Watercolors are among the most popular kinds of colors used while painting. They have a lot of benefits, making them among the most popular colors. Despite their vast popularity in many fields, they aren’t ideal for paint by numbers .
Of course, there are some reasons why watercolor paint by number kits aren't popular among enthusiasts.
In this article, we’ll give you everything you need to know about watercolors, and why avoid them.
What Are Watercolor Paint by Numbers
Watercolors are painting colors developed from specific pigments that are water soluble.
These color pigments are dissolved and dispersed in water to create a suspension consistency.
They use binder ingredients that help the colors stick to the painting . The background is usually paper or canvas.
After the synthetic binders get these pigments to stick to the paper, the water starts to evaporate. This gives the final color result of the painting .
What Are Watercolor Paint By Numbers Kits?
A watercolor paint by numbers kit comes with a canvas that’s pre-printed with outlines for colors and numbers. These will guide you on where to paint and what color to use.
Watercolor kits are similar to all other kinds on the market. However, the main difference between them and others is the type of paint used. These come with a set of watercolors to be used on the included canvas.
Why Are Watercolors Popular?
Watercolors are quite common for painting for multiple reasons. They’re affordable as they’re made of simple ingredients that don’t go into a lot of processing. These ingredients are also widely available, and easy to find. This makes watercolors popular among students who are looking for an affordable, easy method to learn strokes and colors.
Another reason that many people like watercolors is that they’re relatively non-toxic. Almost all dyes, pigments, and binders used in making them are relatively safe. That’s why they’re commonly used for babies. It would need a significant amount of the coloring to cause any harm. They can also be easily washed down by drinking water.
Despite these perks, watercolors aren’t fit for paint by numbers for a number of reasons .
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Watercolor Paint By Numbers - 5 Reasons to Avoid
While there are many types of paint by numbers kits, i t’s advised that you avoid watercolor kits.
Here are some of the reasons:
1. Requires Caution Against Water Damage
As you now know, watercolors are extremely soluble in water . This means that moisture will have a deteriorating effect on the colors. Not only moisture, accidents as simple as water spills can ruin the painting. This wastes hours of hard work and dedication. Not only with paintings, but storing watercolors can be challenging. The stored watercolor suspensions might expire quicker than others. They might start to change in color with time.
2. Doesn’t Work Well on Canvas
Paint by number kits come with printed paper sheets or more appealing linen canvases. The problem with watercolors is they perform poorly on canvases. They also require a lot of pigmentation. This leads to watercolor paint by number kits having various color attributes. They show different levels of pigmentation on the same sheet.
In a paint by number kit , you’re following a pattern and making yours similar to an original image. This leads to poor final results when using watercolors. Unfortunately, such a problem can only be avoided by a skilled painter. If you use paper instead of canvas, the paper will start to become a bit yellowish.
3. Takes Forever to Dry, Bigger Mess
You’ll want the paint to have the perfect combination of runny and quick-drying. This helps you avoid a messy painting desk, and helps you dodge smudges.. If the paint dries quickly, you won’t have to wait long before continuing to paint without worrying. Watercolors are runny. They can easily get outside the painting borders with little room for corrections. They also take long to dry, which increases risk of making mistakes.
4. Watercolor Loses it's Vibrancy
Let’s say that you successfully painted the image with no mistakes. You managed to seal the painting, so it doesn’t get ruined by moisture. After some time, you’ll notice changes and dullness in colors. The loss of vibrancy happens because you can see the painting! The watercolors are made of natural ingredients that are easily affected by ultraviolet radiation. This is a specific light that we can’t see, but is produced by sunlight and fluorescent light.
This type of damage of watercolor is known as photo-oxidation. During this process, the pigments start to react with the limited oxygen available inside. However, other kinds of paints are far less affected by this. They’re more synthetic, and designed to overcome it.
5. Watercolors Advantages Aren’t Applicable to PBN
One thing you should know about watercolors is that they aren’t bad on their own. In fact, they’re commonly used in various painting fields . They have some impressive features. However, just like everything, it has pros and cons. That’s where the watercolorpaint by number kits arise. The problem is that most of the advantages aren't useful for paint by numbers .
On the other hand, their drawbacks are deterring factors and can ruin paint by numbers . Watercolors have several positive qualities. They’re inexpensive and excellent for transparent effect. They blend easily, and show high and low intensity. When you think about paint by numbers , you’ll realize those qualities aren’t necessary. Being affordable is great, but it shows if you use tons of color. However, the cost difference between watercolors and better colors is minimal.
While transparency is great for painting, it results in lower quality. The printed outlines and numbers might still be visible even from a distance. While painting , you’ll want the colors to be consistent and vibrant. In that case, the blending and high/low details of watercolors becomes a downside.
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What Paint Should You Use
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While any paint can be used for paint by numbers, acrylic paints are best. Here’s why:
- Made of synthetic polymers of various colors that don't fade easily
- Dry up quicker and better consistency, minimizing accidents
- Work great with high-quality linen canvas that most kits use
- Less prone to water damage, can be easily fixed
- Synthetic nature protects from fading or becoming dull
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Wrap Up - Watercolor Paint by Number
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There you have it. A complete guide on why you should avoid watercolor paint by number kits , and what to use instead. Watercolors don’t give a smooth performance or results when used for paint by numbers Paint by number watercolor kits have become increasingly popular in recent years, but they can be anything but satisfying.
All of the vibrant watercolor paint displayed on the boxes are unfortunately just a trap to get you to purchase them - in reality, the colors delivered rarely equal those advertised and thus stifling any creativity you might have had.
Many paint by number watercolor kits don't contain enough paint for you to complete the project and once sealed, most colors dry heavily resulting in an amateur final product.
Acrylic paints are more stable, easier to work with. They also give much more refined results. As you progress into watercolor, you might start to blend watercolors with acrylic .
