This piece was written by one of our customers!
All of the colors came in a little package with the picture, and at the end you were supposed to get a picture that looked like the picture on the box or on the back of the package. It didn't usually work out that way, but I remember that I gave my best shot. For kids, these Paint By Numbers Kits eventually got to the point where very little actual painting was needed, and soon just getting the paper a bit wet magically produced the color for you. There were a lot of take-up is on this concept and continues to be today. Kids can still get traditional paint by numbers kits though, and produce wonderful watercolor pictures of whatever subject matter is available.
Earlier, It was considered to be an actual art form. You could take classes in paint by numbers, and , painting very nice copies of other peoples art and happily framing them or having them professionally framed and hanging them on the wall. Individuals really had occupations making paint by numbers pictures, which more likely than not been a fascinating method to bring home the bacon.
Some individuals even honed their skills with the painting by number and became accomplished artists in their own rights, creating their own works of art.
It was still an accomplishment in something that people enjoyed doing. It was a nice way to dabble, yet still having the certainty of knowing what your masterpiece would look like at the end. Believe it or not, pictures actually became rather popular and could be seen in many homes which create by these technique
It allowed people to begin using their free time to do a craft. It was a wonderful way to pass the time and just great keepsakes. Of course, the artists were limited by the drawings that the cake came with it, but that wasn't always the case. Many of the artists individualized their work by altering the picture slightly, perhaps blurring some of the lines, perhaps by omitting a part of the picture that they did not like.
Paint By Number Kits for Adult was a fairly captivating wonder, and its prevalence still shocks individuals even at this point. I know it surprised me. I always thought of it as something that adults did. It was nice though because it actually allowed the average person to create a wonderful work of art by their own hand.