The Ultimate Diamond Art FAQ with Links
(A continuing series of excerpts from my Amazon Kindle Book)
Previous Question Answered: Drills - the Heart of the Art Part 1
Next Question to be Answered: Drills - the Heart of the Art Part 3
How many styles of drills are there and where can I find bulk collections of them? How many is an open-ended question that is not answerable. There are quite a few styles that have proprietary names and while they may look like those of another company, they might not match each other under different names, or maybe they will. And, of course, new styles could appear at any time. There are some large backup kits of many of the different styles of drills that you may run across. Be sure to note whether you are ordering round or square drills.
Acrylic, Resin, Solid, Opaque Drills have the most colors available, some shiny, some powdery. Currently, this is 447 DMC coded colors. Diamond Art Club may have even more colors. https://amzn.to/4cfky1Q
Crystal Drills are clear rhinestones with the color coming up from underneath the gem. They also come in 447 colors under the DMC coding system. They may be glass, acrylic or resin. https://amzn.to/48r0mIU
Glow-In-The-Dark Drills are also referred to as "luminous” and have the curious ability to hold a “charge” after being in direct light for only a few minutes. The stronger the light, the brighter they will glow. They will glow after the light has been turned off, but the effect often does not last very long. They do not follow the DMC coding system. https://amzn.to/4bU5Xde
Black Light or UV Drills are very transparent and glow under ultraviolet or blacklight. They do not glow in the dark because they do not hold a charge from being exposed to direct light, hence they have no “luminosity”. They only glow while in the presence of UV light and may look quite different under UV light than under normal room light. They do not follow the DMC coding system. https://diamonddrillsusa.com/products/orchid-purple-jelly-round-uv-glow-diamond-painting-drills
Neon Drills, Fluro Drills or Fluorescent Drills have the specific color characteristic of intense brightness rather than luminosity. Some of these colors may shine under UV blacklight as well. They do not follow the DMC coding system. https://www.diamonddotz.com/products/freestyle-dotz-neon-sampler-pack?srsltid=AfmBOor9ivYwc_L5t7OedoRQygyT8cjq4JHHu8rsUCfcoi101YS56m8-
Aurora Borealis (AB) Drills sparkle with different colors depending on the angle from which it is viewed. It may be different shades of the same color, or it may be different colors like a prism. Different manufacturers do their AB drills differently. Some follow the DMC coding system, and some do not. https://amzn.to/4saZUFN
Fairy Drills, Pixiedust, StarDust, Shimmer Drills, (known as Fairy Dust by the Diamond Art Club and Dreamer Dust by Dreamer Designs), have a coating of mica powder on them which gives them an iridescent shimmer with a slight shine that can also look vaguely like an AB drill, but more delicate. If you know the effect that mica has, then you know what to expect. Some follow the DMC coding system, while others may not.
If you’d like to buy all 78 “dust“ colors https://amzn.to/4sftZ7m
If you’d like to order individual “dust” colors as replacements: https://amzn.to/4vigK8C
Pearl Drills look just like pearls, with no facets, but they come in many different colors and sizes. Make sure you search for half round flat back pearls 2.8 mm or 2.5 mm to get the correct size for your round or square project, or your Pearl Painting. Of course, different sizes work well for those projects that are designed to be used with special shapes. May or may not follow the DMC coding system. https://amzn.to/4bUeEEk
Metallic Drills are super shiny and metallic-coated and don’t follow the DMC coding system. Different manufacturers may have different names for the various metals. Here is one company I found some through: https://diamonddrillsusa.com/collections/metallic-round and here is a website that has some unusual shapes for their metallic drills: https://diamondpaintingdrills.com/product/metallic-drills-quick-order-page/
Flame Drills are made of superior quality glass-cut with an amazing color shift. These specialized, high-sparkle crystals are used to add intense, shifting color effects for fiery or magical designs and are ideal for highlighting specific areas, such as flames, water, or eyes. They do not follow the DMC coding system. https://diamondpaintingdrills.com/?s=Flame&post_type=product
Glitter or Glitz Drills have bits of holographic glitter embedded in the top of drill. Many of the glitz drills are UV-reactive. At the time of this writing, they are unavailable on the Amazon link but may return. They can also be found at https://diamondpaintingdrills.com/product/glitz-drills-round-quick-order/ and https://munimade.com They do not follow the DMC coding system. https://amzn.to/3OkMvx6
Jelly Rhinestones are semi-transparent and tend to be 3 mm (at least on Amazon). Round drills are 2.8 mm, so consider the Amazon version to be of the “special shape” variety. https://amzn.to/482NA3t
Jelly Drills that are the proper sizes for both square and round styles can be found here. They are semi-transparent, and come in AB (Aurora Borealis), glitter, and glow varieties. They do not follow the DMC coding system. https://diamonddrillsusa.com/collections/all-jelly-drills
Previous Question Answered:Drills - the Heart of the Art Part 1
Next Question to be Answered: Drills - the Heart of the Art Part 3
I have been doing diamond art for over 10 years. My book was published under my pen name. You can contact me through my blog here at https://ei-kan.blogspot.com if you have any additional questions to add to this section or to notify me of any dead links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualified purchases. This book is available in its entirety on Amazon Kindle and there are some discount coupon codes for up to 15% off your purchases at select websites near the end of it And yes, I earn a few pennies from a few other sites mentioned as well, but not all.
