What Is Diamond Painting?
Diamond painting is a craft hobby that was introduced around 2015. In the last few years, the trends of this DIY craft shot up, partly due to the pandemic. You can say that it is a mix between cross stitch and paint by numbers. Instead of painting a canvas with acrylics or oil paints, you will have to stick a particular coloured diamond on the canvas according to its corresponding number. Finally, the painting comes together as a picture made up of diamonds, shimmering whenever light flashes on it. 
Diamond painting is a fun DIY activity to do that exercises your brain and helps you relax after a long, tiring day, both at the same time. It is the perfect pastime for all ages, especially during the pandemic, where all of us are stuck in our homes with plenty of time on our hands.
How To Start Diamond Painting?
Now that you know the basics of diamond painting, you might be wondering how to go about it. Well, for starters, you need the best diamond painting kit there is for a beginner. You need to choose an easy, beginner-friendly kit for yourself so that you can enjoy and learn the craft at first. Then, once you are done practicing, you can move on to more complicated diamond paintings.
Now, let’s dig a little deeper into the kind of options we have within diamond painting drills. What is a drill?
You may be confused by the word drill, and we completely understand that few words can be a little hard to comprehend. In simple terms, a drill is just another word used for a diamond. These diamonds, or as we like to call them, drills, are pasted onto a canvas, and they join together to form beautiful, shimmering pieces of art.
Square VS Round Drills:
What are square and round drills? And what is the difference between them? Well for starters, square drills are square, while round drills are circular. It is pretty simple. Square drills help fill in the gaps to neatly fit in together, while round drills leave gaps between and allow you to see the picture itself. Each painter has their preference, but round drills are recommended to beginners as they are easy to use, and you don’t need to have that precision while applying them onto the canvas.
3D Vs 5D Drills:
3D and 5D diamond painting refer to painting with either 3D or 5D drills. Now, these dimensions refer to the number of facets each rhinestone has on each side. 3D diamonds have 3 facets at each side, making a total of 9. While 5D diamonds have 5 facets on each side, totaling 15 facets on each diamond. 5D diamonds are usually preferred by diamond painters, as they shine more due to the increased number of cuts. Read Our Complete Guide on 3D & 5D Diamond Painting Kits Differences – Which One To Choose?
What Is A Partial Drill Painting?
Partial drill refers to the kind of diamond painting where the canvas is partially covered with diamonds. The rest of the picture is in solid texture as a background with some parts covered with diamond beads.
What Is A Full Drill Painting?
A full drill diamond painting is when the entire picture on the canvas is covered with diamonds. This will make the picture look more complete and give it that extra hint of sparkle!
Comparing Partial And Full Drills Painting:
Full drill diamond paintings are considered to be a bit more tricky than your usual partial drill. It is recommended to use square diamonds in your full drill painting to give it a neat, mosaic look. But this is what makes it much more complicated. When you are using square diamonds in a full drill, you need to have that precision and accuracy while painting. Even messing up a bit will make your gems look crooked and scattered, so you have to be very careful while handling a full drill.
A partial drill diamond painting is much easier to complete, which is why it is recommended for beginners. You won’t get tired or bored spending all day crafting your ultimate full drill diamond painting. You can complete it quickly and feel that sense of accomplishment that will motivate you to explore more in the diamond painting world. However, if you have some knowledge about diamond art, then you can try out as many full drill paintings as you want.
How To Choose The Best Diamond Painting:
There are a few factors that you need to consider while buying a diamond painting kit. And if this is your first time, you need to keep these tips in mind to make the right choice for yourself.
Finding A Retailer:
This may seem like a very simple thing to do. But, it can have a lot of impact on your experience, especially if you are a beginner. Firstly, you need to do a bit of research to know about the options you have. Observe the marketplace, compare prices, variety, and the credibility of the retailer. Try to choose a store that provides you better value for less prices, so your money doesn’t go down the drain.
Read their refund and return policy carefully, in case things go south. It is preferable to choose a site that provides free shipping because if you are someone like me, you will hate paying those extra bucks just to get your product delivered. Sometimes, what happens is that in online stores, products appear to be of such good quality, but when they arrive, they are the exact opposite. So, never ignore the red flags. If you notice that a store is providing low rates compared to the market, most probably, their product is of terrible quality.
Therefore, pay great attention to their ratings and authentic customer reviews and make a measured decision.
Choosing A Design:
Now, when you look up online, there are thousands of designs to choose from. While all of them may seem beautiful, you have to choose a design that makes you happy and goes along with your taste. It should be something you enjoy crafting as you will be spending your precious time on it. If you don’t enjoy the process, then what good is it? Popular designs include animals, sceneries, flowers, or holiday patterns. Choose whatever you like but always remember to run out some quality checks. Some of the retailers display ordinary stock images instead of original diamond paintings, for the pictures to look good. So, zoom in and, if you don’t see tiny diamonds then beware.
If you don’t like any of the designs ( which is highly unlikely) you can always go towards custom diamond painting kits. A custom painting is when you submit a special photo that is very close to your heart, to a diamond painting retailer and they convert it into a diamond painting. Most people find custom paintings easier to connect with and choose them over ordinary ones, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But, if you are a beginner I would recommend you to choose a simple diamond kit out of the best sellers section to kick start your DIY craft. Because there are a lot of things that could go wrong with a custom diamond painting and we don’t want you to lose motivation at the beginning stage.
Choose A Size:
Choosing a size for your Diamond painting is a crucial part of the process. You might even get confused as to which size of a diamond painting to buy. Well, I think that beginners should start with a small size. Then as their expertise level increases, they can move up to more complicated and detailed diamond paintings. The design chosen with the small size must be minimal to do.
While buying a diamond painting, one must also know the difference between design size and canvas size. Some retailers may not specify as to which particular dimensions are being referred, therefore you should always take care of that. In the end, check if the dimensions are mentioned in centimetres. Some of the retailers, especially in the US may mention the size in inches. This could be a little confusing. To save yourself from misunderstanding, check it beforehand. As they say- prevention is better than cure.
Choosing Your Drill:
The next step is deciding the kind of drills you prefer. Now, if you are a beginner, the chance is that you don’t have a preference. Full diamond painting with square drills may seem like a very good option at first, but let me tell you, completing a diamond painting like that is a very lengthy process, and some may even take up to many months. And working on the same painting with little progress can be tiring, demotivating, and most importantly, BORING. To avoid that, begin with a partial drill( especially if you are a beginner) with round diamonds so that it is less complicated and you can get it over with.
If you wish to buy something other than that, it is all up to you. You can get a partial or full, 3D or 5, Square or Round, whichever drills you like because only you have to spend a big chunk of your time crafting the project.
Choose The Best Kit:
The diamond painting kit that you order must be of stellar quality, because, trust me, nothing is more annoying than low-quality materials that won’t cooperate. At first, you should check that the diamond painting kit comes with all of the supplies. It should include a canvas, a diamond applicator tool, a tray, wax, and diamonds. Some tools that you can purchase separately are tweezers and diamond straighteners, but if they come with the kit you choose, then that is a plus. To be on the safe side, choose a retailer that has a reputation for selling high-quality products.
Try finding a kit with a lifetime warranty. What happens is that any seller that guarantees a lifetime of a particular product must have manufactured it with high-quality materials. It also keeps you covered with any accidental issues while shipping or anything. In case something goes wrong, you can always use your lifetime warranty.
Look For Fast Delivery:
Well, the best-case scenario is that you find a local retailer who offers free shipping. That is possible, but not something that happens usually. So, first, try to find someone who offers free worldwide shipping. Secondly, pick a store that manufactures in your state. One of the many benefits of doing so is the reduced shipping time. Overseas shipping can take anywhere between a month or two to get your product delivered. Shipping across many countries also results in increased freights, so you will have to pay big bucks for your shipping costs. Moreover, if a product is produced locally, there are fewer chances of it being a replica. Choosing a store in the state you live in not only reduces the shipping costs of your diamond kits but also ensures quality checks and less delivery time.
Choose What Suits You Best:
Diamond painting is a craft hobby that has multiple health benefits and fills your day with joy and purpose. It helps de-stress your brain, and the bright colours change your mood for good. It is a fun activity to do, and most importantly, it has no restrictions. Choose whatever kind of drills you want. Choose a canvas that YOU like. There is no right or the wrong kind of painting for any level of DIY artist. Just choose what makes you happy. In the end, the choice is yours and yours only.
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