There isn’t a more relaxing and fun activity to try than painting. But when it comes to the nitty-gritty, mastering a paint by numbers kit is the ultimate way to paint.

These kits are easy to do, fun, and the best way to calm a racing mind. The fact that makes them so easy to do is the various numbers located on each section of the painting itself.

These numbers have a corresponding color that makes them very easy to do. But we’ve decided to go a step further and give you our 7 tips and tricks for mastering paint by numbers.

With all that said, let’s go.

1. Go From Highest To Lowest

This first tip we’ll talk is important as everyone should start with it. Namely, the best and easiest way to start mastering this activity is to start from the highest number and make your way down to the lowest.

Why are we doing this, you might be asking yourself? Well, the reasons are quite easy to get around. The bigger areas are designated with higher numbers. Smaller areas are designated with lower numbers, meaning you’ll get the big ones out of the way first.

2. Paint Darker Areas First

The second tip and trick we’ll give you is a very simple one. Namely, coloring the darker tiles first and making your way towards the lighter colors is a great way to understand the composition of color.

Not only that, but it makes painting the whole thing much easier than what it looks like. But there is an even more important reason why we do this. By painting the darker tiles first, you are reducing the risk of darker and lighter colors affecting each other. This prevents both sets of colors from mixing.

We don’t want that as it will only make things look bad.

3. Match Each Color With Each Number

This one is very important as it is essentially what the entire thing is all about. Matching is very easy and all you have to do is simply take a look at a number and see what color corresponds to it.

This might sound very straightforward and easy, but you’d be surprised to see the number of people that get it wrong.

Look very carefully and even double-check before you commit to a color. These kits are meant to look the way the numbers tell you, so make sure not to mess up.

4. Covering the Numbers

The numbers of each coloring kit are dark and bolded. This means that lighter colors will have a hard time covering the dark and bolded numbers inscribed onto the painting.

But even this one is very easy to do. Namely, every time you need to apply a lighter color onto a tile, the number will get in the way. The best way to solve this inconvenient issue is to simply apply another coat of paint and let it dry.

Once the paint has dried, then you can apply yet another layer if the number is still visible.

Many of these coloring by number kits are designed in a way so this never becomes an issue. But you never know what type of kit you’ll get your hands on. So, a lot of paint by number kits, such as those over at paintbynumbersaustralia.com.au, design their kits so the numbers are less visible but enough for you to recognize the number.

5. Don’t Smudge!

No one likes smudges; simple as. Smudges completely destroy paintings and make the damage irreversible. Smudges are so frustrating to deal with that it will take you the entire day just to cover it.

And the reason why we hate them is that it takes only a small amount of negligence to make one. You’d be surprised how easy it is to create smudges when using paint.

But how do we prevent smudges onto our paintings? Well, the answer is quite obvious. Since all it takes for a smudge to appear is for our hand to touch wet paint, it would be smart to start from the topmost area of the picture first.

That way, your hands go nowhere near any of the existing paint and you’ll have enough time to do a second coat since the paint would have dried by then.

6. Never Leave an Open Cup

The color you’ll be using will most likely come in a cup that can be opened and closed depending on your needs.

Well, one mistake that we oftentimes make is leaving the cup open. Since the paint in question is mostly acrylic, you’d be surprised to find out how fast it can dry. And that’s all made possible due to exposure.

If we leave the cup open, then the color in question will dry after some time. This won’t be an issue for a few seconds or a few minutes, but even as much as an hour of exposure can do a lot of damage to the paint.

7. Always Clean Your Brushes

For those of you that have painted by numbers before, then you most likely understand the importance of cleaning your brushes after finishing a tile.

Unless you happened to have dozens of brushes, then you will need to be efficient in cleaning the brushes after changing colors. Why do we do this? We do it because using a brush that is already covered by paint can negatively affect the other color.

Also, it should go without mentioning that cleaning the brushes after finishing the job is of utmost importance. Why? Because if you don’t clean your brushes, the paint will make it very hard. A hardened brush is impossible to clean and is effectively rendered useless.

Conclusion

There are no rules when it comes to painting by numbers. But what we will say is that some tips and tricks help make the experience that much better. These were our 7 tips and tricks for being super efficient in painting by numbers, and we hope that you will use some of them in the future.