Paint by Numbers New Zealand: The Complete Guide

Paint by numbers has become one of New Zealand's most popular relaxing hobbies, with options ranging from a quick beginner kit to a fully custom canvas made from your own photo.

If you have searched for paint by numbers in New Zealand, you have probably noticed the options are scattered. A $12 kit at Kmart with a handful of rotating designs, a similarly priced kit at The Warehouse that may or may not be in stock, and a wider but more expensive range from dedicated online stores. The honest answer for which is right depends entirely on whether you are trying the hobby once or actually want to get good results. This guide breaks down where to buy, what you actually get at each price point, and how to pick a kit you will not regret.

What Is Paint by Numbers

A canvas arrives pre printed with numbered sections, and each number matches a numbered paint pot. You fill in the section, move to the next number, and repeat until the canvas is complete. There is no drawing skill involved and no decision about which colour goes where, since that has already been worked out for you.

Where kits differ is in what is actually in the box. A cheap retail kit might give you 16 to 21 paint pots on a smaller canvas, which limits how much shading and gradient the design can show. A kit with more colours, typically 24, 36, or 48, can render shadows, highlights, and colour transitions far more smoothly, which is the difference between a flat looking result and one that reads as a genuine painting from across the room. The paint quality also varies. Thin, watery acrylic needs two or three coats to fully cover a section, while a properly pigmented paint covers in one. This is rarely mentioned on a product page, which is part of why two kits at similar prices can produce very different finished results.

Where to Buy Paint by Numbers in New Zealand

New Zealand shoppers typically come across paint by numbers kits in three places: large retail chains, dedicated paint by numbers stores, and general craft retailers. Each has a different trade off between price, range, and quality.

Retail kits suit a quick first try. A dedicated paint by numbers kit gives you more colours, a larger canvas, and a design you actually chose.

Both retailers are a reasonable way to try the hobby once for around the price of a coffee and a sandwich. What you give up is choice. There is no larger canvas option, no way to bump up the colour count for a more detailed result, and no custom photo kit. If you already know you enjoy paint by numbers, or you want a specific design, a specific size, or a kit made from your own photo, a dedicated paint by numbers store is the only way to get it.

Paint by Numbers Kit Types

Not every kit is built the same way. Knowing the difference before you buy means you end up with the right kit for what you actually want to paint.

Paint by Numbers Pricing in New Zealand

Pricing depends on size, colour count, and whether you want a frame. Every order also includes buy 2 get 1 free site wide, with no code required.

The jump from 24 to 36 colours is usually worth the extra cost if the design includes skin tones, water, or sky, since these need smooth gradients that a lower colour count cannot render cleanly. The jump from 36 to 48 colours matters most for portraits and highly detailed scenes, and matters far less for a simple floral or abstract design where 24 colours already looks complete. On framing, a DIY frame is the better value if you do not mind ten minutes of assembly, since it works out cheaper than buying a separate frame later. Stretched on frame costs more because the canvas has already been mounted and stapled for you, which is worth paying for if you want to hang the piece the day it is finished.

Delivery to New Zealand

Custom kits do not take longer to arrive than standard kits, since the design step happens within the standard processing window rather than adding to it.

Choosing Your First Kit

A 24 colour standard kit is the easiest place to start, with enough detail to look impressive without feeling slow going.

Start with what the canvas will actually show. A landscape, a simple animal, or an abstract pattern looks complete at 24 colours, so paying more for colour count on that kind of design is money spent on a difference you will barely notice once it is framed. A face, a pet's fur, or anything with water or sky benefits noticeably from 36 or 48 colours, since the extra paint pots exist specifically to handle gradients those subjects need.

If you have tried a $12 kit from Kmart or The Warehouse before and finished it without losing interest, you already know the basic mechanics and a 36 colour kit will not overwhelm you. If this is genuinely your first attempt at any paint by numbers kit, the 24 colour tier is the safer choice, since a higher colour count means smaller individual sections that take longer to fill in and can be discouraging on a first attempt.

A custom kit is worth the higher price specifically when the subject matters more than the technique, a pet, a couple's photo, a family portrait, since no catalogue design can replace a photo you actually care about. If you simply want to try the hobby with no particular subject in mind, a standard catalogue design is the cheaper and equally enjoyable starting point.

For a child, the kids range exists for a reason beyond just being smaller. Fewer colours and larger sections mean a child can realistically finish the canvas in one or two sittings rather than losing interest halfway through a 24 colour adult kit.

Frequently Asked Questions

About the Author

William Murdock is the Founder of Paint On Numbers. He has watched the New Zealand market grow steadily and built this guide to help first-time buyers compare their options before choosing a kit.