Royal Treatment: History of the Royal Paint Brush

Hidden Majesty

Queen Fyora, in all of her benevolent greatness, offered the extraordinary chance for our Neopets to become princes and princesses with the introduction of the Royal Paint Brush in Year 6. The artifact appeared in the Hidden Tower on Zafara Day, February 3, 2004 for 1,750,000 NP. Players with accounts older than four months were able to purchase the posh new paint brush.

The very first Neopet allowed to visit the Rainbow Pool to be painted Royal was the Zafara.

Thirteen more species joined the parade of princes and princesses in 2004: Gelert (March 5), Scorchio (March 12), Aisha (March 25), Uni (March 30), Cybunny (April 9), Kougra (April 22), Moehog (May 14), Quiggle (June 11), Acara (June 28), Eyrie (October 8), Ixi (October 12), Usul (November 26), and Bruce (December 6).

Nine were added in 2005: Buzz (January 11), Korbat (January 31), Shoyru (April 4), Draik (April 7), JubJub (June 6), Flotsam (July 22), Lupe (September 12), Grarrl (October 4), and Poogle (December 8).

A mere four became royalty in 2006: Mynci (February 22), Krawk (April 16), Kau (June 17), and Kyrii (August 29).

The last royal Neopet designed before the introduction of customisation on April 26, 2007 was the Elephante. They could to be painted Royal starting on January 17, 2007.

Unconverted Royals

Of twenty-eight Royal Neopet species, only nine Royalboys and eleven Royalgirls had the option of not converting into their customisable versions in 2007. For the princes, they were the Acara, Cybunny, Draik, Kau, Korbat, Kougra, Kyrii, Mynci, and Shoyru. For the princesses, they were the Aisha, Cybunny, Draik, Grarrl, Kau, Korbat, Kougra, Kyrii, Lupe, Mynci, and Shoyru.

These vestiges of a bygone time still grace the accounts of many players; however, their numbers have decreased every year as accounts were disabled or Neopets were converted into their customisable forms.

The Age of Customisation

Ushering in the new era of customisation for our Neopets, the Yurble was the first to be painted Royal on May 26, 2007.

With customisation came the ability to remove the wearable items that were created when painting a Neopet Royal. The Royal Paint Brush items were part of a deluxe paint brush set and those paint brush costume items could not be removed from closets.

The remainder of 2007 saw the introduction of four more Royals: Peophin (July 26), Grundo (August 24), Pteri (November 8), and Wocky (December 12).

2008 brought seven more to Neopia: Lenny (February 12), Chomby (March 22), Koi (May 24), Nimmo (June 14), Tuskaninny (July 12), Blumaroo (August 8), and Skeith (September 25).

On April 30, 2008, the Neopian Pound reopened after a year of being closed when the site updated for customisation. If a converted Royal Neopet was abandoned, the paint brush costume items remained in the sender's closet. The added option to transfer Neopets, however, allowed these items to travel with a Royal Neopet to a new account!

The Kacheek was the only addition in 2009 on January 29; however, five more were activated in 2010: Kiko (July 17), Hissi (July 30), Techo (September 14), Gnorbu (November 16), and Xweetok (November 30).

2011 saw only two new species allowed to use the Royal Paint Brush: Tonu (July 30) and Bori (November 15). The Lutari was all alone on the island on July 28, 2012.

After the Ruki was included on July 30, 2013, the last Neopet to receive the royal treatment as the Meerca on August 10, 2013.

    Surprises of Year 13

On May 27, 2011, Queen Fyora added the often requested Royal Petpet Paint Brush into the Hidden Tower for 400,000 NP!

The New Features announced the following: “Your Petpet can finally become a king or queen with the brand new Royal Paintbrush! You can now find this brush at the Hidden Tower, though we won't tell you where that is located. ;)” The Zebie, Seece, Seti, and Slorg Petpets were the first to include Royal as a choice at the Petpet Puddle. Thirty-five more Petpets were added over the years.

2011 also saw the following unexpected announcement in the New Features on September 30: “Kauvara has decided to spice things up in her shop and release Royal themed potions! You can now purchase the first two from her selection at Kauvara's Magic Shop.” To date, only two such potions have been released: Royal Boy Kyrii Morphing Potion and Royal Girl Kyrii Morphing Potion! Perhaps Queen Fyora had some say in that matter. ;)

    The Forgotten Four

Fifty-one out of our fifty-five Neopets are able to use the Royal Paint Brush. Only four remain as commoners: Chia, Jetsam, Ogrin, and Vandagyre. The Chia and Jetsam have been waiting the longest, both of them among the original Neopets when the site began on November 15, 1999. The Ogrin appeared on December 27, 2005. The Vandagyre has only been waiting since Neopets’ fifteenth birthday on November 15, 2014.

Every year when the special Neopet days for these four Neopets arrive, players eagerly await the news that Royal might be a new colour. Those will be days to remember when this finally happens!

    The Bottom Line

Circling back to the Hidden Tower, it has become occasionally possible to buy the Royal Paint Brush at a reduced price! The Hidden Tower is the only retail location at which to obtain the brush to make our precious Neopets into princes and princesses; therefore, having a bargain is certainly a bonus.

Beginning in 2010, a loyal user perk allowed accounts over the age of sixty months (five years) to receive a three percent discount on all Hidden Tower items on the third Wednesday of every month. On that day, the Royal Paint Brush can be purchased for 1,697,500 NP: A savings of 52,500 NP. The Royal Petpet Paint Brush can be purchased for 388,000 NP: A savings of 12,000 NP.

After the revamp of Random Events at the end of March of 2014, a new event appeared starring Queen Fyora:

The Faerie Queen smiles as she flutters by you. She hands you a small ticket that reads: "Good for 10% off any one item in the Hidden Tower." Shopping Trip!

The discount is applied to all items in the Hidden Tower until you purchase one item. If you choose the Royal Paint Brush, you will only need to pay 1,575,000 NP: A savings of 175,000 NP! If you select the Royal Petpet Paint Brush, the cost is only 360,000 NP: A savings of 40,000 NP.

When visiting the Hidden Tower, keep in mind that it closes for stock taking at the the following times each day: 1 AM to 2 AM NST, 7 AM to 8 AM NST, and 10 PM to 11 PM NST. You can also only purchase one item every twenty-four hours.

An exciting change that happened on November 15, 2014 was the increase to 2,000,000 NP for the maximum offer on trades in the Trading Post! This made is easier to offer the Royal Paint Brushes for resale to help even more players turn their Neopets into royalty. Remember, it is not possible at this time to transform a Neopet into a Royal at the Secret Laboratory or at the Rainbow Fountain.

Enjoy your Royal Neopets and Royal Petpets for years to come. Thank you, Queen Fyora!