Thank you for the review. I have loved paint-by-numbering for several decades. I miss the kits made with oil paints. Oil paint goes on more opaquely, more smoothly and doesn’t dry out quickly. Just my opinion.
Most kits come with heavier bodied acrylic paints. I like this for the first layer, but then will add flow medium to to create a more liquid viscosity. That allows for cleaner lines.
@@nitinvsjain no, it’s a more liquidy mix of what the pigment is suspended in to make the paint. It allows for thinning the paint with less dilution of color.
I have to say the second succulent painting is in contrast of colors and clearer painting way better than the pink Picasso. I also collect succulents and when looking at the Picasso one I can see which plants are which but when comparing the two the 12.99 one is better by a lot. IMO. Thanks for reviewing these I was looking into purchasing pink Picasso and I think they might be better to look for abstract vs realistic and my realistic painting is still in search of.
Paintworks are the best ones, the mixing is not hard, or I just mix a swatch and get apple barrel paints that match, I have a big collection of them anyway.
I actually think the last one you did is far better. You must like sort of pastel art, but I find the Pink Picasso too washed out. It LOOKS like a PBN, whereas the last one has far more depth and a better range of lights and darks. I see there are issues with some locations, like that red cactus that just turned out as a blob (were the paints too close in tone or was it supposed to be all painted the same color?), and that black and white dotted thing in the middle, but the reference was good enough that you could go in and fix those areas.
I wanted this review to be the kit as it came out the box. Every hobby artist comes to these with different skill levels. This was my way of trying to level the playing field.
@@GraceAndLotties Yay!! This is Ashley (co-owner of Pink Picasso)- thank you for the review!!! We appreciate you choosing us to paint!! Our little family does a happy dance!
Hi! As an almost purely paint by number content creator, I thought I would add something about the lack of photo-realism. After about 2 years into PBN, I had to finally create a video about why PBN kits don’t come out looking photo-realistic. {Besides the lack of opacity in the paint 🥴}, that was one of the biggest frustrations for my viewers. Because a photo has millions of colors, and a PBN is generated with only 24, it’s impossible to get an outcome that is even close to accurate. The company is responsible for selecting the most important aspects of the design to ensure it looks best when painted. That’s also where it’s the artist’s job to determine how far they want to take the painting once the project is completed. Most people just want to do a kit like this for what I call the “zen therapy” of it, but for others, they want to do them to take it to the next level…to blend and to create something a little more realistic. That’s what I like to teach. 🥰 The most important part is to enjoy the process…no matter which kit you choose. Thank you for sharing this information, because anything that teaches others a creative outlet is valuable in my book.
My main issue with the photo realism was that the kit seemed to show that it would turn out that way rather than showing what the finished kit actually looked like. I actually like the “blobby” look of paint by number kits I remember from my childhood. Since this vid, I tried another kit in livestream by Artsy Etta that really surprised me, and am getting ready for another vid with one from Craft-Ease, which should be out around the end of October.
@@GraceAndLotties you’re right! Bottom line is the online & reference photo should reflect what the final result should resemble. Colors may be off due to display and printer calibration settings, but the overall image should be the same. Thankfully there are some excellent companies on the market, and I’m thrilled to see more people enjoying this hobby than ever before. Much luck to you 💕, Melanie B
@@MelanieBsCreativeStudio Craftoria gives you three color-level options with each kit, so you can chose how realistic (and therefore challenging) you want the painting to be. Canvas by Numbers distinguishes their kits by beginner, intermediate, and advanced-- I'm assuming that has to do with the number of paints included and the amount of detail. I haven't tried either of these, but I expect a kit from CBN any day.
I watched their episode on Shark Tank and was going to order it but they were sold out. That was my lucky day because I went on Ebay and got the kit for $23 brand new! I really did not want to spend $42 for a kit that cost them $5. Profit - yes. Greed - not so much.
@@GraceAndLotties It seems that the most successful deals on Shark Tank are those that got onto Oprah's Favorite Things list. That's what catapulted this company into massive sales. I paid a fair price and do not feel gouged as I would have at $42. Your paintings look fantastic btw.
Hi Boca & Grace & Lottie's- I hate that Shark Tank doesn't air the entire conversation because that is not what it is for - the gap between 5$ and 42$ is quite a difference because that is what it costs to pay for all of the hands that touch the tubes from start to your hands. We seem to continue to disappoint Boca Home Realty and wish that we could make everyone happy but we cannot. Life is that way sometimes. We will continue trying our hardest to put out a great product, listen to constructive criticism, and improve. Thanks for painting Grace & Lottie - Sensitive Succulent was a forced purchased image because there was no way to work during Covid and therefore not as realistic as we normally put out. My original images are the majority of our collection. We hope you will come back and try one of those as well!
If this painting had a choice of how many colors you'd get and you got the lesser amounts, that might be why your painting doesn't look very realistic.
Also, I use a white out over my numbers then paint
Thanks for the tips. I have a giant bottle of high flow medium now.
Using thinner or water will make it more transparent. Use flow aid
Thank you for the review. I have loved paint-by-numbering for several decades. I miss the kits made with oil paints. Oil paint goes on more opaquely, more smoothly and doesn’t dry out quickly. Just my opinion.
Interesting. Do you know of any oil paint kits out now? I would be curious to compare the two.
Wow. Thank you for sharing this. May I know, what kind of paints are best for the PBN artform?
Most kits come with heavier bodied acrylic paints. I like this for the first layer, but then will add flow medium to to create a more liquid viscosity. That allows for cleaner lines.
@@GraceAndLotties is flow medium - Water?
@@nitinvsjain no, it’s a more liquidy mix of what the pigment is suspended in to make the paint. It allows for thinning the paint with less dilution of color.
I have to say the second succulent painting is in contrast of colors and clearer painting way better than the pink Picasso. I also collect succulents and when looking at the Picasso one I can see which plants are which but when comparing the two the 12.99 one is better by a lot. IMO. Thanks for reviewing these I was looking into purchasing pink Picasso and I think they might be better to look for abstract vs realistic and my realistic painting is still in search of.
I am glad you found the review useful.
I actually really like the last one
Paintworks are the best ones, the mixing is not hard, or I just mix a swatch and get apple barrel paints that match, I have a big collection of them anyway.
I actually think the last one you did is far better. You must like sort of pastel art, but I find the Pink Picasso too washed out. It LOOKS like a PBN, whereas the last one has far more depth and a better range of lights and darks. I see there are issues with some locations, like that red cactus that just turned out as a blob (were the paints too close in tone or was it supposed to be all painted the same color?), and that black and white dotted thing in the middle, but the reference was good enough that you could go in and fix those areas.
And that what makes art fascinating. What one person loves, another dislikes.
I did paint by number when i was young, in the late 1950’s. It was so much fun. It sure took a long time to come out with kits again.
Another person suggested to gesso the canvas before you paint it. Makes a smoother surface. Use’s less paint. I think your paintings look good.
Thanks for the tip! and thanks for the compliment
Wouldn't it make sense to paint shadows first then lighter colors over that to create more 3 dimensional effect?😅
I wanted this review to be the kit as it came out the box. Every hobby artist comes to these with different skill levels. This was my way of trying to level the playing field.
In my oil painting class, the instructor told us to go dark to light, back to front.
I also watched that episode of Shark Tank and I thought it looked like an exciting and fun craft to do! I think yours turned out really good myself!
Thank you. While long, the Pink Picasso one was the most enjoyable of the three.
@@GraceAndLotties Yay!! This is Ashley (co-owner of Pink Picasso)- thank you for the review!!! We appreciate you choosing us to paint!! Our little family does a happy dance!
Nice informative video. Thanks
Thank you. It took forever to do all of the paint-by-numbers, but I was glad to see that they were very different.
Hi! As an almost purely paint by number content creator, I thought I would add something about the lack of photo-realism.
After about 2 years into PBN, I had to finally create a video about why PBN kits don’t come out looking photo-realistic. {Besides the lack of opacity in the paint 🥴}, that was one of the biggest frustrations for my viewers. Because a photo has millions of colors, and a PBN is generated with only 24, it’s impossible to get an outcome that is even close to accurate. The company is responsible for selecting the most important aspects of the design to ensure it looks best when painted.
That’s also where it’s the artist’s job to determine how far they want to take the painting once the project is completed. Most people just want to do a kit like this for what I call the “zen therapy” of it, but for others, they want to do them to take it to the next level…to blend and to create something a little more realistic. That’s what I like to teach. 🥰
The most important part is to enjoy the process…no matter which kit you choose. Thank you for sharing this information, because anything that teaches others a creative outlet is valuable in my book.
My main issue with the photo realism was that the kit seemed to show that it would turn out that way rather than showing what the finished kit actually looked like. I actually like the “blobby” look of paint by number kits I remember from my childhood.
Since this vid, I tried another kit in livestream by Artsy Etta that really surprised me, and am getting ready for another vid with one from Craft-Ease, which should be out around the end of October.
@@GraceAndLotties you’re right! Bottom line is the online & reference photo should reflect what the final result should resemble. Colors may be off due to display and printer calibration settings, but the overall image should be the same.
Thankfully there are some excellent companies on the market, and I’m thrilled to see more people enjoying this hobby than ever before.
Much luck to you 💕,
Melanie B
@@MelanieBsCreativeStudio Craftoria gives you three color-level options with each kit, so you can chose how realistic (and therefore challenging) you want the painting to be. Canvas by Numbers distinguishes their kits by beginner, intermediate, and advanced-- I'm assuming that has to do with the number of paints included and the amount of detail. I haven't tried either of these, but I expect a kit from CBN any day.
"PBN" and "artist" -you must be joking. What an insult to artists.
@ and you are an insult to the human race with your ignorance and childish comment.
i tried to do one but went out the lines
That happens sometimes.
Thank you, I learned a lot but I don't like any of those kits. I'm hoping to find something much more detailed.
Love the video
Do these come primed?
Yes they do
So much time, and it still didn't turn out. Thanks for sharing this so I don't make the same purchase.
Glad it was helpful!
I watched their episode on Shark Tank and was going to order it but they were sold out. That was my lucky day because I went on Ebay and got the kit for $23 brand new! I really did not want to spend $42 for a kit that cost them $5. Profit - yes. Greed - not so much.
Glad you were able to get a good price. I think $23 does sound more reasonable for what it was.
@@GraceAndLotties It seems that the most successful deals on Shark Tank are those that got onto Oprah's Favorite Things list. That's what catapulted this company into massive sales. I paid a fair price and do not feel gouged as I would have at $42. Your paintings look fantastic btw.
Hi Boca & Grace & Lottie's- I hate that Shark Tank doesn't air the entire conversation because that is not what it is for - the gap between 5$ and 42$ is quite a difference because that is what it costs to pay for all of the hands that touch the tubes from start to your hands. We seem to continue to disappoint Boca Home Realty and wish that we could make everyone happy but we cannot. Life is that way sometimes. We will continue trying our hardest to put out a great product, listen to constructive criticism, and improve. Thanks for painting Grace & Lottie - Sensitive Succulent was a forced purchased image because there was no way to work during Covid and therefore not as realistic as we normally put out. My original images are the majority of our collection. We hope you will come back and try one of those as well!
Pity this one is not available
If this painting had a choice of how many colors you'd get and you got the lesser amounts, that might be why your painting doesn't look very realistic.
None of them had any tiers. Just the one option on all three. Although that is a neat idea for a paint by numbers seller to offer different levels.
The cheaper one has a more realistic look. The Pink Picasso looks flat.
Thanks for sharing, This video has been fun to see how different people have different takes on which one they prefer.