Learning to paint: 4 painting techniques & 4 tips for the first painting

Learn to paint with our Paint by Numbers. It is the most accessible and fun way to get started. We make learning to paint fun, so that you can start yourself if you have no experience at all. Because maybe you tried it once, but it didn't work? Or are you looking for a way to get it right the first time? Whatever the reason, we'll help you master painting with the Paint by Numbers

You don't have to work on it completely independently, while you ultimately put the paint on the canvas. We already have the canvas for youprepared. And you can choose from a wide range, so you can paint anything you would like to hang on the wall.

We understand that learning to paint can seem quite difficult at first. It may seem that way, because in practice it is not that bad for most people. We ensure that you can get started with a number of important benefits. 

5 Benefits of Paint by Numbers

How do you learn to paint and keep it as fun as possible for yourself? We list 5 important advantages of Paint by Numbers for you:

• Hugerange of paintings
• Numbers in the planes
• Get started at your own pace
• Painting with acrylic paint
• Hang on the wall

1. Huge range of paintings

Learning to paint is a matter of practice and motivation. You want to practice to master the techniques. Because, how thick should you apply the paint? And what happens if you let the colours blend into each other a little? Or not at all? These are things that we can explain to you, but that you should actually experience for yourself.

You can also choose from all kinds of products and themes. You can choose from animals, from flowers, cities and for example art. This way you get a better idea of ​​what is available so you can choose your favourite.

2. Numbers in the planes

Once you have received your order, you naturally want to get started with it as quickly as possible. And that's why we make that easy for you, using the numbers on the canvas. These indicate which colour to use in which place. It indicates exactly what is needed to arrive at the design or theme, so that you do not have to estimate it all yourself.

You do not have to take the proportions and, for example, thecomposition. Instead, you use the numbers to ensure that you can learn to paint. And that you immediately see what the results are, even though you decide for yourself how long you work on it and how often you paint.

3. Work at your own pace

Learn to paint while taking on a great new hobby, where you decide at what pace you want to get started. So do you have an hour to spare every now and then? Or do you enjoy painting all morning, afternoon or all day? You decide, because you have complete freedom in this.

The acrylic paint generally dries quickly, but you can continue with it next time. Thanks to the various areas containing the numbers, you decide how many you want to do in a row and when you take a break.

4. Painting with acrylic paint

While learning to paint you useacrylic paint. That is water-based paint, which basically everyone learns. The paint is easy to use and is therefore well suited to mastering the different techniques.

5. Hang on the wall

Have you finished the painting? Congratulations! You learned to paint, and that's not all. You can hang the painting in your home to proudly look back on what you have accomplished.

It is also a great motivation for many people to get started on the next one soon. This way you will quickly have a fun hobby that you can enjoy a lotwill enjoy it. We ensure that you can learn to paint in a fun way, without having to master all kinds of complicated techniques.

Paint your own photo: unique painting on the wall

And are you learning to paint with our products and designs, but are you looking for a way to make it even more special? You can even paint your own picture. We convert the photo for you into a canvas with the numbers on it to determine the different colours. This means that you can start painting with it, even if you are just learning to do it and are looking for a fun new challenge.

Learn to paint: the best way to learn it

Learn to paint with the different products for adults and for children.We show you what you can do on the canvas, whether for a beautiful landscape or an animal or, for example, a beautiful piece of art. Everything is possible and with the numbers we ensure that you can do this very easily and easily. This way you can be sure that you are making a good choice, so that it will not be that problem in any case. So learn to paint with our Paint by Numbers, so that you can master the techniques better.

Painting promotes concentration and distracts us from our daily worries and hectic pace. But if the first photos don't work out, we quickly pass up the "Learning to paint" projectto go. We show you how to apply painting techniques and give you tips about materials, colours and motifs.

Painting for beginners

If you want to paint, you have to answer countless questions. What material do I need, with what colours and in what style do I want to paint? How do I mix my colours? And finally: What do I even want to paint? Before you start, you should cover at least a few basics. Painting is very varied and you have to have a little patience. In the beginning you should try a lot of things and not expect too much from the result. This will keep you motivated and your will be happy with small progress. With a little time and practice, the brush strokes will become easier.

Painting techniques at a glance

The best known and most used painting techniques are oil painting, acrylic painting, watercolor painting and watercolor painting. We do not discuss drawing techniques in this message. Below you will learn which method you use to paint certain images and what effects you can achieve with it.

Oil painting

Oil painting is something like the supreme discipline of painting. It is mainly used for portraits, landscapes and still lifes. Many artists appreciate oil paintings because the properties of the colours are particularly goodare. The durability and colour brilliance of oil paint are unsurpassed compared to other types of paint. As the name suggests, the main ingredient of oil paint is oil. And this is an excellent binder for the individual colour pigments. Mixing the paints takes a lot of practice and they are expensive to purchase because you need many different components.

Acrylic painting

Acrylic paint is the cheaper alternative to oil paint. So if you want to create paintings that look just like oil paintings, it is best to choose acrylic paint. Acrylic paints are available from many different manufacturers. They are usually available in tubes, but also in small pots of paint. If you buy acrylic paint, make sure you use slightly more expensive and better paint. These will ultimately give you more pleasure than cheaper alternatives because they are usually of lower quality. Cheap acrylic paint is often not very strongly coloured and you need several layers of paint to get the right result. 

We use forour Paint by Numbers paintings only acrylic paint.

Watercolor painting

Watercolor is something like the predecessor of the well-known watercolor paint, because it is painted with non-opaque water-based colours. You can use watercolor paint in many different ways. For example, you can paint portraits and landscapes in a very controlled and detailed manner. But it is also possible to paint very loosely, impressionistically or abstractly. At first it is quite difficult to paint with watercolors and you can quickly become frustrated, because there are many different onestechniques are. The use of primary colours plays a very important role in watercolor painting. You usually mix the colours yourself, even though you can buy them ready-made in the store.

Painting with watercolor paint

Unlike watercolor paint, watercolors are opaque colours that you usually apply to white paper with different colour pigments. By controlling the amount of water, you can create very different paintings. Many artists use watercolor paint to paint landscapes or still lifes. Watercolor painting is a great way to start painting and is often used in schools for early art education. Moreover, purchasing the colours is very cheap compared to all other methods.

Learning to paint: 4 tips to get started

Before you pick up the brush, you need to know a few basicshandle. For example, about paints. On the one hand, how to mix them correctly. On the other hand, what effects they have. Don't worry too much about theory. Painting should be based on intuition and not just perfectionism. Still, it doesn't hurt to gain some basic knowledge.

Study the theory of colour

Swiss painter and art theorist Johannes Itten created the most famous representation of primary and secondary colours. In it he depicts a total of twelve colour areas, with similar colours next to each other. Itten's colour wheel gives you information about the harmony of colours relative toeach other. For example, based on a colour, you can draw an isosceles triangle within the colour wheel. The vertices of the triangle then point to areas of colour that match well with the other colours. Colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel are complementary pairs. In combination, these colours look particularly beautiful to the human eye.

Primary colours

Within the colour wheel are the three primary colours yellow, red and blue. These colours are called primary colours or base colours because they cannot be made by mixing other colours. Conversely, however, you can create any other shades from these colours. Itten's colour wheel shows you which colours to mix to make a certain different colour.

Secondary colours

If you mix two of the primary colours side by side, you get the secondary colours. You mix blue and red to make violet, yellow and blue to make green, and red and yellow to make orange. The outer circle of itcolor wheel shows the different degrees of the secondary colours. You form the gradations by adding more or less parts of a primary colour.

Tertiary colours

Tertiary colours are the colour mixtures that you can mix from the combination of the three primary colours. These always give different degrees of the shade of brown. Brown tones are tones that are particularly common in nature and are therefore particularly suitable for landscape painting.

Know the effect of colours

Colours usually develop their effect in conjunction with the surrounding colours. But a lot of peoplealso assign a certain effect to colours individually. In colour theory, for example, the colour yellow is considered stimulating, cheerful, uplifting and bright. On the colour wheel, yellow is the brightest and friendliest colour. Yellow immediately catches the eye of the observer.

In colour theory, red represents energy, love, passion, activity and sensuality. The colour invigorates and stimulates. However, the actual effect of red depends on how you mix it.

In colour theory, blue is mainly attributed to qualities such as depth, coolness, tranquility and transcendence. A cool blue gives a calm and relaxing feeling. Depending on how you mix blue, you can strengthen or weaken this mood. The warmer the blue, the more dominant it becomes.

Canvas vs. Paper

The choice of the surface on which you want to learn to paint largely depends on the type of painting you want to make. If you want to learn to paint with oil paint or acrylic, canvases are usually recommended. However, there is also special acrylic paper for acrylic, a cheap alternative to canvas. Forwatercolor painting and painting with watercolor paint are usually painted on paper. But of course there are no limits to the art here. Watercolors can of course also be painted on canvas. Make sure that you prime the canvas well with watercolor primer, so that the colours can develop their full effect.

Learning to paint: choose your material carefully

The choice of materials also depends on the type of painting you do. One thing is certain: you will need pencils no matter what. We give you a list of the most common brush models and an explanation of what you can use them for and how. You will also knowcome and find out what else you need.

Brush

The brush consists of three parts. First, the bristles, also called the decorative edge, second, the metal sleeves into which the decorative edge is inserted, and third, the wooden handle, which is usually varnished. Fine brushes are logically more suitable for small detailed work and large brushes for expressive styles. The texture of the bristles also plays a major role in the technique. Acrylic paint in particular adheres very well to synthetic brush hairs, while oil and watercolor paints mainly stick to natural hairs. In principle, a distinction is made between two types of brushes.

Flat brush

ItTypical brush for oil and acrylic paint is the flat brush, because it is very versatile. The wide side allows you to apply the colours properly and paint flat. With the narrow side you can paint lines and details. You should have the flat brush in different brush widths. You can buy them from small (0.5 cm) to extra wide (10 cm).

Round brush

You usually paint the details with the round brush. Often you only need it in small sizes. With the tip of the brush you can paint very finely, with the wide body you can also paint flat.

Easel

A donkey isa stand on which you can stretch the canvas. This gives you the opportunity to stand in front of your painting and also to work in a standing position, which is very easy on the back. Before you buy an easel, make sure that you can adjust the height of the crossbar. If you plan to paint larger images, you should also pay attention to the width of the crossbar. 50 to 55 centimeters is usually sufficient here.

Pallette

The palette is a small round surface that you can hold in one hand and on which you can mix your paints for immediate use. There are practical models with a thumb hole in stores. You can also make your own palette from a piece of cardboard or plastic.

Find simple drawings to paint

You have to think very carefully about what you actually want to paint. Nothing diminishes your desire more than sitting in front of a white sheet of paper and not knowing what you actually want to paint. For inspiration, you can look at the work of old artists or look through old art books. However, the first decision you need to make iswhether you want to paint figuratively, i.e. still lifes, landscapes or rather people or abstract content.

Ideas for making your own paintings

With these sources of inspiration you will immediately find some ideas for painting. But other than that, it won't hurt if you just go through your daily life with an attentive eye. You will find beautiful motifs everywhere and often enough it is just a beautiful incidence of light in a backyard or in nature.

• Think about your past vacation (keep a travel diary)
• Paint a portrait of your favourite actor
• Paint an object from your house
• The classic: a fruit basket
• Listen to music and paint what comes to mind
• Exotic birds
• Paint your pet
• Paint the nearest meadow or field with flowers
• Rivers or lakes
• Mountains or hiking trails
• Use your partner or a friend as the subject
• Use a famous work as a model
• Beautiful architecture
• Paint by Numbers own photo

Painting is good for children's development

For children painting more than an activity against boredom. Because it promotes their motor skills as well as their creativity and imagination. Especially at a very young age, children still hold pencils with their entire fist. However, the more they draw, the more sensitive they become and gradually real images emerge. Most children start by doodling so-called cephalopods, i.e. human faces with arms andlegs. To achieve this, however, the child must already be able to rudimentarily analyze his environment and depict characteristic features.

The more often the child paints, the more connections are created in the brain and usually it also promotes the child's general intelligence. Parents should therefore encourage their offspring to paint from an early age. For example, babies can get their first experience with finger painting. Later there should always be finer pens and sufficient painting materials at home. Painting together with the child also increases painting pleasure and provides funparent-child moments.

Painting for adults: pure relaxation

Painting is not just an activity for children. Especially for adults painting can be an excellent way to relieve the stress of everyday life and realize your own thoughts without rules and guidelines on paper or canvas. Moreover, it improves your ability to concentrate. When we paint, we release all kinds of happy hormones and distract ourselves from any problems. Of course, you shouldn't overwhelm yourself with overly complicated motifs or painting techniques in the beginning. If the painting techniques we have suggested still seem too difficult for you, there is an alternative. How about a Paint by Numbers for adults?