Easy Paint by Numbers for Beginners in Australia: A Complete Starter Guide

The right first kit makes paint by numbers genuinely enjoyable rather than frustrating. Section size and colour count are the two most important choices a beginner makes.

Paint by numbers requires no prior art experience. The numbered system tells you exactly where every colour goes, and the design is already set before you open the paint pots. But not all kits are equally easy to complete, and the wrong first kit can make the hobby feel unnecessarily difficult when it should feel straightforward and satisfying.

This guide explains what to look for when choosing an easy paint by numbers kit in Australia, which design categories suit first-time painters best, what colour count produces a satisfying result without being overwhelming, and how to get started confidently from your very first session.

What Makes a Paint by Numbers Kit Genuinely Easy

The word easy gets used broadly in paint by numbers marketing. Understanding what it actually means technically helps you choose a first kit that matches your current skill level and produces a result you are proud of.

Section Size

Left: a beginner-appropriate design with large, clearly defined sections. Right: an advanced design with very fine detail sections. The section size determines how easy it is to stay within the boundaries with a standard brush.

Section size is the most direct indicator of how easy a kit is to paint. Large sections are easy to fill cleanly, require less brush precision, and produce visible progress quickly. Small, intricate sections require a steady hand, a fine-tipped brush, and a high degree of patience.

For a beginner, choose a design where the sections are clearly visible and generous in size. Landscapes with broad sky areas, simple florals with bold petals, and animal designs with large fur or feather zones are all naturally beginner-friendly because of the section proportions involved.

Colour Count

A kit with fewer colours is easier to manage than one with more, because you are working with a smaller set of pots and making fewer matching decisions per session. For a first-time painter, 24 colours is the right starting point. It is specific enough to produce a result with real tonal depth, but manageable enough that you are not juggling 48 near-identical numbered pots simultaneously.

Once you have completed a canvas or two and feel comfortable with the process, stepping up to 36 or 48 colours produces a noticeably more realistic and detailed result. Our adults Australia guide covers the colour count decision in full for painters who are ready to step up.

Canvas Size

Standard adult kits come in one canvas size: 40x50cm. This is the size that works best for the widest range of adult painters. It is large enough to contain meaningful detail, produces a result worth displaying, and is completable in 3 to 5 weeks at a relaxed pace of one to two hours per week. It is not so large that completing it feels like a marathon on your first attempt.

Design Subject

Some subjects are naturally easier to paint than others, regardless of the section size. Subjects with gradual tonal transitions, such as open skies, calm water, and simple flower arrangements, are more forgiving of minor imprecision than subjects with complex fine detail, such as portrait faces, detailed featherwork, or intricate architectural subjects. As a beginner, choose a design that draws you in visually but does not have a subject where every small brush mark is highly visible.

Best Design Categories for Beginners in Australia

Some design categories consistently produce more satisfying results for first-time painters than others. These are the categories we recommend for beginners.

The Beginner Kit: What Is Included and What It Costs

A standard adult kit includes everything you need to start painting immediately. No additional materials are required.

Every standard adult kit includes everything a first-time painter needs. There is nothing else to buy before you begin.

AUD Pricing for Beginners

All prices in AUD for a 40x50cm linen canvas. Displayed automatically when visiting from Australia. Buy 2 get 1 free on all kits site-wide with no code required.

What to Expect on Your First Session

A completed 24-colour beginner kit from our beginners collection. The result is clean, satisfying, and completely achievable in a first-ever session.

Your first session does not need to be perfect to be satisfying. A few realistic expectations going in make the experience much more enjoyable.

You will not complete the canvas in one sitting. A 40x50cm canvas with 24 colours takes most adults between 10 and 18 hours of painting time in total. Sessions of one to two hours are the most enjoyable pace. Trying to complete too much in one session often leads to rushing, which affects the quality of coverage and the enjoyment of the process.

The first few sections take longer than the rest. You are learning the process, the feel of the brush, and the consistency of the paint simultaneously. By your third or fourth session, the process will feel natural and your pace will increase considerably.

Start with the darkest colours. Paint all of the darkest numbered sections across the whole canvas before moving to mid-tones, and finish with the lightest colours last. This is the most important technique habit a beginner can build. Our full step-by-step technique guide covers this and every other beginner habit in detail.

Some printed lines will show through after the first coat. This is normal, particularly for pale colours painted over dark printed numbers. A second coat once the first is fully dry covers them completely. Do not add water to the paint to try to speed up coverage. Undiluted paint covers most reliably. Our 7 common mistakes guide covers this and five other issues beginners commonly encounter with specific fixes for each.

Easy Paint by Numbers vs Retail Store Kits in Australia

Budget paint by numbers kits at Kmart, Big W, and Officeworks are sometimes described as beginner-friendly because of their low price. They are accessible, but the lower colour count and cotton canvas can actually make some aspects of the process harder rather than easier for beginners.

A 6 to 12-colour retail kit merges large areas of the canvas into flat single sections with no tonal variation. This means the finished result often looks significantly simpler than expected, which can be discouraging for a first-time painter who wanted something worth displaying. A 24-colour linen canvas kit at $31 AUD produces a noticeably more satisfying result and is within a comparable price range to the premium end of the retail options. Our full retailer comparison covers exactly what each store offers and how it stacks up.

When You Are Ready to Step Up

Most painters who complete their first beginner canvas want to do it again, and the second canvas is always noticeably better than the first. Once you feel comfortable with the numbered system and brush technique, stepping up to 36 or 48 colours produces a significantly more detailed and realistic result.

Once you have completed two or three standard canvases, a custom kit from your own photograph is a natural next step. You upload any photograph, our artists design the numbered canvas by hand, and the kit is delivered to your Australian address in 8 to 12 days. Custom kits start from $36 AUD for a 30x40cm canvas and are available in sizes up to 60x80cm. Our custom paint by numbers Australia guide covers the full process.

When your first canvas is finished, sealing it with a water-based varnish and framing it properly turns it from a rolled canvas into a piece of wall art. Our sealing and framing guide covers both steps. Our DIY wooden frame kit is designed specifically for our canvas dimensions.

Delivery to Australia

Frequently Asked Questions

About the Author

William Murdock is the Founder of Paint On Numbers. He has worked with thousands of first-time painters and built the beginners range around the principle that the right first kit produces a result worth being proud of, regardless of prior experience.