Submission Guidelines and Additional Information

• Welcome to Painting World Magazine
  At Painting World Magazine, we are dedicated to providing high-quality art instruction and creative projects to inspire artists of all levels. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced creator, our magazine is your go-to resource for innovative techniques, fresh ideas, and practical guidance.

We value originality and creativity, and we adhere to strict copyright standards to protect artists' work. To maintain these principles, please ensure your submissions follow these guidelines:

1. Originality Required:
   
   • All submitted artwork must be 100% original and unpublished, created solely by you.
   • Do not submit artwork derived from copyrighted materials, including paintings, photographs, illustrations, or other images, without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

1. Prohibited Submissions:
   Reproductions or “versions” of other artists’ work, even with modifications.
   • Artwork created using reference images found online, unless you have written permission from the image owner.
   • Projects taught at seminars, workshops, or classes, unless prior permission is granted by our editorial team after a special review.

1. Review Process:

• Submissions found to be derivatives of copyrighted work through online searches or other methods will be immediately disqualified.
  • Repeat violations will result in the rejection of all future submissions.

We’re passionate about sharing projects that:

• Inspire creativity and exploration.
• Teach new techniques or methods.
• Provide step-by-step instructions and, if possible, include accompanying photos.
• Offer tips, tools, or alternative approaches to encourage versatility.

We welcome a range of styles, from traditional to contemporary, as long as your project introduces something innovative or exciting to our readers.

We feature a variety of art forms, including but not limited to:

• Painting: Acrylics, Oils, Watercolor, Pastels, Gouache and more.
• Mixed Media: Combining multiple materials and techniques.
• Stenciling and General Crafts: Innovative uses for a variety of surfaces.
• DIY and Decorative Art: Furniture, wood, glass, fabric, paper, canvas, and more.

We’re looking for projects across a variety of themes, including: 

• Stylish Spaces

             Projects that elevate home décor with trendy, functional, and artistic designs.

• Wearable Creations

              Unique art pieces transformed into fashion statements, from clothing to accessories.

• Reimagined Treasures
  Innovative upcycling and repurposing ideas to give old items new life.
• Handcrafted Gifts

             Thoughtful, personalized creations perfect for gift-giving moments.

• Seasonal Inspirations
  Art projects celebrating holidays and seasonal themes with flair.
• Modern Masterpieces
  Contemporary designs and techniques that push creative boundaries.
• Art for Every Day
  DIY projects for practical, beautiful art in daily life.
• Eclectic Expressions
  Mixed media and experimental works for unconventional surfaces and styles.
• Functional Art
  Merging artistry with utility, including furniture, organizers, and more.
• Nature & Nurture
  Projects inspired by the natural world, incorporating organic motifs and materials.

Difficulty Levels:
We welcome submissions suitable for all skill levels, including beginner, intermediate, advanced, and intensive.

We invite you to be part of Painting World Magazine. Your fresh ideas and original artwork could inspire countless artists to explore their creativity. If you’re ready to share your unique techniques and perspectives, we’d love to hear from you!

Submit Your Project Photo:
Please send a high-quality project photo via email to artistsubmissions@paintingworldmag.com for consideration at least six months before the desired publication date. If you have been asked by the editor "no matter the time frame," please feel free to answer that request.

Once your submission is accepted (and not before), you will receive a Google Drive link to upload all necessary materials. Please ensure the following items are included in your upload:

1. Designer Information:
   
   • A recent, professional-quality photo taken within the last two years.
   • Background and surroundings should be clean and well-considered.
   • Casual or formal selfies are acceptable, depending on how you’d like to be represented to your readers.
   • Use high-resolution, clear images. If not provided, we may use a photo from your public social media profiles, such as Facebook.

1. Designer Bio:
   
   • A few sentences about yourself to help readers get to know you.

1. Contact Information:
   
   • Public contact details (email, website, or social media) to be printed in the magazine.

Important Notes:

• Submissions not following these guidelines may not be considered.
• Do not send physical artwork, mail instructions, or submit pieces until you receive an acceptance email.

• All submissions must be formatted using the magazine template provided.
• Write instructions in full sentences (avoid numbered or bulleted lists).
• Submit instructions digitally in a Word document or an editable PDF file via Google Drive.

1) Bio & Bio Photo

2) Detailed Step by Step instructions

3) Line Drawing with Artists Copyright

4) Staged Photo "Cover Quality"

5) Project Photos

6) Signed License Agreement

7) Artist Contact Information for Publication

8) Suppliers Names and Email Address

9) Artist business ad 30625 wide by 4025 tall (Quarter Page) "Optional"

10) QR code to a free tip, technique, or mini project on your website. Please provide your logo with this. "Optional"

• Project Photos:
  
  • Numbered to match the corresponding steps in your instructions.
  • Include high-resolution photos (original files).
  • Submit photos of your piece on both a solid white background and a solid black background. Ensure there are no wrinkles, lint, or pet hair in the staging area.
• Step-by-Step Photos:
  
  • Include clear, high-resolution images showing each step.
• Product Details:
  
  • Provide product numbers for all supplies used in the project.
• Line Drawings:
  
  • Must fit on a standard sheet of paper.
  • Clearly state enlargement or reduction sizes.
  • Include your copyright information directly on the drawing.
• Complete Submission Packet:
  
  • Upload all required items (bio, bio photo, project photos, instructions, license agreement, contact info, and patterns) in a single submission. Avoid sending them in separate emails or segments.

• Request a Google Drive shared link for uploading your materials.

• Promotional Support:
  
  • Promote the magazine and your design on your social platforms. Tag Painting World Magazine in your posts.
  • If using non-PWM surfaces (e.g., canvas, glass, or tin, etc.), please inform us in advance.
• Photography Standards:
  
  • Submit a well-staged final project photo that is magazine-ready.
  • Avoid shipping physical artwork or step-by-step painted boards. Instead, scan and drop these materials in your Google Drive Shared File.

Thank you for following these guidelines! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at artistsubmissions@paintingworldmag.com. We look forward to seeing your creative projects!

No Shipping:

• We do not accept shipped artwork for inclusion in the magazine. 
• You must provide a well-staged piece suitable for presentation in the magazine. We also request that you take a photo of your piece on a solid white background and a solid black background. Please do not use fabrics that are wrinkled or have lint or pet hair on them. Please be cautious of angles, shadows, and glares.
• Please do NOT ship any step-by-step painted boards to us to scan. Please scan the board and send the image via the Google Drive Shared File with the rest of the submission packet and photos.
• It is important to follow the shared drive "use" instructions. You will find those in a folder labeled General Drive File Use Instructions.

• Project Instructions Template: Please Read

•  Please use this template to format and send in all your instructions.

•  Instructions must be submitted in one of the following formats: Microsoft Word (Windows), Google 

Documents (All computers can use this), or PDF.

• NO OTHER FILE TYPE, PLEASE!
• Please deposit all project information in the Google Drive Shared File. 
• Please don't print it off and mail it to me.
• Pictures should be deposited separately into the Google Drive File labeled Photos and Videos.

Instructions must contain all paint product numbers prior to the paint color name and as all the brush sizes.

Please write where each image should be placed in the instruction document and number the images accordingly. When you get ready to deposit your file you can do this whenever you like with the link for the Google shared drive file. Unfortunately, your project could be rejected if these procedures are not followed.

• We can no longer accept multiple emails with various pieces of your respective submissions.

• Please do not place the images in the document but separately attach them in the email.

All images should be 300 dpi for print resolution. Take pictures in well-lit conditions, being cautious of shadows, and ensure they are focused before taking them. Also, please consider the 

angle of the photo and items in, around, or in the photo's background. 

• Title of Project by Your Name
• A 2-3 sentence intro paragraph goes here and ONLY here, not in a separate document or email. Please tell our readers what they'll learn from new techniques to new styles and how they can use them for gifts, craft fairs, and more. Be encouraging, and make sure there are at least two whole sentences. This will be shown in the very first paragraph of your article.
• Please provide a separate bio and put it in the Google Shared File labeled Bio, Bio Photo, etc...
• About You: Your bio will go here. It should be 5-6 sentences about you, why you love painting, and some background information. It must be short enough to fit comfortably in front of the supplies list. Feel free to list your achievements, but it's just a quick introduction for new students (not a resume).

We will list your contact details, websites, emails, etc., on the page with your bio, so please deposit a document in the Google Drive File with this information on it.

*** Ensure you insert all applicable trademark and copyright marks after names and brands.

Supplies:

Surface:

•  Surface name and product number with supplier's name and contact

•  Surface name and product number with supplier's name and contact

•  Surface name and product number with supplier's name and contact

Paints by Company Name:

•  Paint (must include product numbers before the Paint Color Name)

•  Paint

•  Paint

Mediums/Other Products by Company Name:

•  Medium (include product numbers)

•  Medium

•  Medium

Brushes by Company Name:

•  Brush Name and Number (include product numbers)

•  Brush Name and Number

•  Brush Name and Number

Miscellaneous Supplies:

•  Paper Towels

•  Pencils

•  Glitter

•  Water bin

•  Heat gun

•  Etcetera

•  Etcetera

Helpful Tip or Hint:

Feel free to tell the users any tricks you use to make projects and preparation easier. They love 

this!

Preparation:

Place all preparation instructions here. Include photos if that's important or if you think it 

would help them out.

Painting Instructions:

Place all instructions in this area. Continue your instructions. Continue your instructions. Continue your instructions. If you use any picture files (not required, and I won't include them unless they are REALLY good quality pictures or high-resolution scans), name your picture files with apparent names, like image001.jpg, and then tell me where to put them like this. [image001.jpg goes here].

Sections:

Sometimes, it helps to break the instructions into sections so the reader can more easily follow 

them. Make your section headers noticeable to the scanning eye.

Please use complete sentences with good grammar and explain as much as possible what you did, how you did it, etc. I will not print short, unclear, or poorly written instructions and retain the 

right to reject a project if they are not provided. Our readers deserve the best!

Finishing:

Make sure you wrap up the article with good finishing instructions and drop them in your Google Drive File. Late projects will not be printed or paid; they will be substituted with another project, so make sure you're keeping an eye on the date, so I don't miss any of your work.

We only have 72 pages to fit all our projects, ads, images, and text. We appreciate concise, clear instructions, and our readers do too!

• Objective, informative articles about products, techniques, art theories, art business information, or other interesting content.

• General in nature and not advertising of any sort. Advertising rates will apply if that is what you would like to do, and it is certainly a great option for advertisers, but our audience needs to know that it's a promotion and not an objective editorial.

• Offensive, unpleasant, or insulting editorials will not be considered.

• 1000 words or less and include images or diagrams that would be helpful to the readers.

• Cover Artist receives $200.00 USD.  $125.00 USD for full-length painting projects, paid on publication of that issue (must meet all guidelines.)
• $30.00-75.00 USD for Editorial write-ups, stories, feature articles, etc., depending on the length and involvement of detail. 
• Blog Projects receive $50.00
• Payments are made within 30 days of after the Publish Date of each issue via check for US residents and Wise for international artists. Paper checks sent via mail can take up to 15 days or more to be processed, mailed, and reach you.

Permanent Calendar 2025-2026

• February- Valentine's/ Spring
• April-Mother's Day/ Father's Day/ Summer
• June-Halloween/Fall
• August-Ornaments
• October-Thanksgiving/Holidays
• December-Winter/ New Years

**The deadline for submission is 6 months before the respective publication is published.

• December Issue: Materials due by August 15th
• February Issue: Materials due by October 15th
• April Issue: Materials due by December 15th
• June Issue: Materials due by February 15th
• August Issue: Materials due by April 15th
• October Issue: Materials due by June 15th

As much as we'd like to, we can't accept everyone's submissions all the time. We're looking for highly original, unique styles and love to emphasize decorative painting, fine art, crafts, and mixed media, though we love all the art forms out there and will consider just about anything. That being said, there is a contract that is signed with the publication of each project for each artist per issue. That contract is legally binding worldwide and holds the designer 100% responsible for any and all copyright breaches.

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NOTICE: Creating derivative paintings of copyrighted work (photos, other paintings, etc) without explicit, written permission from the original artist is illegal in the USA. See www.copyright.gov for further details.

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We're very familiar with all the existing artists who have been coming up with new ideas for many years and want to encourage everyone to please try something new and not rely too heavily on existing work.

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We recognize that many styles look similar but retain the right to reject anything we feel is too derivative, REGARDLESS of how the elements are rearranged. Our readers want new projects and that's what we try to give them!

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If we find out that a project is copied, has been taught before, or looks too similar to any artist’s work, we will reject all future submissions from you and/or may pursue legal fines due to a breach of contract. We take copyrights very seriously and you will be held to the United States copyright laws if you are publishing with us, regardless of where you live. Please review your contract for full details.

 You must obey the terms of your contract with the group PWF. This includes getting permission to use any of Terrye French's designs as well as giving credit were due. You can publish a French design, but you must have permission from the copyright holder Painting With Friends and you must list Terrye French in the credit and the author information. 

Please see Painting With Friends terms for full information »