acrylic is preferable to oil as the paint dries quickly and washes off the brush with water, making it easier for a beginner to start with. But drawing in such a way that you can finish part of the image at a time will be problematic with it. Acrylic dries quickly on the palette, and you have to work very quickly.

Also, in the process, you will need to wash the brushes many times, and the paint consumption will increase. Therefore, when working with acrylic paint, it is more convenient to paint one color at a time, starting from the largest areas and ending with the smallest. Starting with the larger ones, you will practice more with the brush and paint. And by the time you get to the smallest spots, which are quite difficult to draw, you will already have gained the skill and the process will go easier. Working from top to bottom helps prevent accidental ink spilling onto areas intended for a different shade.

How to mix shades?

To create a painting by numbers with your own hands, you need to be able to mix the material in the right proportion to get the desired color. Paid programs usuallyit is indicated how much of which color to take in order to get the desired shade. But a lot depends on the paint manufacturer. Pigments may vary from company to company and produce different results. Therefore, before making a painting by numbers, it is advisable to experiment and try to mix the colors on the palette to compare with the image.

It is worth remembering that on the monitor all colors will look brighter and more intense than on a printout made by a photo printer. Therefore, you should not expect exactly the same juicy shades as on a computer screen. But the advantages of this method include the fact that you can print any image. For example, make a painting by numbers with the hands of lovers on Valentine's Day and give it to your soulmate, or turn a friend's photo into a work of art and give it to him for his birthday.

How to choose a brush?

We figured out the paints, but what to do with the main tool? It is advisable to choose a brush for a set thin for details and large for large areas. It is important that it matches the paint you have chosen for the project. You can get by with just one thin brush, but that can make painting large areas very tiring. And when using acrylic, it will lead to overspending of paint. Therefore, if you have a large brush, use it to draw a picture by numbers with your own hands.

How to stretch the canvas and assemble the stretcher?

After creating a scheme and selecting colors, a new problem arises - how to transfer the scheme to the materialand make a picture out of it. To do this, the easiest way is to contact specialized companies that print on canvas in your city. Perhaps there will also be a service to stretch it on a stretcher. Otherwise, you will have to do it yourself. To do this, you need the subframe itself. It can be disassembled, then the parts should be connected before work.

A do-it-yourself stretcher for painting by numbers is sometimes made independently using wooden planks. To stretch the canvas on it, you will need a furniture stapler with brackets, a pencil, a spray gun to moisten the canvas and a hammer. First you need to put on the picture with the front side and smooth it with your hands. Then place a stretcher on top and mark the borders of the canvas with a pencil.

DIY paint by numbers stretcher: step by step instructions

After that, you can start stretching, before it, the inside out can be slightly moistened. The first bracket is attached to the center of one of the long sides. Then the canvas is stretched on the other side as tight as possible, but not so as to tear, and fastened in the same way on the other. Sometimes you may need a hammer to drive the staple deeper into the canvas. A stretched strip should appear in the center. Then the same is repeated with the remaining sides. Next, the brackets are placed on the sides of one of the sides, then the other, so that a uniform tension is obtained. At the same time, the corners are left free, not reaching them by about 5 cm, so that the canvas can be tucked in and carefully fixed.

After everything is doneready, it should be moistened on the reverse side so that after drying it straightens. If it was not possible to stretch the picture evenly the first time, you can moisten it again and, by removing some of the staples, correct the flaws. After that - start drawing your personal work of art. Now you know how to make DIY paint by numbers.