How to Choose the Right Size Paint by Numbers Kit

The most important part of choosing your next paint by numbers kit is finding a design you like. The painting kits here feature celebrity portraits, abstract landscapes, and custom designs. No matter which one tickles your fancy, your next decision will be what size to order.

Most paints by numbers kits come in several sizes, from 40x50cm to 60x75cm. You can choose the size you want and whether to include a frame or not. There are a few different ways to make a size decision. 

Time

Are you looking to complete your picture in one afternoon or do you want to stretch your project out over a few weeks? A smaller picture usually takes less time to fill in. A larger canvas will take more time.

Small sizes are ideal for paint by number clubs, where members sip wine and paint the same picture. The canvas can be completed in one sitting and ready to share right away. If your club will do a new painting each time, smaller canvases are also less expensive. So, you can have a new picture each week without breaking the bank.

Detail

Let’s say you’ve chosen a custom paint by numbers kit that’s a picture of a rose in a vase. It will be the same picture whether you paint it on a 40x50cm canvas or a 60x75sm canvas.

At the smallest size, each numbered section will be smaller. If you like detail work, this could be the right size for you. If you don’t have keen eyesight, however, the small numbers could be frustrating.

At the largest size, each numbered region will be larger too. That means, unless you blend the edges between colors, it will be more obvious that your picture is a paint by numbers. This isn’t bad, it’s just a matter of which look you like more.

Space

Before you choose your canvas size, you may want to pick out a place to hang your finished artwork. When you’ve found a suitable wall, measure your available space top to bottom and side to side.

As a general rule, you want to use about ⅔ of your available wall space. You can fill that space with one large picture or a cluster of several small ones. When hanging several small pictures, leave about 10-15cm of space between them.

Let’s say we’ve decided to hang our finished paint by numbers on a wall over a couch. The measurement from the top of the couch to the ceiling is 150cm. The distance from the right corner to the left is 300cm.

If we want to use ⅔ of our available space, we multiply 150cm by 0.66 to get 99cm. Then, multiply 300cm by 0.66 to get 454.5cm. So, the space we want to fill is 99×454.5cm. Because our space is horizontal, we can use one long horizontal piece or a row of vertical paintings.