Who takes care of the quality of each meal after the set? (professional Anleitung)

There are thousands of paint by numbers offers on the market. How can you effectively judge the quality? As a paint by numbers manufacturer, let us break down the essential developments and details behind a paint by numbers set and explain to you how to judge the quality of a paint by numbers set.

The visible components of a paint by numbers set include the canvas with the paint by numbers pattern of the motif you ordered, paint pots and brushes, wooden frame strips (optional) and the packaging. The invisible part of the set is the professional customer service (which in some cases should not be underestimated). Let's examine the individual topics in more detail.

1.The canvas.

The screen is the most important and crucial element of the overall package, which will be examined here in 3 further perspectives:

A. Quality of printed samples

The first pitfall when buying from the online store is: does the picture presented in the online store really represent the final painting result? In other words, will you get exactly the picture you see? Many online stores try to use real photos to present the paint by numbers set, and not the final painting result you will get after painting. The main difference between photos and self-painted artworks is that the photos recreate all the details from real life (gradients and smallest details and subtleties) and the painted artworks do not! The two pictures below explain the differences. The left picture is the real photo and the right picture is a painted paint by numbers motif.
This is a typical example, as it is generally very difficult or impossible for paint by numbers subjects to depict the gradient effect such as sunshine and lighting. In such cases, the paintings have clear boundaries between different color zones, as shown in the clouds around the sun in the bottom right. In such cases, the photos look much more brilliant than the painting result, and sellers try to use photos as an advertised product image rather than the actual painting result.

On the other hand, the real photos contain thousands of colors (color gradations), but paint by numbers pictures always have a limited color scheme. The results can be very different from a photo to the actual painting that comes from a paint by numbers kit.

We are not saying that the painting effects are not as good as photos. They are just two different things and have their own advantages. The main point here is to make you aware of these differences in order to avoid negative surprises and disappointments after working on the paint by numbers picture for weeks.

B. Clarity of printed patterns and numbers on the canvas

Experienced painters often encounter situations where the printed patterns and digits are too small to read. This can be a problem, but you also need to look at this problem from two different perspectives. On the one hand, tiny details are hard to follow, but on the other hand, a paint by numbers subject needs to capture more details to present a more perfect painting result. More details in the same canvas size also mean that there are areas and digits that are harder to read. A hard-to-read canvas template cannot simply be called poor quality if it is meant to represent more details. Below you can see a comparison between a painted picture with more details and one with much less details. Painting with more details makes the picture appear much more vivid and beautiful, but it is also harder to paint.

To overcome this dilemma, here are some suggested solutions:

  • For complex motifs, try ordering larger motif sizes. A 40*50cm standard size cannot easily handle a very complex motif. You may have a 40*50 cm canvas that is perfectly readable, but then you can be almost certain that this paint by numbers design is not designed to show many details that would make the artwork more beautiful. Easy readability and detail capture is always the dilemma of paint by numbers and cannot be met at the same time!
  • If you still want to choose a standard size of 40*50cm for a complex motif for some reason (eg price or no choice), ask the seller for a digital copy of the motif pattern and numbering. Enlarge it when painting. For small details, a normal reference print in A3 is not helpful either, as it is not clearly legible.
  • If both of the above solutions don't work, try choosing a simpler motif. You can usually tell the level of difficulty by looking at the picture in the online store. If a motif seems to have a lot of small details, it must be complicated. Therefore, again, it is crucial that sellers present the "real" painted artwork in their offers so that you can properly assess it. If you are happy with the final effect, then a motif with fewer details (= easier to paint) will also satisfy you and you don't have to choose a difficult motif.
  • A pro tip as a last resort. Don't panic if there is a very small area where you can't read the numbers. Unless it's a number field that makes up a large part of the picture, like people's eyes or faces, either skip it for now or ignore it and paint it as you see fit. No one will see any difference from a tiny area. Focus on the main parts of the picture and keep painting!

C. Quality of canvas material and brushes

Actually, the material types of the canvas make the least difference, whether it is cotton, polyester or linen, as long as the canvas has a reasonable thickness and strength, the material will not make a difference after painting. A matte polyester canvas is usually brighter and makes the colors more vivid and is better to stretch over wooden stretcher bars - it looks nicer. Cotton and linen give a more natural feel.

However, it should be noted that some suppliers on the market offer painting cardboard canvas. These paint by numbers pictures CANNOT be stretched over wooden stretcher frames like oil paintings, but can only be framed. However, stretched canvas pictures look like a work of art. Some suppliers only offer a very thin "canvas paper" and not real canvas as a painting medium. So find out what you are getting before buying.

Brushes don't make much difference for paint by numbers painting either. The free brushes included in the paint by numbers kit are usually enough for beginners. If you want to be sure, order a set of brushes in advance. Brushes are also easy to get at any supermarket in all the shapes and sizes that an experienced hobbyist painter would prefer.

2. Stretcher frame quality and stretcher frame covering

Stretcher bars should be made of wood. In addition to a quick quality control, it is important to pay attention to the thickness of the stretcher bars. Some cheap stretcher bars have a width of less than 2 cm, which makes the stretching unstable. We usually offer wooden stretcher bars with a width of 3.0 cm to ensure a tight and stable stretching result.

To check the stretching quality, a professionally stretched canvas should look like the bottom left image (tight and clean) and not like the bottom right image.

3. Color quality + color deviations

Colors are of central importance for a paint by numbers set. You should consider the acrylic paints from the following quality perspectives:

  • Coverage of the colors. After you apply the colors to the canvas, they must be able to cover the numbers and lines printed on the canvas. Exceptions are made for the very light colors, i.e. white colors. You may need to apply these several times to cover dark numbers or colors underneath. A tip is that you use cotton swabs dipped in water to first "wash away" the black lines/numbers that you want to be covered by white or light colors.
  • Flowability of the paint. It must not be too dry and not too runny. Inconspicuous cracks in the paint pot or improper closure can cause the paint to dry out. However, this is not a problem as long as it has not dried out. Add a little water and wait a while until the paint becomes more flowable again.
  • Safety of the paints. Check whether the paints have an irritating smell after opening. The easiest way is to order paint by numbers sets from major brands. Manufacturers such as myPaintLab have already carried out the safety check in the early phase of material procurement with safe paint materials.
  • Storage of paints. The water-based acrylic paints will become stiff and dry after some time, especially if you take a very long time to paint. Therefore, it is important to choose suppliers who are able to resupply the paints you need. Sometimes you can never finish a painting without a dried paint that needs to be re-sent by the supplier. This is an important paint by numbers service that you should make sure of before purchasing.
  • Color variations are often a contentious issue between customer and seller. Unfortunately, this is very complex, as many factors affect color variations. We have a separate article explaining the possibilities and reasons for color variations .

4. Service quality

Product is only one side of the coin. In many cases, you need a responsible service team that is close to you and speaks your language and helps you make decisions: checking the status of your delivery and possibly resending paints to you, as well as identifying reasons for major problems you have while painting and offering solutions. Especially with large-format or multi-part paint by numbers motifs, you want to make sure that you have good support after the sale when you want to start your big project.