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Calcimator

Art Material Cost Calculator

Per-painting material cost from medium and canvas size.

Inputs

in
in
$
$

Results

Total Material Cost

$37.79

≈ 8 cups of coffee

Canvas Area2.22 sq ft
Tubes of Paint Needed1.6
Paint Cost$19.20
Gesso Cost$0.71
Mediums & Solvents$2.88
Canvas Cost$15.00
Cost per Sq Ft$17.01
Medium NameOil
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Canvas Width, Canvas Height, and Medium (0=Oil, 1=Acrylic, 2=Watercolor).
  2. Set Number of Layers, Cost per Tube, and Canvas/Support Cost.
  3. Adjust Number of Colors as needed.
  4. Review the Total Material Cost ($) result.
  5. Use Canvas Area (sq ft) and Tubes of Paint Needed to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Number of Colors

Number of ColorsTotal Material Cost
5.9$32.27
18$40.55
33$61.25
45$77.81

What each input means

Canvas Width
Canvas width in inches.
Canvas Height
Canvas height in inches.
Medium (0=Oil, 1=Acrylic, 2=Watercolor)
Painting medium: 0 for oil, 1 for acrylic, 2 for watercolor.
Number of Layers
Average number of paint layers applied.
Cost per Tube
Average cost per tube of paint.
Canvas/Support Cost
Cost of the canvas or painting support.
Number of Colors
Number of different paint colors used.

What each result means

Total Material Cost
Total estimated material cost for the painting.
Canvas Area
Paintable surface area.
Tubes of Paint Needed
Estimated total tubes of paint required.
Paint Cost
Cost of paint tubes.
Gesso Cost
Cost of gesso primer (2 coats).
Mediums & Solvents
Cost of painting mediums, solvents, or additives.
Canvas Cost
Cost of the canvas/support.
Cost per Sq Ft
Material cost per square foot of painting.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Canvas Width = 16, Canvas Height = 20, Medium (0=Oil, 1=Acrylic, 2=Watercolor) = 0, Number of Layers = 3 = 7 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Total Material Cost
    Total Material Cost = canvasCost + gessoCost + paintCost + solventCost
    37.79 = $37.79
  3. Calculate Canvas Area
    Canvas Area = (width * height) / 144
    2.22 = 2.22
  4. Calculate Tubes of Paint Needed
    Tubes of Paint Needed = tubesPerColor * numColors
    1.6 = 1.6

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