Everything you need to know about diamond painting tips and tricks. Plus what diamond painting as a hobby can do to your mental health. Click on the links below to find more information on each topic:
- What is Diamond Painting?
- Materials and Tools
- Diamond Painting Tips and Tricks
- Framing
- Sealing
- Artist Collaboration
- Diamond Painting as Gifts
- Diamond Painting on Mental Health
- Working as Diamond Painter
What is Diamond painting?
It is mainly similar to mosaic art but instead of using stone, tile, or glass, it uses resin diamond beads.
Similar to cross stitching and paint by number it uses patterns and symbols to indicate what beads to use on each section.
It uses small diamond beads. These beads have one side flat surface and on the other side have a convex shape with multiple facets that creates the sparkling effect when lights hit it.
The beads are put together on an adhesive canvas to create colorful mosaic art paintings.
Majority of the people who make diamond paintings claim a therapeutic effect on them. Hence it became a popular alternative to other crafts such as cross-stitch. It is a much easier way to relax and be creative at the same time.
Other Terms Used for Diamond Painting
There’s a lot of names used to describe the diamond painting some of them are listed below:
DIY diamond painting, 5D diamond painting, 3D diamond painting, diamond painting cross-stitch, Diamond painting embroidery, Paint with diamonds
Materials and Tools You’ll Need
What’s inside a diamond painting kit are the canvas, diamond beads, pen, tray, and adhesive wax. Now let’s talk more about each tool:
Diamond Beads
What’s the difference between 3D and 5D diamond painting?
Basically, the 3D and 5D in diamond painting indicate how many facets the diamond beads have, 3D has less facet than the 5D diamond beads. Therefore 5D can result in a more sparkling shiny effect.
Other Terms Used for Diamond Beads
Drills or diamond drills, 3D or 5D diamond drills, Gems or Gemstones, Rhinestones, Diamond dotz, Resin gemstones, Diamond painting tiles
What are the different shapes of diamond beads?
Round Diamond Beads
Round diamond beads are best for beginners as they are easy to pick up and apply to canvas. It is also known to have a more sparkly shiny appearance. Since they are round-shaped you will see some small space between each bead but it will not be very noticeable when you look at the canvas from afar.
Square Diamond Beads
On the other hand, square diamond beads can look more fitted together neatly on canvas since it will not show gaps between each bead. It can have a learning curve for some people on how to pick and align on canvas.
Special Shaped Diamond Beads
Specially shaped diamond beads will give your diamond painting and extra oomph
How tiny are the diamond beads?
Typical round and square drills size can range from 2.5mm-2.8mm or about 0.25cm. But there are other types of diamond beads that can vary in size.
What color chart does it use?
Most of the manufacturer uses a DMC Color Chart similar to what they use on cross stitch or embroidery patterns.
Canvas Material
Fabric
A higher-end type of canvas makes your canvas more pliable to different types of applications like pillowcases or pouches.
Plastic
This would be the typical type of canvas that you can buy. It’s still pliable but framing it would be the ideal application for this type of canvas
Canvas Type
Full Drill Canvas
This type of canvas will have the entire canvas filled with diamond beads
Partial Drill Canvas
This type of canvas will have areas that don’t have diamond beads.
Canvas Size
If you’re just starting out in diamond painting and you just want to test the waters you can try buying smaller size canvas.
- Take into consideration that a small size canvas will yield a more pixelated or less detailed image.
- A larger canvas will have a more vivid and clear image which is more satisfying to complete but can be time-consuming.
- The best size to start out can range from 30x45cm above.
Pen Drills
Pen drills can have different nozzles. The ones that are included in your kit will have the basic pen which can pick up one diamond bead at a time.
There are other types of pens that can hold 3 or more beads at a time. This is best used when doing a bigger canvas with lots of areas that have the same color.
Pen Rubber Grip
This will help have a better grip control on the pen when using it for a longer time. Rubber grip can sometimes be already included in some kits.
Trays
Normal size trays will be included in the kit. You can also buy larger trays that can hold more diamond beads for bigger canvas projects.
Adhesive Wax
This sticky wax is placed on the tip of the pen to help pick up the diamond beads.
Some diamond painters use other types of adhesive like a blue tack in some cases if they ran out of wax.
Twissors
It is best to use twissors for square diamond beads as you can have better control of picking up the individual beads and aligning them correctly.
You also use this to adjust misaligned beads instead of using your fingers
Organizers and Containers
One of the fun parts of diamond painting is looking for storage for your diamond beads. There are endless choices on how you can neatly organize each set of beads.
Medicine Box and a Scoop
This is the most common and cheap alternative to storing your beads.
Having a small spoon can lessen spillage of the beads when transferring from the container to its tray
Other containers you can consider when you need more compartments.
Light Pad
This is a very helpful tool to use when doing diamond painting as it makes the patterns more visible. It can lessen the straining of your eyes when doing long hours of diamond painting.
Roller
The roller is best used to make sure the diamond beads stick well to the canvas. An alternative to this is by putting heavy objects like books below the canvas.
Diamond Painting Tips and Tricks
Use a checkered pattern for areas with the same colors to help align the beads effectively
Use a pen nozzle that can hold 3 or more beads. This will fast-track the areas that are in the same colored beads.
Decide from what area you will start the canvas. Instead of jumping from different areas choose one direction until you complete the entire thing.
Use masking tape to indicate the corresponding numbers or letters of the colored beads. You can peel them off later and place a new one once you’re done with it.
Framing the Diamond Painting
No cover
It is best to leave the canvas uncovered as the beads sparkling effect will be more visible and vibrant. The disadvantage of this would be getting dust on your canvas over time but you can easily clean it from time to time with a wet tissue.
With glass cover
If you want to protect the canvas from dust and other elements. Having a glass frame will always work best.
Sealing the Diamond Painting
Is it necessary to seal my canvas?
Though a lot of crafters use some types of sealant to their canvases. If you’re displaying it on wall decor It is not necessary to seal them since the canvas adhesive is pretty sticky enough that it can withstand time as the canvas gets old. But if you’re using the canvas on purses or as a pillowcase it is necessary to have some sealant protectant to avoid the beads from falling out over time.
What type of sealant to use?
Mod Podge
Using a sealant on your canvas will keep your diamond painting canvas intact for a long period. But the shine effect of the diamond painting will be lost after sealing.
PVA Glue
If you can’t get a hold of a mod podge using PVA glue can still be used as an alternative. It will not be water-resistant compared to the mod podge.
Creating your Own Diamond Painting
Here’s a website that can generate diamond painting patterns for free. Visit pixel-stitch.net
What do you do with leftover diamond painting beads?
Make a new design out of leftover beads using the pixel-stich
Collect then and store in a nice jar for display
Save them for later in case the beads went missing from the canvas
Use it for nail art – If you like doing nail art it is the best alternative.
Add them to your greeting cards and paper crafts
Artist Collaboration
It would be the best option to buy diamond painting kits from businesses that recognize the artists behind the painting. Though it does not always work that way. It can help artists be recognized for their work and earn from it as well. Some websites that recognized the artist behind the design:
Diamond Painting as Gift
Custom diamond paintings are always a very thoughtful gift to give out to friends and family on special occasions such as weddings, birthdays, and important milestones.
Diamond Painting on Mental Health
A lot of people when asked about how diamond painting affects their mood and mental health will always give you a positive answer.
You can find lots of relaxing music while doing diamond painting on YouTube, Spotify, and other music apps you prefer.
Listening to podcasts can also be a great combo while doing diamond painting
Back pain, eye strain, are some of the side effects of doing a diamond painting like any other activity or crafts there is. One of the best ways to combat that is to make sure to take breaks from time to time. Stretching as well helps relieve back pain.
There are lots of Facebook groups that share the same love for diamond painting. You can join them to share your work.
Working as Diamond Painter?
Since diamond painting is considered a hobby not a lot of people are looking for a diamond painter but you can always ask friends and family if they are willing to hire you to make a diamond painting canvas for them.
Good advice, now I feel more confident about not sealing my DP’s and leaving them without glass!
Hi Geri, thank you for your comment. 🙂 Yes, I have 2 canvases that are not sealed nor in protective glass frame for many years now and it still looks sparkly.
I liked all your tips. I am just starting out and I have a question that I haven’t found an answer to. when I pour some diamond beads into the tray half end up upside down and they are hard to turn and time consuming. Any helpful hints on that? They are 3D round beads. Thank you!
Nancy
Hi Nancy, thanks for your comment.. about the beads, I shake the tray with enough amount of beads in it, and that usually does the trick. Then I shake it again if I can’t see any beads turned the right way. I don’t turn them one by one that’s a crime. lol Hope this answers the Q. Thanks!
Thank you for answering so quickly. I will try that. And thanks again for your article it was very helpful!!
Do I need to seal coasters?
Yes, applying sealer to coasters will keep it from moisture damage overtime.