Animal Crossing New Leaf: How to Get Paintings & Check for Fakes
Paintings are one of the many items you can donate to the museum in Animal Crossing. Unlike bugs and fish, though, you don’t just catch these in the wild… After all, it would be a bit odd to catch a painting. Instead, you’ll have to buy them once a week, but you’ll also need to make sure you’re not spending your Bells on a fake. Here’s how to get paintings in Animal Crossing New Leaf.
Getting Paintings in Animal Crossing New Leaf
If you’ve played an Animal Crossing game before, you’ll be pleased to know (or maybe not) that the method of getting paintings in New Leaf is the same as previous games.
You’ll need to wait for Crazy Redd to show up in your town with his tent of goodies. This happens one day a week in your town, and he’ll always be near to your town square.
Head inside Redd’s tent and he’ll have four paintings for sale. You can only choose one each time, and after you’ve handed over your hard-earned Bells, he’ll then wrap it up and get it sent to your mailbox the next day.
In other words, you won’t take it away there and then. Similarly, once you’ve made your choice, that’s it. You’ll have to wait until the next week to get another painting.
The problem is that Crazy Redd is a bit of a grifter. Some of the paintings he sells are fakes of the real deal, and you can spend thousands of Bells on one, only for Blathers at the museum to reject it for being a fake.
How to Check for Fake Paintings in Animal Crossing New Leaf
The problem is, the fake paintings all have minor differences compared to the real deal. To help you out, we’ve listed every painting in the game down below, alongside what the detail is in the fake that’s different. That way, you can avoid ’em like the plague.
| Painting Name | How to Spot the Fake |
| Amazing Painting | The man in black should be on the left of the man in white when you’re looking at it. If it’s the other way around it’s fake. |
| Basic Painting | Only his left arm should be bent at his side. If both arms are bent it’s fake. |
| Calm Painting | There is not a fake version of this in the game. |
| Common Painting | No fake, always buy. |
| Dynamic Painting | Mt. Fuji should be very small under the wave. If it takes up a lot of the space under the wave, it’s fake. |
| Famous Painting | Her fingers should be pointing to the bottom right corner of the picture. If they’re pointing to the bottom left, it’s fake. |
| Fine Painting | No fake, always buy. |
| Flowery Painting | No fake, always buy. |
| Graceful Painting | The fake will have the woman looking to the left. She should be looking to the right in the real deal. |
| Jolly Painting | In this face made up of vegetables, the nose should be a green vegetable. If it’s a carrot, it’s a fake. |
| Moody Painting | No fake, always buy. |
| Moving Painting | The shell should be facing upwards. If it’s upside-down, it’s a fake. |
| Nice Painting | Always a genuine. Buy it when you see it. |
| Neutral Painting | The large leaf in the top-left should be intact in the original. In the fake version, the leaf has a hole eaten out of it. |
| Perfect Painting | Always the real deal. Buy it when you see it. |
| Proper Painting | Always genuine. Buy it when you see it. |
| Quaint Painting | In the real version, the woman is always wearing a white hat. If she’s not, it’s a fake. |
| Scary Painting | In the real version, all the man’s fingers are sticking out. If only one on each hand can be seen, it’s fake. |
| Scenic Painting | Always genuine. Buy it when you see it. |
| Serene Painting | In the real version, the woman is holding what looks like a white ferret with no tail. In the fake, she’ll be holding a white cat with a tail. |
| Solemn Painting | In the real version, the blonde girl in the center of the painting is the same height as the girl to the left. If it’s fake, she’s much taller. |
| Warm Painting | Always genuine. Buy it when you see it. |
| Wild Painting | In the real version, the character in white is on the left and the character in black is on the right. In the fake version, their positions are switched. |
| Wistful Painting | In the real version, the girl with a peal earring has a blue headdress on. If it’s red, it’s a fake. |
| Worthy Painting | Always genuine. Buy it when you see it. |
Now you know how to get paintings in Animal Crossing New Leaf, and how to know if you’re buying the real deal, or a cheap fake from Redd. For more tips, tricks, and guides, be sure to search for Twinfinite.
