Paint by Numbers Australia: The Complete Buying Guide

Paint by numbers kits for Australian customers, delivered to your door in 8 to 11 days.

Paint by numbers has grown significantly in Australia over the past few years. What began as a nostalgic craft from the 1950s has become one of the most searched creative hobbies in the country, with more than 10,000 Australians searching for paint by numbers kits every single month. The hobby appeals across age groups, from adults looking for screen-free relaxation to retirees, students, and families wanting a shared creative activity.

This guide covers everything you need to know before buying a kit in Australia. What canvas material to look for, which colour count produces which kind of result, what sizes are available, how custom kits from your own photos work, and how to get a kit delivered to your door anywhere in Australia.

What Is Paint by Numbers

Paint by numbers is a guided painting system where a canvas is pre-printed with numbered sections, each corresponding to a specific paint colour. You match each number to its paint and fill in the sections. No prior art experience is needed. The composition, colour palette, and design are all established before you begin. Your job is execution, and the result is a finished painting that looks genuinely professional.

The reason the hobby has grown so rapidly in Australia, and globally, is that it sits in a specific and valuable position. It is active enough to hold attention and produce visible progress, but structured enough that it does not require creative decision-making. For adults dealing with decision fatigue at the end of a working day, that combination is exactly what the research on flow state and mindfulness suggests produces genuine mental rest. Our guide on how to get started with paint by numbers covers the process from unboxing to finished canvas in full.

What to Look for in an Australian Paint by Numbers Kit

Not all paint by numbers kits deliver the same experience or result. Three things separate a kit that produces a painting you want to frame from one that ends up in a drawer after the first session.

Canvas Quality

Premium Australian paint by numbers kits use 100% linen canvas double-primed with archival gesso. Linen has a tighter, more consistent weave than cotton. It holds acrylic paint evenly, produces cleaner boundaries between numbered sections, and gives the finished piece a texture that reads like a genuine painting. Budget kits from retail stores use cotton canvas, which is softer, more absorbent, and produces a flatter result. For a technical breakdown of what to look for, our canvas quality guide explains the difference in detail.

Colour Count

The colour count determines how realistic the finished painting looks. A kit with 12 to 24 colours merges large areas of tonal variation into flat single sections. A kit with 36 to 48 colours captures the gradients, midtones, and shadows that make a sky look three-dimensional, a face look recognisable, or a landscape look like a place you could walk into.

Paint Quality

High-pigment acrylic paint covers the printed canvas numbers in one or two coats and dries with a smooth, opaque finish. Thin or watery paint requires multiple layers, slows the process considerably, and often leaves printed numbers visible underneath even after several passes. Every kit from Paint On Numbers uses ASTM D-4236 compliant high-pigment acrylics with a buttery, consistent texture designed for clean single-coat coverage.

Paint by Numbers Kits Available in Australia

Paint On Numbers ships a full range of paint by numbers kits to Australian customers. Every kit is priced in AUD and delivered to your door anywhere in Australia in 8 to 11 days. The range covers over 200 designs across eight categories.

Each kit includes linen canvas, numbered high-pigment acrylic paints, and professional nylon brushes.

Design Categories

Design categories range from landscapes and wildlife to florals, abstracts, and famous artworks.

Popular Designs for Australian Customers

Australian shoppers consistently gravitate toward designs that connect to familiar coastal, wildlife, and landscape themes. Some of the most popular choices include:

• Beach Waves and Ocean Waves for the coastal lifestyle that defines so much of Australian living
• Reef Harmony for its connection to Australian marine environments and the Great Barrier Reef
• Golden Desert for its warm outback light and expansive desert dunes
• Tropical Parrots and Ocean Turtle for wildlife enthusiasts
• Seaside Village for Mediterranean-inspired coastal architecture
• Sunrise Summit and Morning Glow for sunrise light and atmospheric skies

Canvas Sizes and AUD Pricing

Every kit is available in three canvas sizes and three colour count options. You can also choose how the canvas is presented: without frame, with a DIY wooden frame kit included, or pre-stretched on a wooden frame and ready to hang.

Canvas sizes from left to right: 40x50cm, 50x60cm, and 60x80cm. Size affects both the level of detail achievable and how the finished piece reads on your wall.

All prices in AUD and displayed automatically when visiting from Australia. Custom kits start from $36 AUD for 30x40cm.

Which Size Should You Choose

The 40x50cm canvas is the most popular starting size. It is large enough to contain meaningful detail but compact enough to complete in a reasonable number of sessions. Most adults who paint for one to two hours per week complete a 40x50cm canvas in three to five weeks.

The 50x60cm canvas is the choice for painters who want a statement piece for display. The additional size allows for finer detail in complex subjects like portraits and landscapes with multiple depth planes.

The 60x80cm canvas is the largest standard size and produces a genuinely impressive finished piece. It is most popular with experienced painters who have completed several canvases and want a serious project that fills a wall well. If you are aiming for a result that looks like a commissioned painting, the 60x80cm with 48 colours is where that becomes possible.

Custom Paint by Numbers Australia

Custom paint by numbers australia kits turn your own photographs into fully numbered canvases, designed by hand by our artists. Every custom canvas goes through a human design review where the colour zones are adjusted for paintability and visual accuracy. The process uses no automated software at the design stage.

Upload any photograph. Our artists design the numbered canvas by hand. Your finished painting arrives in 8 to 11 days.

Custom kits are the most personalised paint by numbers option available in Australia. They are not available at any physical retail chain including Kmart, Big W, Officeworks, or Spotlight. The most popular subjects for Australian customers include family portraits, photographs of pets, wedding and anniversary photos, and landscape shots of places with personal significance.

Personalised paint by numbers australia options are available in all standard sizes from 30x40cm through to 60x80cm, and in 24, 36, and 48 colour palettes. Our custom paint by numbers kit page covers the full process. Custom pet portraits are also available through our dedicated custom pet kit.

Delivery to Australia

All orders are processed within 2 to 3 business days and shipped internationally within that window. Once dispatched, delivery to any Australian address takes 6 to 8 business days. Total time from placing your order to receiving your kit at your door is 8 to 11 days to any Australian state or territory.

Pricing is displayed automatically in AUD when you visit the store from Australia, handled through Shopify's regional market settings. There are no hidden international transaction fees for Australian customers at checkout.

Getting the Most from Your Kit

A few habits make a significant difference to the result you achieve, especially on your first canvas.

Paint your darkest colours first and work toward the lightest. Dark acrylic pigments are chemically opaque and cover the printed numbers on the first pass. Light colours such as yellows and pale pinks are naturally translucent and struggle to hide dark printed lines underneath. Establishing the structural darks first gives every lighter colour that follows a clean surface to sit on. Our guide on how to paint by numbers walks through this and every other core technique in detail.

Work on non-adjacent sections to avoid colours bleeding into each other while wet. Paint all the section 3s, then skip to the 5s. By the time you come back to fill the 4s between them, the surrounding paint will be dry and the boundary lines will stay crisp.

Use two cups of water when cleaning your brush between colours. The first removes the bulk of paint. The second provides a clean final rinse. Dab on a paper towel before loading the next colour so excess water does not thin the paint on the canvas.

For a complete list of what goes wrong on first canvases and exactly how to fix each problem, our common mistakes guide covers every issue with a specific practical fix.

Once your canvas is finished, sealing and framing it correctly protects the paint and gives the piece a professional gallery finish. Our sealing and framing guide covers both steps in full. If you want to take your technique further, our colour blending guide explains dry brushing and wet-on-wet techniques that turn a good canvas into a great one.

Frequently Asked Questions

About the Author

William Murdock is the Founder of Paint On Numbers. He has spent years researching what makes a creative hobby genuinely satisfying and built this brand on the principle that accessible materials and thoughtful design produce results worth being proud of.