TikTok Has A New Idea For Date Night

If you and your partner are looking for a cute way to spend an evening, you might try alphabet dating or a LEGO night to feel close and connected, but another fun option is the couples painting trend that’s all over TikTok right now. All you need to get started are some acrylics, two canvases, and a dream.

With over 203 million views, the “paint each other” trend is the perfect way to capture each other’s beautiful essence in a piece of artwork you can keep forever. Many couples have displayed their creativity and love via their art, like @jojohnsonoverby whose painting of her partner would totally earn an A in a college course.

Artist @amythecreative_ also put her skills to the test and ultimately presented her partner with a near photo-realistic rendition of his face, while @liza.and.edwin spent their date night creating artwork that was so adorable it garnered comments like, “This is so sweet” and “You both portrayed each other with such love.”

Meanwhile, the rest of the paintings were nothing short of uncanny valley nightmare fuel.

The “Paint Each Other” Trend Is Like A Relationship Test

Since this trend took off in March, the hashtag has continued to fill with epic fails. One of the worst offenders was shared by @zahrabanisse19 whose partner did their, um, best. But the less-than-perfect results are all part of the fun.

The idea behind this trend is to set aside an hour or two to paint each other’s portrait, and it’s best if you finish your artwork without peeking. That way, once the painting is done you can have a big reveal moment and see how close you both came to perfection.

There are always new relationship trends on TikTok, and this one allows you to laugh at yourselves in a lighthearted, low-pressure way. You can also learn a lot about your partner by how seriously they take the challenge, if they get frustrated along the way, and how they react to your final product. For example, user @zahrabanisse19 responded to her portrait by wheeze-laughing like a tea kettle, and the video has since racked up over 82 million views.

Another funny aspect of the trend is that many couples seem to have one partner who knows their way around a canvas and another who’s clearly never taken an art class. You might think this could lead to an uneven playing field, but it actually makes the final reactions even better.

Creator @daniela.sante’s painting looked exactly like her partner, while the painting she received was a little less... accurate. Under Sante’s video, one person wrote, “No but how are all the girls on this trend artists all of a sudden? I’d literally just draw a stick person.”

But again, it was all for laughs.

Creator @taytayschneider had a similar hilarious outcome with her painting, which accurately reflected some of her partner’s qualities like his beard and necklace. Meanwhile, his creatively abstract rendition had them both dying of laughter.

The comments section was also in an uproar. One person wrote, “bro just unlocked a new Sesame Street character,” while another aptly said, “girl, he turned you into Kraft mac & cheese.” Another seemed to agree by saying, “It’s the texture for me.”

While receiving a beautiful self-portrait from a partner would be so meaningful, the truly awful artwork is always a hundred times funnier, especially for everyone watching at home. The stunned reactions and clever comments are arguably the best part of this trend.