You have just unwrapped your new kit, filled your water cup, and are ready to paint. Whether you are working on a simple landscape or a highly detailed paint by numbers personalised canvas based on a cherished photo, one common question always arises: where is the best place to start?
Should you begin at the very top and work your way down, or start at the bottom and build upwards? While there are no strict laws in art, most experienced painters agree that starting at the top is generally superior. However, the correct answer actually depends on your dominant hand.
Here is why your starting point matters and how to choose the right strategy to keep your artwork clean.
The Golden Rule: Prevent the Smudge
The primary reason for choosing a specific starting direction is to avoid smudging wet paint. Acrylic paint dries quickly, but not instantly. If you paint a section and then rest your hand on it to reach another area, you risk ruining your hard work and transferring colour to blank parts of the canvas.
Your goal is to always keep your painting hand resting on a dry, unpainted surface.
For Right-Handed Painters: Top-to-Bottom
If you are right-handed, the most natural and safe approach is to start at the top-left corner.
From there, you should work your way across to the right and gradually move down the canvas. By following this pattern, your hand will always be resting on the unpainted white canvas below or to the right of your wet brush strokes. Gravity is also on your side, as you are not reaching up and over wet areas.
For Left-Handed Painters: Bottom-to-Top
If you are left-handed, the standard advice needs to be flipped. Starting at the top-left would likely cause your hand to drag across fresh paint as you move inward.
Therefore, left-handed artists often find it best to start at the top-right (working left) or, even better, the bottom-right corner. By working from the bottom-right and moving diagonally up towards the top-left, a left-handed painter ensures their hand remains on the clean canvas, keeping the artwork smudge-free.
Why This Matters for Custom Kits
Choosing the right direction is especially important if you are working on complex projects. Custom kits, where you turn a personal photo into a painting, often rely on intricate details to capture faces and expressions accurately.
Smudging a dark colour across a detailed facial feature can be difficult to fix. By sticking to a directional strategy—Top-to-Bottom for righties, Bottom-to-Top for lefties—you ensure that your masterpiece remains crisp and professional from the first number to the last.
Conclusion
So, is it better to start at the top or bottom? Generally, start at the top if you are right-handed, and consider starting at a far corner if you are left-handed. The best method is simply the one that keeps your hand off the wet paint!