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Paint by Number Generator
Turn any photo into a printable paint by number template. Upload an image, choose your colors and detail level, and get a numbered outline with a matching color key.
Click to upload a photo, or drag one here
JPG, PNG, WebP, or GIF — processed right in your browser, never uploaded
The Paint by Number Generator converts any photo into a custom paint by number template, right in your browser—your image is never uploaded to a server. The tool simplifies your photo into a set of paint colors, traces the outline of each region, and places a small number inside it that matches a numbered color key. Choose between 4 and 16 colors and pick a detail level: simple creates large, easy regions perfect for young children, while detailed preserves more of the photo's fine features for older kids and adults. Print the numbered template for painting or coloring, and print the colored answer key as a reference. It's a wonderful way to turn family photos, pets, or favorite scenes into a relaxing art activity.
Turn a photo into a paint by number in three clicks
Upload a photo, set two options, press Generate. That is the whole flow. You can click the upload box to pick a file or drag one straight onto it, and JPG, PNG, WebP and GIF all work. A family photo, the dog, a holiday snap, a painting your child likes — anything with clear shapes and decent light converts well.
Everything happens inside your browser. The image is read by the page and processed on your own machine, so nothing is uploaded to a server and nothing is stored. That matters if the photo is of a child in your class, or of someone who has not agreed to have their face sitting on a stranger's server.
Once it has run, you get two pictures: the numbered outline to paint on, and the full-colour version to use as a reference. Switch between them with the Template and Answer Key buttons above the preview.
What the colour count and detail level actually change
The Number of Colors slider runs from 4 to 16 and starts at 10. The tool groups every pixel in your photo into that many paint colours, picks a representative shade for each, then sorts them from lightest to darkest and numbers them 1 upward. Four colours gives a bold, poster-like picture a four year old can finish; sixteen gives soft gradients in skin and sky that a teenager or an adult will enjoy blending.
Detail Level has three settings — simple, medium and detailed — and it controls how much the photo is smoothed before the colours are worked out, and how small a region is allowed to survive. Simple blurs the picture hardest and throws away the smallest shapes, so you get big open areas and fat brush room. Detailed keeps fine features like eyes, whiskers and leaf edges, at the cost of a lot more small regions to fill in.
The two settings interact, so it is worth pressing Regenerate a few times with different combinations. Sixteen colours on simple gives a smooth, painterly result with manageable shapes. Six colours on detailed gives a crisp, graphic look with lots of tiny pieces. Neither is wrong; it depends on who is holding the brush.
How the numbers get placed
After the colours are chosen, the picture is broken into connected regions — every patch of one colour that touches itself. Regions smaller than the detail level allows are merged into whichever neighbouring colour surrounds most of their edge, which is what stops the template dissolving into speckles.
Each surviving region then gets its number printed at its deepest interior point, the spot furthest from any border, and the digit is sized to fit the room available. Very thin slivers with no space for a legible digit are left blank on purpose. Those are almost always narrow strips between two larger areas, and the painter can see from the shapes either side which colour belongs there.
The numbers correspond to the colour key, which is sorted light to dark, so number 1 is always the palest paint and the highest number is always the darkest. Children pick that pattern up quickly and start predicting where the numbers will land.
Printing the template and the answer key
Print Template opens a clean print sheet with the colour key across the top as numbered swatches, a one-line instruction, and the outline picture below it. Nothing from the website comes with it. The picture is capped so it fits a single page, and the sheet prints the same on US Letter or A4 as long as you leave the printer on fit to page.
Switch the preview to Answer Key and the print button changes to Print Answer Key, which gives you the same layout with the full-colour version instead of the outline. Printing both is useful for a class: one copy of the finished picture pinned up front, one outline each. If the swatches come out grey, turn on background graphics or print backgrounds in your printer dialog.
Download PNG saves whichever view you are looking at as an image file, named after your original photo with -template or -answer-key on the end. That is the one to use if you want to import the outline into a tablet drawing app, scale it onto larger paper, or send it to a print shop.
Making it work at home and in the classroom
For under-sevens, start at 4 to 6 colours on simple and print on card if you have it, because thin paper buckles under wet paint. Chunky poster paint and a flat brush suit the large regions this setting produces. For seven to eleven year olds, 8 to 12 colours on medium is the reliable middle ground, and colouring pencils or felt tips work as well as paint.
Colour by number and paint by number are the same activity with different materials, so if paint is more trouble than it is worth, hand out pencils and let children match the pencil to the swatch. Mixing the paints to match the key is itself a good lesson for older children — give them the three primaries plus black and white and let them work out how to reach number 7.
The photos that convert best have a clear subject, good contrast and a background that is not too busy. A pet against grass works; a crowd scene at dusk does not. If the result comes out muddy, try cropping in closer on the subject before uploading rather than raising the colour count.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I turn a photo into a paint by number for free?
Upload the photo here, choose how many colours you want and a detail level, then press Generate. The template and the colour key are ready to print or download straight away, with no account and no cost.
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. The whole conversion runs in your browser using your own device's processing, so the image never leaves your computer and nothing is saved on our side.
How many colours should I use?
Four to six for young children, eight to twelve for most school-age children, and up to sixteen if you want soft shading for an older child or an adult. More colours means more regions and a much longer painting session.
Why are some regions on my template missing a number?
Regions too narrow to hold a legible digit are deliberately left blank. They are usually thin strips between two larger shapes, and the colour is clear from the areas on either side or from the answer key.
Can I print it on A4 instead of US Letter?
Yes. The print sheet scales to whatever paper your printer is loaded with, so long as you leave the scaling option on fit to page rather than actual size.
Why did the colour swatches print in grey?
Your browser is skipping background colours. Open the print dialog, find the option called background graphics or print backgrounds, and switch it on before printing.
What sort of picture works best?
One clear subject, good light and a simple background. Close-up portraits, pets and landmarks convert well; busy crowd shots and dark photos tend to come out muddy whatever settings you choose.
Can I make a colour by number instead of a painting?
Yes, it is the same printable. Print the template, give out pencils or felt tips instead of paint, and match each number to its swatch in the key at the top of the page.