How Long Does Paint by Numbers Take to Complete?
Summary
A standard 40x50cm adult paint by numbers kit takes between 20 and 35 hours of active painting time to complete, spread across multiple sessions. This guide breaks down exactly how long each type of kit takes, what affects the time, and how to plan your sessions for the best experience.
One of the first questions anyone asks when they open a paint by numbers kit is how long it is actually going to take. It is a reasonable thing to want to know before you commit. The honest answer is that it depends on the kit, but there are reliable figures for every size and complexity level that will help you plan properly.
This guide covers the realistic time ranges for every type of kit, explains the four factors that most affect completion time, and gives you practical advice on how to structure your painting sessions so the whole experience stays enjoyable rather than feeling like a race. If you are still deciding which kit to choose, our best paint by numbers kits UK 2026 guide covers our full ranked picks across every category.
How Long Does a Paint by Numbers Kit Take?
A standard 40x50cm adult paint by numbers kit takes between 20 and 35 hours of active painting time to complete. A simple design with large colour sections sits towards the lower end. A complex design with 48 colours and fine detail, such as Van Gogh's Starry Night or a detailed animal portrait, sits towards the higher end. Most people spread this across multiple sessions over several weeks.
Most adult paint by numbers kits are spread comfortably across several sessions over a few weeks. There is no right pace. The point is the process, not the finish line.
Time Estimates by Kit Type
Here are realistic time ranges for the kits available in our collection, based on active painting time per session and the number of sessions most painters complete them in.
Simple Beginner Designs (24 colours, large sections)
Kits with sweeping backgrounds, bold colour blocks, and fewer interlocking sections. Landscapes with open skies and abstract designs with large zones fall into this category. Completable in one or two focused sessions. A good choice if you want a finished result quickly or are new to the hobby.
Intermediate Designs (36 colours, mixed section sizes)
Most of our beginner-friendly kits and many of the landscape and wildlife designs with 36 colours sit in this range. Expect 5 to 10 sessions of roughly 2 hours each. The Wild and Certain bear and landscape kit is a good example: the background moves quickly, while the animal detail takes more time.
Advanced Designs (48 colours, fine detail sections)
Famous art reproductions and complex portrait or wildlife designs with 48 colours. Van Gogh's Starry Night, the Mona Lisa, and Monet's Japanese Bridge all sit in this range. Plan for 10 to 15 sessions. These kits are more rewarding precisely because they take longer.
Custom Photo Kits (complexity varies by image)
Custom kits and custom pet portraits vary more widely because they depend on the image. A simple portrait with a plain background finishes faster than a complex scene with multiple subjects. Custom kits at 60x80cm are at the top of the time range and are best treated as long-term projects to return to over several weeks.
The Four Things That Most Affect Completion Time
The two biggest time factors are colour count and section size. A 24-colour kit with large sections finishes in a fraction of the time of a 48-colour kit with fine interlocking detail.
1. Colour Count
This is the single biggest predictor of how long a kit will take. A 24-colour kit requires you to load your brush, paint all sections of that colour, rinse, and move on. A 48-colour kit doubles the number of distinct colour sequences. Each additional colour means more pot-opening, more brush-rinsing, and more switching between sections across the canvas. The difference in total time between a 24-colour and a 48-colour kit of the same size is often 8 to 12 hours.
2. Section Size
Large colour sections, like an open sky or a wide background wash, can be covered in broad strokes with a medium brush at a comfortable pace. Small, intricate sections, like the individual feathers in a bird, the fur around an animal's eyes, or the swirling stars in Van Gogh's night sky, require a fine brush, a slow hand, and far more time per square centimetre. A kit with many small sections will always take longer than its colour count alone suggests.
3. Whether You Apply One or Two Coats
Our high-pigment acrylic paints are formulated to provide full coverage in a single coat on premium linen canvas. Most sections will not need a second coat. However, very light colours, particularly pale yellows, creams, and whites over dark printed sections, sometimes benefit from a second application once the first coat has dried. Each second coat adds roughly 20 to 30 percent to the total time for those sections. Wait at least 30 minutes between coats.
4. Your Painting Pace
This varies more than most people expect, and it changes as you progress through the kit. The first hour of any new kit is always the slowest: you are orienting yourself, identifying where each colour falls across the canvas, and establishing your brushwork rhythm. By the middle of the project, most painters are working significantly faster because the canvas is familiar and the colour relationships are clear. Experienced painters who have completed several kits typically work at 30 to 40 percent faster than a first-time painter on the same design.
The fastest way to complete a kit is to load your brush with one colour, paint every section of that colour across the entire canvas, then move to the next colour. This reduces brush-rinsing dramatically and keeps your momentum up. The alternative, painting one area of the canvas at a time using multiple colours, means constantly switching pots and cleaning your brush, which adds hours to the total. For a complete guide to painting order, read our article on light or dark colours first.
How Long Should Each Session Be?
This is worth thinking about before you start, because it affects both the quality of your results and how much you enjoy the process.
Sessions of 1 to 2 hours tend to produce the best results. This is long enough to make meaningful visible progress, which keeps motivation high, but short enough that your concentration and hand steadiness stay consistent throughout. Painters who push through 4 or 5 hour sessions often notice shakier lines and more mistakes in the final hour as focus drops.
Shorter sessions of 20 to 30 minutes are entirely valid, particularly if you are using paint by numbers primarily for stress relief or mindfulness rather than as a creative project. Picking up the brush for half an hour in the evening and putting it down again is one of the most effective ways to wind down, and the canvas will be waiting exactly as you left it. Acrylic paint in sealed pots keeps well between sessions. For more on why the time spent painting is genuinely good for you, read our paint by numbers for mental health and wellbeing guide.
The one thing to avoid is leaving a session mid-colour with paint still on your brush. Always rinse thoroughly before putting the kit away. Dried acrylic on brush bristles is very difficult to remove and shortens brush life significantly.
How Long Does the Paint Take to Dry Between Sessions?
Acrylic paint in a paint by numbers kit dries to the touch in 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how thickly it has been applied. You can safely paint an adjacent section within that time without the colours bleeding into each other across the boundary line.
If you are applying a second coat to a light section, wait at least 30 minutes for the first coat to cure before adding the next layer. Painting wet over wet with acrylic can lift the first layer and create an uneven finish.
Once the entire canvas is complete, allow the painting to cure for a minimum of 14 days before varnishing. The acrylic is fully touch-dry long before this, but the polymer continues to cure beneath the surface. Varnishing too early traps residual moisture, which can cause clouding.
Once the final section is painted, allow the canvas to cure for at least 14 days before varnishing. The acrylic continues to cure beneath the surface long after it is dry to the touch.
Should You Try to Finish Quickly?
No. This is worth saying directly because it is a common source of disappointment. Painters who rush through a kit to get it finished often end up with uneven coverage, colours that have bled across boundaries, and a result that does not reflect what the design is capable of producing.
Paint by numbers is one of the few creative activities where the process is explicitly the point. The meditative, repetitive nature of matching colours to sections and working steadily across the canvas is what produces the stress-relief benefits the hobby is known for. A kit completed patiently over four weeks at two hours per evening produces a better painting and a better experience than the same kit rushed through in three days.
If you find yourself wanting to finish quickly, it is usually a sign that the kit you chose is not the right match for where you are as a painter. A beginner who picks an advanced 48-colour design may feel overwhelmed rather than relaxed. Browse our beginner-friendly range if you want a design that delivers a satisfying finished result in fewer sessions, or our expert collection if you are ready for a longer, more demanding project. If you are considering a larger canvas, our large paint by numbers size guide covers exactly how canvas size affects total time.
Further Reading
Understanding how long a kit takes is most useful when paired with knowing the right technique to use that time well. Read our guide on whether to paint light or dark colours first for the complete painting order. For a deeper look at the paints themselves and how to keep them in good condition between sessions, read our guide on what paint is used in paint by numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does paint by numbers take to complete?
A standard 40x50cm adult kit takes between 20 and 35 hours of active painting time. Simple designs with 24 colours and large sections sit towards the lower end. Complex designs with 48 colours and fine detail sit towards the higher end. Most painters spread this across multiple sessions over several weeks.
Can you complete paint by numbers in one sitting?
It depends on the kit. A simple beginner design can be worked through in one long session of 4 to 6 hours. A standard adult 40x50cm kit with 36 or 48 colours will almost always take multiple sessions. Most painters find that sessions of 1 to 2 hours produce better results than trying to finish in one go.
How long should each paint by numbers session be?
Sessions of 1 to 2 hours tend to be the most productive and enjoyable. This is long enough to make visible progress and short enough to maintain focus and steady brushwork. Shorter sessions of 20 to 30 minutes are perfectly valid if you are using the kit for stress relief or mindfulness.
What makes some paint by numbers kits take longer than others?
The two main factors are colour count and section size. A 48-colour kit takes significantly longer than a 24-colour kit. Designs with many small, intricate sections, such as fine animal fur or facial features, take much longer than designs with large, sweeping colour blocks such as landscapes or abstracts.
How long does acrylic paint take to dry between paint by numbers sessions?
Acrylic paint dries to the touch in 10 to 15 minutes. You can safely paint an adjacent section within that window. If applying a second coat, wait at least 30 minutes. Once the canvas is fully complete, allow 14 days to cure before varnishing.
How long does delivery take?
Allow 2 to 3 business days for processing, then 6 to 8 business days for delivery across the UK.
Find the Right Kit for Your Schedule
Browse by complexity and find a kit that matches the time you want to invest. From quick beginner designs to detailed expert projects, every kit includes premium linen canvas, numbered acrylic paints, and three artist brushes. From £24.99, delivered to your door across the UK.
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