How to go viral in the painting niche on Instagram
What 1,778 viral painting reels have in common: what they show, how they start, what they sound like, and who posts them. Real numbers from Aubrium's library.
A white-on-white landscape is one of the biggest painting reels in Aubrium's library. Its hook read "Painting a landscape but every color is 100% white". Posted to 92,672 followers, it got 65 million views.
That reel is a tutorial, the format behind 38% of viral painting reels. We found 1,778 of them in Aubrium's library, and 411 passed a million views. The middle reel came from an account with 12,692 followers. Painting is one chapter of what kind of reels go viral, and our map of every niche we looked at covers the rest.
Tutorials lead viral painting reels, at 38%, and 14% are transformations. 75% keep the artist's face out of shot, and those reached further. 74% carry text on screen. 58% are set to a song, against 37% across the library. 42% were posted by accounts with fewer than 10,000 followers.
Aubrium's library, 22 October 2026.
What kind of painting reels go viral?
Teaching reels lead: 38% of viral painting reels are tutorials, and 14% are transformations.
Stories and skits went furthest, both at 40 times their account's followers for the middle reel. There are 214 stories but only 36 skits. Before-and-afters reached 35, transformations 25, and the middle tutorial 20.
Do you need to show your face?
No. In 75% of viral painting reels the artist's face never appears, and in 43% nobody appears at all, just the work. The middle faceless reel reached 25 times its account's followers, and the middle reel with a face 15.
Should painting reels have text on screen?
Yes, though rarely much. 66% add a line or two, 26% add nothing, and 8% pile it on. That 8% went furthest, 25 times the account's followers, while the other two both reached 21.
Trending song or your own sound?
A song, more than the library at large. 58% of viral painting reels play one, against 37% library-wide, while 34% keep their own sound. Song or own sound, the middle reel went about as far, 21 and 22 times its account's followers. Borrowing another creator's sound, which 7% did, went 25.
What hooks work for painting reels?
The most common opener is a curiosity gap, at 18% of these reels, and 33% have no hook of any type. Relatable lines reached furthest, 39 times their account's followers for the middle one. The middle hook is 9 words, and shorter ones did better. Six real ones from painters:
- Curiosity gapText on screen
How to use your iPad as a ✨light table✨
- NegativeText on screen
well this was unfortunate
- Bold claimText and spoken
Let's make a repeat pattern that goes on forever in less than a minute.
- Transformation teaseText and spoken
Paint loose in 7 minutes
- POVText and spoken
POV you're at a baseball game and also a painter
- RelatableText on screen
Cute Things to draw When bored ✏️
Polished, or filmed on your phone?
Mostly polished, at 78%. Phone footage, 21% of reels, did about as well: 23 times the account's followers against 21. Fast and medium edits went about as far too, 21 and 20 times. The 97 slow reels stand apart, with the middle one at 50 times.
Can a small painting account go viral?
Yes, and small painters went furthest of all. Accounts under 10,000 followers posted 42% of these reels. Below 2,000 followers, the middle reel reached 81 times its audience. In the 50,000 to 100,000 band it was 10 times.
Your next painting reel, by the numbers
38% are tutorials
Show the brush, the layers, the finish.
75% never show a face
Keep the camera on the canvas.
74% put text on screen
Heavy text is rare, and went furthest.
58% use a song
The library-wide figure is 37%.
9 words, the middle hook
Four words or fewer went furthest.
68% ask for nothing
No request to like or share.
Keep reading
Painters who want the first line on its own can read the best hooks for painting reels. For neighbours, compare what goes viral for writers, what goes viral in crafting and the hooks florists open with.
Questions people ask
What kind of art videos go viral on Instagram?
In Aubrium's library, tutorials make up 38% of viral painting reels. Story reels are rarer and went further: the middle one hit 40 times its account's followers.
Do I need to show my face in painting reels?
No. The face stays out of 75% of viral painting reels, and those reached 25 times the account's followers, against 15 with a face.
What music works for painting reels?
Usually a song. 58% of viral painting reels use one, where the whole library sits at 37%. Song or their own sound, they went about as far, 21 and 22 times.
How many followers do viral painting accounts have?
The middle viral painting reel came from an account with 12,692 followers, and 42% of viral painting reels were posted by accounts below 10,000 followers.
Should painting reels be fast or slow?
Most are medium-paced, 55% of viral painting reels, and fast and medium ones travelled about as far. The 97 slow ones reached 50 times their creator's followers.
How we did this
We looked at every painting reel in Aubrium's library on 22 October 2026: 1,778 reels from 1,513 creators with 1,000 to 100,000 followers, each of which reached at least twice its creator's follower count and at least 10,000 views. We counted every reel filed in Aubrium's painting niche; a reel can sit in more than one niche.
Format, faces, text, sound and hooks are labels Aubrium's reader puts on every post. Every number here describes reels that already went viral, so none of it is the odds for a new one.
Changelog
- First version.
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