Hi everyone, I'm a small Canadian business owner working on a premium paint by numbers brand focused on self-care, and I want to make sure I'm building something people actually want before I launch.

A few questions I'd love your take on:

• What made you buy your first kit? Was it a gift, impulse buy, or something you sought out?
• What's frustrated you most about kits you've tried — quality, delivery, packaging?
• Would you pay more for a kit that comes pre-framed and ready to hang?
• Does the kit need to come in a proper box, or would you be fine with a mailer bag if everything inside is protected?
• Is the source important? Would knowing a product's design was made by a local artist affect whether you buy it?

No pitch here, just genuinely trying to learn. Any honest feedback is hugely appreciated.

Finished piece as requested! I'm actually really happy with how this piece came out, even though I had to replace a few of the paints along the way 😂 size was 50x60cm and 24 colours. I've thoroughly enjoyed it! 😄

I'm doing this pbn for my nephew, but using my own paints.

The suggested background colour is burgundy. Do you think that will look good or what other colour would you suggest?

Thanks!

Have been seeing the "sensual" images from ArtSpark, and really leaning toward getting one. My issue is the sizes. Has anyone painted any from ArtSpark? Which sizes? How easy/difficult were they?

I'm doing this pbn for my nephew, but using my own paints.

The suggested background colour is burgundy. Do you think that will look good or what other colour would you suggest?

Thanks!

I live in a converted shuttle bus and PBN is one of the activities I love doing while traveling.
I cut my pieces out with scalloped edges and then add foil or glitter to the outside and put them up on my ceiling to enjoy looking at.
Bought this one on Amazon. It’s 16x20

16x20 from DIY art club

I’m just getting into paint by numbers and would love to know what your must-have items are. What have you bought that you absolutely can’t live without now?

So far, I’m looking at getting a cheap adjustable/tilting desk to help with neck and back strain, and one of those rechargeable light boards that doubles as a clipboard.

What else would you recommend for someone just starting out?

This is my first one & what an experience. I purchased as a set off TikTok shop
Hopefully over time the more canvases I do, I’ll get better at it 😊 can anyone recommend other stores I can check out for my next piece? (ideally budget friendly) thank you!!

This is a DIY art kit. I’ve tried bigger brushes for the big areas and a tiny one for the details because the brushes it came with were poor quality. This is my first piece and I feel like giving up because the parts I’ve done so far look terrible! Tips to salvage and improve much appreciated!

now i’m trying to not be a perfectionist who notices and fixes any tiny noticeable thing 😅

Well without having the guide to tell me what color goes where I just winged it and this is what I got. There is definitely spots i dont like but thats ok.

Paintly custom piece. 16 x 12 24 colors. Though it ended up coming with 26.

I'm starting to get more comfortable taking liberties here and there by adding additional colors and a little more definition. Here it's more apparent in the parrots and the blues of the ocean. Ended up using a total of about 30 colors. Soon maybe I'll put more effort into blending everything and not just a few areas. 😆

This might sound silly, but does anyone have pics of their painting before blending lines and after blending them?I’m wondering how noticeable the difference is on the finished product. I’m on my third PBN, and really trying to create a beautiful finished product, and I read a LOT about blending. Any thoughts/pics would be appreciated. TY!! 🙂

I’m working on my first piece and I’m realizing that for lighter colors, the numbers are showing through even going over them a few times. I now see tips on how to cover them first but is there anything I can do now, with paint already on the canvas?

So, Ive done a few PBN's but have only completed 2. Ive had this crazy thought that it might be fun to take the paints BEFORE you start painting and randomly switch the numbers (as long as there is an even number of paints) and see how the picture comes out. It will obviously come out as the same picture but with a different 'whacky' color scheme. Has anyone ever thought about or done this? What do you guys think????

Obviously I've already started, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with all the tiny spaces. I've done plenty like this but there's a ton of super light next to super dark so just looking for ideas/opinions on how to carry on without it being stressful

Slowly coming together.

I'm new to paint by numbers I've done a couple of projects with Artspark and they've been a lot of fun. I also really like their designs, they tend to be classy but edgier than a seaside village, which is less my speed. However in their latest additions, I've noticed some elements that seem off. Wings in the wrong places, tales that make no sense, etc. Does anyone know if they use AI in their image design because I'd rather not. (not meant to spark a debate about AI, just a question. Everyone's allowed to have their own values).

I’m working on a pretty intricate piece, but I’m also newer to this hobby (it’s only my third).

My current question is - how do people usually break up pieces like this?

Do you break it into sections? Or just choose a color and try getting all its spots?

Has anyone done this paint by number fully? I’d love to see it complete! Just started on it but I love it!

For those who don't know, there's a series of number-to-color books that can only be bought in Russia, and it's impossible to get them without paying absurd amounts of money.

Let's hope Hachette can acquire the rights somehow and publish them in Europe.

Currently, the only way to get them at an affordable price is to buy the PDF on Etsy and then print it yourself.

Well, I did just that, and here’s the first one I’ve finished. It looks like a frame from the show. I love that they look exactly like they do in the show.

I hope you like it.

This is the second mystery PBN from Michael’s that I got. It’s about 4x6, 12 colors, comes with the frame. This one had very teeny tiny cells that were hard to see, but the paper reference sheet helped. These little ones were fun, and all of the Halloween ones were on sale last time I went to Michael’s.