Unlock Every Painting in Minecraft with Craftable Painting Variants
Minecraft’s paintings have always added a splash of personality to any build, but collecting the exact variant you want often meant breaking and replacing a painting over and over until the right one appeared. The Craftable Painting Variants data pack and resource pack change that entirely by giving you direct control over which artwork hangs on your wall. Instead of relying on chance, you can now craft any painting variant using simple, shapeless recipes that unlock the moment a painting enters your inventory.
What Are Craftable Painting Variants?
This mod introduces a system where every vanilla painting variant becomes craftable, complete with its own unique texture. It consists of two parts: a data pack that handles the crafting recipes and a resource pack that provides the individual painting textures. For version 6 and above (Minecraft 1.21.5+), the painting textures even appear directly in the creative inventory, making selection faster than ever. You can use either the data pack or resource pack alone, but combining them delivers the full experience.
How the Crafting System Works
Recipes are unlocked automatically as soon as a painting enters your inventory for the first time. All recipes are shapeless, meaning you don’t need to arrange items in a specific pattern. For example, you might combine a painting with a few dyes, sticks, or other basic materials to produce a specific variant like “Kebab,” “Wanderer,” or “Skull and Roses.” The exact ingredients vary by variant, but the shapeless design keeps the process intuitive and survival-friendly.
Installing the Data Pack and Resource Pack
To get started, download both the data pack and resource pack for your Minecraft version. Place the data pack in the datapacks folder of your world, then load the resource pack through the game’s resource pack menu. If you prefer a streamlined experience, the foxygame.net launcher offers a convenient, flexible, and modern way to manage your Minecraft installations, allowing you to download this mod directly from its built-in menu. Once both packs are active, any new painting you craft or obtain will respect the new recipes, and existing paintings will display their correct textures.
Version Compatibility
The mod is carefully maintained across multiple Minecraft updates. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Data Pack Version 1 & 2: 1.20.5 – 1.20.6
- Data Pack Version 3: 1.21 – 1.21.1
- Data Pack Version 4: 1.21.2 – 1.21.3
- Data Pack Version 5: 1.21.4
- Data Pack Version 6: 1.21.5+ (current)
Resource pack versions follow the same pattern, so always match the version numbers to avoid texture glitches. Older versions relied on custom model data numbers to assign textures, but starting with version 6 for 1.21.5, the system uses native painting variant properties, making it cleaner and more stable.
Commands for Instant Access
If you need a specific painting without crafting, the mod provides handy command shortcuts. The simplest is /function give, which opens a menu to pick any variant instantly. For those who prefer direct commands, the /give syntax works like this in version 6:
/give @p minecraft:painting[minecraft:painting/variant=kebab]
Just replace kebab with the variant name you need. In earlier versions, you had to specify custom model data, but that’s no longer required in the latest update.
Full List of Paintings Included
The pack covers every vanilla painting, from the classic 1x1 artworks to the larger 4x4 pieces. You can craft all the original favorites like “Aztec,” “Bomb,” “Pool,” and “Sunset,” as well as the newer 1.21 additions such as “Meditative,” “Prairie Ride,” “Baroque,” and “Unpacked.” In total, over 50 distinct variants are available, each with its own recipe and crisp texture.
Why This Mod Enhances Your Minecraft World
Random painting placement can be frustrating when you’re designing a themed room or gallery. Craftable Painting Variants turns decoration into a deliberate, creative act. You can now plan an art collection, match paintings to biome themes, or simply avoid the tedium of breaking and re-placing dozens of times. Because the recipes are shapeless and use common materials, the mod fits seamlessly into survival gameplay without feeling overpowered.
Builders on multiplayer servers will especially appreciate the consistency. Instead of relying on server plugins or admin commands, every player can craft the exact painting they need. The mod is lightweight, works entirely server-side for the data pack portion, and doesn’t require any additional frameworks. Just drop the packs into your world and start crafting.
Final Thoughts
The Craftable Painting Variants pack solves a long-standing annoyance in Minecraft’s decoration system. By giving every painting a shapeless recipe and dedicated texture, it respects the vanilla feel while adding meaningful quality-of-life improvements. Whether you’re an interior designer, a map maker, or just someone tired of the painting lottery, this mod belongs in your world. Download the data pack and resource pack for your version, load them up, and finally hang the art you actually want on your walls.