How to get the new paintings in Minecraft 1.21 update

Minecraft 1.21 is introducing five new in-game paintings created by Sarah Boeving for you to use as decorations as you see fit. They can be crafted and placed just like other paintings. However, doing so can require quite a bit of cycling through the existing paintings before you find the one you want.

Since these new Minecraft 1.21 paintings have quite a bit of aesthetic value, it doesn't hurt to examine how to get each of them. One way or another, you can acquire these paintings much like you would the others that existed well before the 1.21 update.

---

How to obtain the five new paintings in Minecraft 1.21

Block manipulation can be used to get certain painting sizes in Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

By and large, the process of getting the new paintings in Minecraft 1.21 is the same as obtaining the old ones in the game. Craft a painting with eight sticks and a wool block of any color. Then, place the painting on a wall of your choice. However, when this occurs, the game randomizes which type of painting is placed based on the available space. The design of the painting is also randomized.

Typically, this leaves you placing and breaking a painting, then picking it up and placing it again to get the one you want. While this is still somewhat necessary to a degree, you can at least manipulate the painting size you'd like to place through the use of a simple trick. Specifically, by placing ordinary blocks in a frame-like shape on a wall, a certain painting size can be placed in the frame.

Placing blocks in a frame-like shape can force certain painting sizes to be placed (Image via Mojang)

Below, you can find the painting sizes that you can build a frame of blocks around. As long as the space inside the frame matches the painting size, you can place specific painting sizes:

• 1x1 blocks
• 2x1 blocks
• 1x2 blocks
• 2x2 blocks
• 4x2 blocks
• 4x3 blocks
• 4x4 blocks

Moreover, the new paintings in Minecraft 1.21 are in the following sizes:

• Meditative - 1x1, based on Salvador Dali's "Meditative Rose".
• Praire Ride - 1x2, based on Remington's "The Cowboy".
• Baroque - 2x2, a Baroque-style painting featuring a pot, a cake, and a sunflower.
• Humble - 2x2, a painting of two villagers reminiscent of Grant Wood's "American Gothic".
• Unpacked - 4x4, depicts a landscape and a pig floating in the water, based on the classic pack.png resource pack.

A frame of blocks can be removed once players have the Minecraft painting they want (Image via Mojang)

Overall, the following steps should help you get the new paintings in Minecraft update 1.21:

1. Open your crafting table and place eight sticks with a wool block in the center of the crafting grid to craft a painting.
2. Find a wall where you'd like to place your new painting. From here, either continuously place the painting until you see one you like, or use the frame method outlined above and place blocks that wall off a space where only certain painting sizes can be placed.
3. Once you've placed a painting of the appropriate size, break and replace the painting until you've got the design you want.

That's all there is to it! Finding the right painting size and design can be a bit tedious when it comes to the new paintings, but those familiar with the game have likely followed these methods before for preexisting paintings.