Differences of Paint by Numbers and Diamond Painting

If you’re hunting for a hobby that pulls you off your phone or offers a way to spend time relaxing and leaves you with frame-worthy art. Two contenders dominate the craft aisle: traditional paint by numbers and its cousin, diamond painting. On paper they sound alike—each supplies a coded canvas and a promise that “anyone can do it.” In practice, the experiences diverge the moment you open the set.

Two Kits, Two Experiences

Paint by numbers hands you brushes and pre-mixed acrylic paints. You dip, glide and watch shapes come together into smooth gradients—especially hypnotic when the kit is built from your own photo. Acrylic dries within minutes, so you layer, tweak and step back to something that looks genuinely hand-painted because it is.

Diamond Painting swaps brushes for a stylus and thousands of faceted resin “drills.” You peel back an adhesive film and press each gem onto its matching symbol. The rhythm is closer to beading or cross-stitch than painting, and the finished mosaic shimmers whenever light hits it.

What Makes Paint by Numbers Better?

Stock landscapes are relaxing, but uploading a favorite snapshot—your corgi in a Halloween costume, that sunset you proposed under or image of a family member—that changes everything. When you brush in the last highlight, you’re not just hanging décor; you’re displaying a moment from your own life, rendered by your own hand. Diamond painting can offer photo customs too, yet the pixel size of resin drills blurs fine facial features unless the canvas is huge. Paint by numbers preserves detail without demanding a billboard.

Choose customized paint by numbers if you crave relaxing painting hobby, want a museum-smooth texture, or love the idea of turning personal photos into art without mastering color theory. Opt for diamond painting if you prefer sparkle under every lamp, or meditative repetition that feels more like a puzzle than a painting.

Final Brushstroke

Both hobbies trade free time for creative calm, but only custom paint by numbers lets you relive a memory while you make the art. Ready to watch a favorite photo bloom into a gallery-worthy canvas? Select your preferred size canvas and amount of paint for your image today and start painting a story only you could tell.