Turn a photo into paint by numbers.
Upload any photo and get a printable numbered template with its colour palette, free. No sign-up, no watermark, no limit, and your photo never leaves your device.
Rather not print it yourself? Get the same photo as a real kit from £21.99
Everything happens on your own device. Nothing is uploaded.
Your template will appear here
Pick a photo to start. Pets, people and landscapes all work well.
Working
Get this one on real canvas
We print your design onto artist canvas and mix every colour into numbered pots. No sourcing paint, no guessing shades. Brushes and a full guide included.
Download your template
Free and unwatermarked. You get the numbered template, a full size reference sheet and your colour palette.
Printing at home? A4 is fine. A3 gives bigger areas and bigger numbers.
Get 15% off the kit
Add your email and your discount code appears right here. We will send occasional painting tips too. The download above stays free either way.
Want it as a real kit?
Same photo, printed on stretched canvas with every colour pre-mixed into numbered pots.
with code MOMENT15, 15% off your first order
- Canvas printed with your design
- Every colour pre-mixed and numbered
- Brushes and a full guide included
- Free worldwide delivery
A proper printable
Vector outlines that stay sharp at any size, with a ruler on the page so you can check it printed at true scale.
Numbers you can read
Turn on bigger numbers for larger areas, and work from the full size reference sheet included in every download.
Your photo stays yours
Everything runs inside your browser. The photo is never sent to us, which matters when it is your family or your dog.
Painted by people who started exactly here
Photos sent in by customers who turned their own picture into a canvas.
How it works
Millions of colours, reduced to a palette you can paint
The generator throws away almost all the colour in a photograph and keeps just enough that it still looks like your subject. How well it chooses what to discard is the whole difference between a template you can paint and one you cannot.
Pick your photo
A clear subject and decent light. Fill the frame with whatever you actually want to paint.
Choose your settings
More colours holds a closer likeness. Less detail gives bigger, more forgiving areas.
Print it and paint it
Print at home, or send the PDF to a print shop if you want something larger.
Pick how much detail you want
The same photo can become a relaxed afternoon or a long winter project. Fewer colours means bolder shapes and quicker progress.
Bold and quick
Large areas, strong shapes. The easiest place to start and the kindest on your eyes.
The usual choice
Enough shading to look like the photo, without hundreds of tiny areas to pick through.
Closest likeness
Holds faces and fur properly. Considerably more painting, and worth it for a portrait.
How to choose a photo that turns out well
The photo you start with matters more than any setting. A few minutes choosing well beats an hour of adjusting afterwards.
Fill the frame
Get close. A dog taking up most of the picture becomes big paintable shapes. The same dog twenty feet away becomes a smudge.
Look for even light
Daylight, ideally not direct sun. Harsh shadows swallow detail, and very dark photos give you a lot of nearly identical browns.
Keep the background calm
Grass, leaves and crowds shatter into hundreds of tiny areas. A plain wall or an open sky is far kinder. If yours is busy, we simplify it for you.
Check the eyes
On a pet or a person, the eyes carry the likeness. If they are sharp and catching the light in the photo, they will survive into the template.
Printable template, or a full kit?
The free template gives you the design. The kit gives you everything else, which matters more than people expect, because matching two dozen acrylic colours by eye is genuinely hard.
Free printable
Everything you need to paint it yourself, if you already have paints.
- The numbered design, A5 to A2
- Full size reference sheet
- Colour palette chart
- You source and mix the paints
- Printer paper, not canvas
- No brushes
Custom kit
The same design, made up properly and delivered to your door.
- Your design printed on artist canvas
- Every colour pre-mixed into numbered pots
- Brushes and a full guide
- Nine sizes, three framing options
- Free worldwide delivery
Questions people ask
Is this paint by numbers generator really free?
Yes. No account, no watermark, no limit on how many you make, and no paid tier hiding the good version. The template you download is the full quality one.
Do you keep my photo?
No, we never receive it. The whole thing runs inside your browser on your own device, so your photo is never uploaded to us or to anyone else. Close the tab and it is gone.
How many colours should I use?
Twenty four suits most photos and most people. Twelve to sixteen gives a bold, poster like result that is quicker to paint. Thirty six or forty eight holds a closer likeness, which matters most for faces, but it is a lot more painting.
The numbers are too small to read. What can I do?
Turn on bigger numbers before you generate, which uses fewer and larger areas. Printing at A3 rather than A4 also makes everything noticeably bigger. And use the reference sheet included in your download. It is meant to be propped beside you while you paint, rather than squinting at the sheet you are painting on.
What size can I print it at?
A5, A4, A3 or A2, plus US Letter and Tabloid at 11 by 17 inches. A4 is fine for a quick print at home. A3 is the sweet spot if you want comfortable areas to paint.
Is a colour by number generator the same thing?
Yes. Colour by numbers, color by number and paint by numbers all describe the same idea. Some people mean pencils or felt tips rather than paint, and the template works just as well for those.
Can I order my design as a real kit?
Yes. Upload the same photo to our custom kit and we print the design onto stretched canvas and mix every colour into numbered pots. Kits start at 21.99 pounds with free worldwide delivery.
Do I need any painting experience?
None. That is rather the point: the design decides where every colour goes. If you have never painted before, start with fewer colours and turn on bigger numbers.
Read the reviews
Every review below comes from a verified order, with photos customers sent in.
Prefer to paint on canvas?
We will turn the same photo into a proper kit: canvas, numbered pots of paint, brushes and a guide.
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