Square Vs. Round Diamond | Which one is Best for Diamond Painting?

Diamond painting has become an increasingly popular hobby over the past few years. This artwork is created by applying small, flat-backed resin “diamonds” to a color-coded adhesive canvas using a stylus. The diamonds come in two main shapes – round and square. While both can produce beautiful results, there are some key differences between them.

Hello, painters!! Do you know there are many types of diamonds offered by PaintingsCart? If no then I am here to tell you that we provide a variety of diamonds like square/round/special shaped diamonds with diamond painting kits.

If you are new to diamond painting, then you may have a question in mind, what type of diamonds should I select? Should I go with round diamonds or square diamonds?

Follow this article and all the doubts in your mind will be gone in a fraction of a second.

Square Vs Round Diamond Drill

In the Diamond painting world, a “Drill” refers to the shape of the diamond. If the word drill is confusing you, then you can replace this word with diamonds, Just like in the below example.

• Square Drill == Square Diamonds
• Round Drill == Round Diamonds

The choice of diamond shape depends on your personal preference. Like the other things in your life, you may like pizza, but maybe others hate pizza (BTW, we don’t think anyone hates pizza).

So take a look at the details of both square and round diamonds.

Square Diamonds

As you can understand from the name itself, square diamonds have edges with 90-degree angles, giving them a boxy appearance. They most closely resemble the facets of a cut diamond gemstone. Square diamonds for diamond painting kits come in sizes ranging from 2.5 mm up to 5 mm, with 3 mm and 4 mm being the most common.

Advantages of Square Diamonds:

• More precise coverage – The straight edges of square diamonds allow them to fit neatly side-by-side without gaps between beads. This gives more complete coverage on the canvas and a smoother overall finish.
• Sharper image results – The angular shape reflects light better, creating more definition between colors for a stronger, more vivid image. This is especially noticeable when reproducing fine details or text.
• Gridding aligns easier – It’s simple to keep squares properly lined up along the painted grid lines on the canvas. Staying inside the lines creates a neater, more uniform appearance.
• Provides a complete look – I generally use square diamonds because the output with square diamonds provides a complete look to the painting.
• Easy to care – As there is no gap between two diamonds, square diamonds accumulate very less dust particles. So square diamond paintings are easy to clean.

Disadvantages of Square Diamonds:

There are always some cons to everything in the world, so square diamond also comes with some cons.

• Gaps may occur – This depends on your skill in diamond painting. If square diamonds aren’t aligned precisely, slight gaps between beads can occur. This gives the painting a more disjointed look.
• Irregular canvas holes may cause issues – Square diamonds don’t work as well if the adhesive canvas has imperfections. The rigid edges highlight any inconsistencies.
• High consistency required – We can not say that this is a con but if you are working with square diamonds you have to place the diamond very precisely.

Take a look at the comments of some of our customers about square diamonds.

Square diamonds Make a More Complete looking painting. When you paste the diamonds on the canvas, there will be no or negligible space between the diamonds. So this type of diamond creates a fully covered-looking diamond painting. When you look at the diamond painting made with square diamonds, it looks amazing.

Megha K. AUS

Square diamonds satisfyingly “snap” Into place. I love the snap and that satisfactory click sound when we place a square diamond between a gap.

Maria P. USA

Round diamonds

As the name describes, round diamonds are beads cut into a spherical shape resembling round-cut gemstones. They also come in a range of sizes for diamond painting, typically from 1.5mm to 6mm across. The most common sizes are 3mm and 5mm rounds.

Advantages of Round Diamonds:

• Better fit for irregular canvases – The rounded edges easily accommodate inconsistencies in the canvas without leaving gaps. This allows for more flexibility if the canvas has flaws. Generally, we don’t get any inconsistencies in the canvas, but there is always a rare case.
• Produce smooth, blended color transitions – The gradual color shifts between round beads create soft, seamless color blending. This leads to paintings with a more fluid, less pixelated appearance.
• Suitable for non-standard canvas shapes – Rounds can adapt to circular, oval, and other unconventional canvas forms with greater ease than square diamonds.
• Shiner look – If you use a canvas with round diamonds, it will provide a shinier look than the square diamonds.

Disadvantages of Round Diamonds:

• Gaps can occur in straight lines – Unlike squares, rounds may leave slight gaps when placed in linear patterns. This becomes visible in imagery with straight lines and borders.
• Harder to align precisely – The lack of right angles makes it more challenging to keep round diamonds arranged neatly in rows without drifting. It can lead to uneven or sloppy coverage.
• Don’t provide a complete look – There is always a gap between round diamonds due to their shape. So it will provide an incomplete look.

Easier (and faster) to pick up and applying the diamonds. Due to the shape, the round diamond drill seems to stick to the diamond pen better, and it is helping me to make my diamond painting faster.

Johana, Canada

Look Shinier, This is one of the benefits of round diamonds that they are shinier than square diamonds

Neha, India

DID YOU KNOW: Our Custom Diamond Paintings are made with Square diamond painting but you can request to make those paintings with round diamonds as well.  

Conclusion

In summary, square, and round diamonds each have their own sets of pros and cons for the diamond painting process. Square diamonds are ideal for painters prioritizing crisp, vivid results and precise bead placement. Their geometric straight edges allow for greater control and detail. Round diamonds offer more forgiveness for canvas flaws and create smoothly blended effects but lack some clarity of squares.

When selecting a diamond painting kit, it’s a good idea to assess the design image first. Consider the level of detail, as well as the balance of solid blocks of color vs. subtle gradients. This analysis can help determine whether square or round will be the best fit for recreating the artwork.

What do our hardcore Diamond Painting fans think?

We created a poll in our diamond painting group, and below are the results. Have a look for yourself!

As you can see most of our customers prefer Square to Round. Many people like round diamonds as well.

We suggest you try both types of diamonds and select what you like the most.