Paint by Numbers Difficulty Levels: Easy, Medium or Hard

Two people can order the same size canvas, sit down the same evening, and have completely different experiences. One finishes a relaxed weekend project. The other is still squinting at a cluster of tiny numbered shapes three weeks later, wondering what went wrong.

The difference is almost never talent. It's difficulty — and difficulty in paint by numbers is surprisingly easy to read before you buy, once you know what to look at. This guide breaks down what actually makes a kit easy, medium or hard, and how to match that to the time, patience and eyesight you're bringing to the table.

What actually makes a paint by numbers kit difficult?

Kits are usually labelled easy, medium or hard, but those labels are a summary of four underlying things. Learn to spot them and you can judge any kit yourself, from any shop.

1. The number of colours

This is the single biggest factor. A kit with roughly 20–24 colours has broad, simple regions and very few near-identical shades. A kit with 40 or more colours is doing subtle gradient work — and that means several pots of paint that look nearly the same in the tray but land in different places on the canvas.

More colours also means more pot-opening, more brush cleaning, and more chances to lose your place. It's not harder in a skill sense so much as harder in a concentration sense.

2. How small the numbered sections are

Look closely at the preview image and imagine the printed outline underneath it. Large open areas — sky, water, a plain background, a solid-colour animal — paint quickly and forgivingly. Dense clusters of slivers, which show up in things like foliage, feathers, city lights, lace and jewellery, take far longer per square inch and demand a steady hand.

3. The subject matter

Some subjects are inherently more demanding. Human faces are the classic example: our brains are exceptionally good at spotting when a face is slightly off, so small imprecisions around eyes and mouths are more noticeable than the same imprecision in a tree. Detailed architecture, rigging on a sailing ship, and reflective surfaces like water and glass all fall into the same category.

4. The canvas size

Counter-intuitively, a bigger canvas is often easier. The same design printed at 60x80 cm gives every numbered section more room, so fine detail becomes paintable with a normal brush instead of a near-dry fine tip. If you love a complex design but worry it's beyond you, sizing up is the best trick there is. Our canvas size guide covers the trade-offs in more detail.

Easy kits: your first painting, or a low-effort evening

Easy kits typically feature bold shapes, generous colour blocks and a limited palette. You'll see progress within the first hour, which matters enormously when you're new — early visible progress is what keeps a project from becoming a half-finished canvas behind the sofa.

Best for: complete beginners, children, anyone painting with a TV show on in the background, and gift recipients whose interest level you're unsure of.

Where to look: our kids and children's kits are built around simple shapes and cheerful palettes and suit adult beginners just as well. Flowers, sunflowers and abstract designs are also forgiving starting points, because nobody can tell you your petal was the wrong shape.

Typical time: a few evenings, or one committed weekend.

Medium kits: the sweet spot for most adults

Medium is where most of the catalogue lives, and it's where most people should start if they've painted anything before. These kits have enough shading to look genuinely accomplished when framed, but not so much fine detail that a single session feels like data entry.

Best for: adults who've finished at least one kit, or confident beginners who'd rather have something impressive on the wall than something finished fast.

Where to look: animal kits are the reliable middle ground — a cat or dog portrait has fur texture to work with but a clear, simple composition. Landscapes and underwater scenes sit here too, with big skies and open water balancing the busier foreground.

Typical time: one to three weeks of evenings.

Hard kits: for painters who enjoy the long game

Hard kits are dense. Expect a large palette, many small sections, and stretches where you're working on one corner for an entire evening. The payoff is a finished piece that genuinely reads as a painting rather than a craft project.

Best for: experienced painters, people who find the repetition itself relaxing, and anyone who wants a project that lasts a whole season.

Where to look: famous paintings — the impressionists especially — are demanding because the original artwork was built from thousands of small strokes. Portraits, sailing ships and lighthouse scenes also reward patience with rigging, stonework and dramatic light.

Typical time: a month or more. Plan for it rather than fighting it.

How to choose: three honest questions

How much time do you actually have?

Not how much you'd like to have — how much you'll realistically sit down with. If it's twenty minutes here and there, a hard kit will frustrate you regardless of skill. If you have long quiet evenings, an easy kit will be over before you've settled into it. Our breakdown of how long a kit takes is worth a look if you're planning around a deadline like a birthday.

How is your close-up vision?

This is the question nobody asks and everybody should. Fine detail work at arm's length is genuinely tiring. If you already reach for reading glasses, choose a larger canvas or a medium kit — you'll enjoy the hobby far more, and no one looking at the finished wall art will know the difference.

Is it a gift?

When in doubt, go one level easier than you think. A finished easy kit is a lovely gift experience; an abandoned hard kit is a small guilt object in a cupboard. For a recipient you're unsure about, a bright, simple design in a decent size is the safest choice every time.

Two things that make any kit easier

Difficulty isn't fixed — your setup shifts it. Good direct light over the canvas removes a genuine chunk of the effort, because most "hard" moments are really just moments where you can't read the number. And a proper fine-detail brush matters more than the number on the box; the brushes included in most kits are fine for broad areas but wear out on tight work. Our guide to brush types covers what to keep on hand, and the accessories collection has the extras worth adding.

If this is your first kit, it's also worth reading our beginner tips before you open the paints — a few habits early on save a lot of touching-up later.

Start where you'll actually finish

There's no prize for choosing the hardest kit. The best paint by numbers project is the one that ends up framed on a wall, and that's usually the one that matched your evenings rather than your ambitions. Pick the level that fits the life you're currently living — you can always level up on the next canvas.

Ready to choose? Browse the newest kits or start with a featured favourite.