Dark Paintings Mod Guide: Every New Painting and How to Place Them
Dark Paintings adds seven community-designed paintings to Minecraft in a variety of sizes and art styles. From sweeping village landscapes to moody Enderman portraits, these paintings integrate seamlessly with vanilla placement mechanics while also offering creative mode items for placing exact designs.
Overview
Dark Paintings is a lightweight cosmetic mod that adds seven new Paintings to Minecraft, each designed and illustrated by community artists. The new Paintings come in two size categories and cover themes ranging from space and nature to iconic Minecraft imagery. They integrate directly into the vanilla Painting system, so you don't need any special items or crafting recipes to start using them in survival mode.
This mod requires the Bookshelf library mod (version 5.3 or higher) as a dependency. If you're browsing the mod's content in detail, check the Items tab above to see all the Painting variants at a glance.
Getting Started
- 1
Install the Bookshelf dependency
Dark Paintings requires the Bookshelf library mod (version 5.3+). Make sure both Dark Paintings and Bookshelf are in your mods folder before launching the game.
- 2
Craft a Painting
Craft a standard Painting using the normal vanilla recipe: eight Sticks surrounding one Wool of any color on a Crafting Table. The new paintings from Dark Paintings are included in the same Painting item pool, so no special crafting is needed.
- 3
Place and cycle through designs
Right-click a wall to place a Painting. The game randomly selects a design that fits the available wall space, pulling from both vanilla and Dark Paintings designs. If you don't get the one you want, break it and place it again to cycle through options. The available designs depend on the wall size, so make sure your wall is large enough for the Painting you're after.
- 4
Use creative mode items for exact placement
In Creative Mode, check the Painting tab in the Creative inventory. Dark Paintings adds individual items for each specific design, letting you place exactly the Painting you want without any random cycling. This is especially useful for builders working on detailed projects.
Dark Paintings doesn't add any new crafting recipes. All new Paintings use the standard vanilla Painting item. Just craft a normal Painting and place it on a wall. The mod's designs are automatically included in the random selection pool.
The Paintings
Dark Paintings adds seven new designs across two size categories. In Minecraft's Painting system, dimensions are measured in pixels where 16 pixels equals one block. Understanding the sizes is important because a Painting will only appear if your wall has enough space to fit it.
Small Painting (1×1 Block)
Skyblock (16×16 pixels) is the only 1×1 Painting in the set. It depicts a classic Skyblock island floating in the sky, a nod to one of Minecraft's most iconic challenge maps. This compact size makes it easy to fit into tight spaces, hallways, or as a small accent piece.
Wide Paintings (2×1 Blocks)
Five of the seven Paintings are 32×16 pixels (2 blocks wide, 1 block tall). This is a popular size for decorating above Chests, Crafting Tables, or doorways.
In the Air features an aerial perspective looking down at the landscape below. Planets shows a space scene with celestial bodies, perfect for observatory or science-themed builds. Oceanic View captures a serene ocean panorama, making it ideal for coastal bases or underwater builds.
Watching the Sunset depicts a warm sunset scene and works beautifully in cozy cabin or rustic builds. Enderman features a moody portrait of Minecraft's iconic tall mob, a great fit for dark-themed builds, End-themed rooms, or anywhere you want a slightly ominous vibe.
Large Painting (4×2 Blocks)
Village (64×32 pixels) is the largest Painting in the mod at 4 blocks wide and 2 blocks tall. It shows a sweeping village landscape and serves as an impressive centerpiece for great halls, throne rooms, or large living spaces. You'll need a wall at least 4 blocks wide and 2 blocks tall with no obstructions for this one to appear.
Painting Sizes at a Glance
| Skyblock | 1×1 blocks (16×16 px) |
| In the Air | 2×1 blocks (32×16 px) |
| Planets | 2×1 blocks (32×16 px) |
| Oceanic View | 2×1 blocks (32×16 px) |
| Watching the Sunset | 2×1 blocks (32×16 px) |
| Enderman | 2×1 blocks (32×16 px) |
| Village | 4×2 blocks (64×32 px) |
Since Paintings are randomly selected based on wall size, you can increase your chances of getting a specific design by matching your wall exactly to that Painting's dimensions. For example, to get the Village Painting, build a wall section exactly 4 blocks wide and 2 blocks tall. With fewer size-compatible options, the game is more likely to pick the one you want.
Building Tips
Paintings in Minecraft attach to the bottom-left corner of where you click. For the 2×1 wide Paintings, this means the Painting extends one block to the right from where you place it. For the 4×2 Village Painting, it extends three blocks right and one block up. Keep this in mind when planning your wall layout.
Paintings can only be placed on flat, solid surfaces with no blocks, Torches, or other entities obstructing the space. If you're having trouble placing a larger Painting, check that the entire area is clear. Signs, Item Frames, and other wall-mounted items will block placement.
For gallery walls or decorated hallways, consider mixing Dark Paintings' 2×1 designs with vanilla 1×1 and 1×2 Paintings to create a varied, natural-looking art display. The consistent art quality across all seven designs means they pair well with each other in grouped arrangements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need any other mods besides Dark Paintings?
Yes, Dark Paintings requires the Bookshelf library mod (version 5.3 or higher). Both mods need to be installed for Dark Paintings to work.
Can I choose which painting to place in survival mode?
Not directly. In survival mode, the game randomly selects from all Paintings that fit the available wall space. You can break and re-place the Painting to cycle through options. In Creative Mode, Dark Paintings adds individual items for each design so you can place exactly the one you want.
Why won't the Village painting appear on my wall?
The Village Painting is 4×2 blocks (64×32 pixels), so you need a completely clear wall section at least 4 blocks wide and 2 blocks tall. Make sure there are no Torches, Signs, Item Frames, or other blocks obstructing the area. Even a single obstruction will prevent it from appearing.
Are these paintings compatible with other painting mods?
Yes. Dark Paintings registers its designs through the standard Forge painting registry, so they coexist with other painting mods without conflicts. The only downside is that more Paintings in the pool means more cycling when trying to get a specific one in survival mode.
Does this mod work on servers?
Yes. Dark Paintings needs to be installed on both the server and all connecting clients. The mod registers its Paintings on both sides (marked as side="BOTH" in the mod metadata), so both server and client need matching versions.