The phrase "paint by numbers" covers two very different products. One is a cardboard sheet with twelve big shapes and six paint pots, sold in toy aisles. The other is a 16x20 inch cotton canvas with up to 48 colors and zones the size of a grain of rice. Buying the wrong one for the person in front of you is the most common cause of an unfinished kit.
Zone size
Children's kits have zones you can fill with a regular brush in one stroke. Adult kits, including everything in our catalog, have a mix of large areas and very small details that need a liner brush. A child under eight will find an adult canvas frustrating within an hour. A ten to twelve year old who likes drawing usually copes fine with a 24 color adult kit if the subject motivates them.
Number of colors
Kids' sets: 6 to 12 colors, often with large gaps in tone so shapes stay readable. Adult kits: 24, 36 or 48. More colors means smoother gradients and more realism, but also more pots to keep track of. For a shared family project, pick 24 colors. For an adult who wants a result that looks painted rather than filled in, pick 36 or 48.
Material
Toy kits print on card or thin canvas board. Adult kits print on primed cotton canvas that can be stretched on bars and varnished, and that takes a second coat of paint without buckling. This is the difference between something that goes on the fridge and something that goes on the wall.
Session length
A child's kit is designed to finish in one or two sittings. An adult canvas takes 15 to 40 hours spread over weeks. That is a feature, not a flaw: the hobby is the point. But set expectations with a teenager who is used to finishing things in an afternoon.
What to buy for which age
- Under 8: a toy-store kit with big zones. Ours will not suit them.
- 8 to 12: a 12x12 or 12x16 inch adult kit, 24 colors, with a subject they chose themselves. Animals win here almost every time.
- Teenagers: the standard 16x20 inch kit, 36 colors. Anime, space and city scenes do best in our data.
- Adults: whatever they would hang on their wall. Size up if the room is large.
A good shared kit
Pets are the one subject that works across every age in the same household. A cat in a sunny room has a few large soft areas (the floor, the wall, the light) that a younger painter can take, and detailed fur a parent can handle. Nobody argues about who paints what.
Kits that work for a mixed-age table
- Cat In Living Room paint by numbers kit (from $19.95) . big calm zones plus fur detail
- Polar Owl paint by numbers kit (from $19.95) . high contrast, readable at 24 colors
For a nursery or a child's bedroom the nursery collection has softer designs, and the beginner-friendly shelf is sorted for first canvases.
Shipping is free to the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, Australia and New Zealand, with no minimum. Orders leave the workshop within 1 to 3 business days and arrive in 7 to 15. Put two kits in the cart and the third one is taken off at checkout, no code to type.
