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What is diamond painting? The best guide of 2020 to get you started
Do you often find yourself in a creative mood but somehow feel like you lack the artistic prowess to churn out a worthy artwork? Or maybe you simply don’t have the time to pour countless hours into your paintings? You may be no Picasso but with 5d diamond painting, you will be crafting dazzling artworks that will turn heads in less fraction of time that Van Gogh did his paintings! If you are up to join the bandwagon, then read on to learn what a 5d diamond painting is and most importantly how to paint with diamonds yourself!
Source: Youtube Channel
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First thing’s first: what is a diamond painting?
But wait! Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before diving into a DIY diamond painting project of your own, you’ll want to go over the basics first. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself: what is a diamond painting?
Aside from it being a beautiful piece to decorate your walls with, a DIY diamond painting is a crazy mix between:
- a coloring book,
- a word search (except its codes and numbers in the diamond kits you will be searching for!),
- a cross-stitch (without the annoying hassle of pricking your fingers with the needle); and
- a paint by numbers project.
This activity will have you coloring sections out of a customized canvass dotted with numbers and symbols. You will then need to consult the chart provided along with the kit to determine which color a certain number, code or symbol pertains to. Like cross-stitch, you will individually attach colored resin beads to the symbols to “color that spot in” like you would a paint by numbers project! Easy, right?
(Image sourced from color relaxation)
Of cuts and carats: what is a 5d diamond painting?
Now that you understand what a diamond painting is, it’s time to learn the specifics! There are actually different kinds of diamond painting: there is the 3d diamond painting and a 5d diamond painting. Yet 5d diamond painting is more common and more popular since it is more visually appealing than the 3d painting.
What is a 5d diamond painting, you may ask? And what’s the difference with the 3d kind? The answer lies with the “diamonds” they use. You know how real diamonds with more cuts and edges are generally more expensive? It’s because the more cuts a diamond has, the shinier and more sparkly it becomes! Same goes for diamond painting drills.
The “5d” means that the drills have 5 “cuts” or sides while a “3d” has only 3 sides to it. Just like real diamonds, the more cuts a drill has, the better it looks on your DIY diamond painting! The only difference with real diamonds? “5d” doesn’t necessarily mean its more expensive than 3d ones they generally play around the same price!
Now that you are familiar with what a 5d diamond painting is, you can move on to the next part of learning how to paint with diamonds — inspecting your arsenal!
(Image sourced from Tierney Fellowship)
Checking your palette: the diamond painting checklist
Just like how a traditional painter would check his palette for the right colors of paint, you need to take inventory of your diamond kits, too!
Usually paint by diamond kits come with a whole lot of stuff and you need to check whether you have the right kind of tools for the job. A diamond kit usually comes with a checklist that lists all the stuff that you need such as:
- A pre-printed or customized canvass to stick your diamonds on;
- A drill pen or that tubed applicator tool that will serve as your “brush”;
- Baggies of colorful drills (Take note of their colors and codes!)
- A pad or two of wax or rubber glue to hold your drills in the pen;
- A pair of tweezers (though some kits don’t have these in the kit);
- A triangular-shaped tray with grooves (to pick drills up easily)
- A small colored sample image of the canvas (to guide you along the way)
- A small cheat sheet indexing pairs of codes and colors (to help you identify which color goes into a numbered spot)
These are just the basic tools that come with a diamond kit. However, once you get into the hobby, you’ll find more accessories that are not only cute and stylish but also make your painting a whole lot easier!
Now that you know the basics and are familiar with all the tools, it’s time to jump into the fun!
(Image sourced from DIY Candy on Pinterest)
How to paint with diamonds?
Painting with diamonds may seem like a daunting and stressful activity at first and it will stay that way unless you learn how to paint with diamonds properly. Once you get into it, the repetitive motion will stick to you and diamond painting will be a no-brainer!
Hence, if you want to level-up your DIY diamond painting game and be the Picasso of paint by diamonds, then keep reading to get an inside scoop on tips and tricks of painting with diamonds:
- Review the cheat sheet and familiarize yourself with the codes and their corresponding colors before starting the painting. This is will make it easier for you to identify which colors are needed later on as you begin painting.
Source: Claire youtube channel
- Lay your canvass on a flat and even surface. You’ll also want to make sure that the surface is clean and free from debris that can stick to your canvass once you peel the protective film off.
- Using the light trace of a pencil, divide your canvass into smaller more manageable sections. Peel the plastic film section by section. Don’t peel it away all at once as dust and lint might stick to your canvass.
(Image sourced from Amazon)
- With the codes you reviewed earlier, identify which colors you need to use for the section you will work on. Use the grooved tray to easily separate and temporarily hold your drills as you work with the diamond you need.
Quick Tip: Are the drills all lumped up together in the tray? Give them a little shake and watch them shimmy into a neat line. This makes them easier to pick-up as well.
Source: Youtube Channel
- Take your applicator tool and stick the tip into the small strip of wax or rubber glue included in the kit. The sticky material of the wax will easily pick up your drills hassle-free.
Quick Tip: Ran out of wax? You can use gem-tac glue in its place or just wing it and pick-up the drills with the tweezers instead!
(Source: Shimmer Stitch youtube channel)
- Next, comes the fun part! Stick the diamonds to your canvas! There are many different ways you can do this but the most common one is the checker board technique. Simply stick your drills one space apart like a chess board.
- Once you have an entire section filled, you can begin working on the next one. Keep filling each section with colorful diamond drills and watch your paintings come alive!
- You can finish up your painting once you fill all sections with drills by framing it up. You can also go the extra mile and seal the deal with a resin-based sealant to keep the drills securely in place.
(Image sourced from Llama Design on Leisure Arts)
Now that you are familiar with what a 5d diamond painting is and how to paint with diamonds, you can live out your dreams of painting like renaissance artists without it being too much of a stress. Having fun and enjoying your time while painting is what a diamond painting is all about! So, if you are looking to start on a DIY diamond painting project of your own, visit our website and order your very own diamond kit now!
