Full, Partial, Round, and Square Drill Diamond Painting…What Does It all Mean??

If you are just getting started with the fun new hobby known as diamond painting, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed with the amount of terminology out there, especially if you are finding out about diamond painting through the Internet. Yes, there are a lot of different terms associated with diamond painting, but never fear: we can break them all down for you and leave you feeling confident when it comes to buying your first (or next!) diamond painting kit.

Basic Terminology

First, the different between the words “full,” and “partial,” which you will hear thrown around a lot. These words are associated with the types of canvases you will be using when diamond painting. Canvases are the background image of your painting, which come covered in strong adhesive to hold your gems and also have a multitude of numbers and sections which spell out exactly which color gem should go where. Canvases can range in size and complexity, and also in the amount of gems they require. In essence, that is what makes the difference between a full and partial canvas: a full canvas means that every single inch of the background image will be covered in sparkly diamonds. This method means that if you take a step back or look at the painting slightly out of focus, it will resemble a mosaic.

Full vs. Partial

In contrast, partial canvases have only some components of the painting covered in gems. If you are new to the diamond painting game, you may be wondering why anyone would ever want to work with a partial canvas – is the whole point of diamond painting not to end up with a sparkly masterpiece covered in gems? It can honestly depend on what kind of image you are trying to produce. If you do want a painting that is more in the mosaic style, a full canvas would be a better option for you. But let’s say you have a painting that has a clear focal point: for example, a painting of a beautiful garden, with one single red rose in focus right smack in the middle. It can make for an even more striking image to leave the rest of the canvas blank, which is to say not covered in gems, and then emboss the single red rose with beautiful red and green gems. The rose will pop even more than it already did as the center piece of the garden if it is a center piece that is also glowing with sparkly jewels. Additionally, partial canvases are fantastic for personalized images, which can then be converted into background canvases for diamond paintings. Let’s say you have an image you want to be memorialized forever in a diamond painting, whether that is a picture from your wedding day or your daughter’s graduation from college. You can take a beautiful image and use a partial diamond painting canvas highlight the most striking component of the image, whether that is you and your partner’s entwined hands wearing wedding rings for the first time, or your daughter’s graduation cap that reads “Thanks, Mom and Dad!” Partial canvases can be an excellent way to draw a viewer’s eye right to the heart of your masterpiece.

What is a Drill?

So now that you are familiar with the different gem levels on full and partial canvases, let’s talk about the gems themselves. You have probably heard diamond painters talking about “round” and “square” drills. First of all, what even is a “drill”?? Drill is simply another word for the diamond gemstones you will be affixing to your canvas. “Round” and “square” refers to the two different styles of drills, and they are referred to in this manner because it is exactly spot on: round drills are round diamonds, and square drills are square diamonds. So why are there two different types of drills? Round drills are easier to manipulate as they do not exactly line up with each other, so round drills work better for beginners or those who are completely new to diamond painting. Round drills also allow pieces of the canvas background to show through, which may or may not be beneficial to the overall look of your painting – if you are creating a more abstract image, it may be an added plus to have a fuzzier look, but if you want specificity and exact angles, round drills may not be your best choice. Square drills, on the other hand, line up exactly with each other and do not allow any gaps in the painting to show the canvas underneath. Square drills are great for paintings of precise images that you want replicated almost exactly, although they are more complicated to use and allow for less error.

Canvas Size

When choosing a diamond painting to begin working on, there is one more thing you are going to want to consider beyond types of canvases and types of drills: size. The bigger the painting, the more precise your image is going to be. Bigger paintings do take a lot more work, and it is also a lot more apparent if you make mistakes while painting on a larger scale. But especially for creating diamond painting versions of beloved pictures and other images close to your heart, it is worth it to scale up, invest more time, and produce an overall larger painting that highlights specific details of your photo.

Now that you are a bit more familiar with some of the more complicated terminology related to diamond painting, you are ready to get going with buying diamond painting kits. Make sure to take the time and reflect on what kind of painting you trying to produce so that you can assess whether you will want a full or partial canvas, square or round drills, and how big you want your painting to be. Once you have it all figured out, you are ready to get started on what is sure to be a masterpiece!

You can learn more diamond painting jargon & lingo HERE.