Paint by Number Generator: Free Photo to Template

Our free paint by number generator turns any photo or painting into a numbered template you can print and paint. Choose between 6 and 24 colors, set how fine the areas should be, and get a template with a color legend, a painted solution, and a list of every color with its HEX code and name. It runs in your browser, needs no account, adds no watermark, and never uploads your photo.

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Table of Contents

How to Make a Paint by Number From a Photo

Creating your own paint by number template takes a minute or two:

Add your picture. Click “Upload photo”, drag a file onto the picture area, or paste an image with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac). Image links work too, if the site hosting the picture allows it. Phones and tablets also get a “Take photo” button.
Pick the number of colors. Start with 10 to 12 colors for a first project. Move the slider up for more realistic shading, or down for a bolder, simpler look.
Adjust detail and smoothing. Lower the Detail setting if the template has too many tiny areas, and raise Smoothing if the borders look ragged. The tool recalculates the template every time you move a slider.
Check the preview. Switch between “Template”, “Solution”, and “Compare”. In Compare, drag across the picture to slide between your photo and the painted result, so you can see whether the colors are close enough. Tap a color in the palette, or an area in the picture, to see every spot where that color goes.
Print or download. “Print / Save as PDF” creates a print-ready file on US Letter or A4. You can also download the template, the solution, and a color guide as PNG images.

To see what the tool can do before using your own photo, try one of the built-in masterpieces: Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, or Monet’s Water Lilies. All four images are in the public domain and load from Wikimedia Commons.

What Each Setting Does

Number of colors (6 to 24): how many paint colors the template may use. Every color gets its own number in the legend. Now and then the palette shows one color fewer than you chose, when all areas of a color were too small and joined their neighbors.
Detail (1 to 10): how small an area may be before it is joined to its neighbor. At 1 you get large, calm areas that suit beginners and children. At 10 you keep small details such as eyes, petals, and highlights.
Smoothing (0 to 10): softens the photo before the colors are grouped and rounds off ragged borders. Raise it for photos with grain, fur, grass, or fabric patterns.
Line thickness (1 to 5): the width of the outlines in the template. Thin lines are easier to cover with paint, thicker ones are easier to see.
Number size (1 to 10): how large the numbers are printed. Larger numbers also make the tool join areas that are too narrow to hold a readable number.
Light gray lines and numbers: prints the outlines and numbers in a paler gray, so they are less likely to show through light paint colors.

“Reset settings” brings back the starting values. The zoom buttons above the picture enlarge the preview up to 400 percent. On a small screen, some numbers are too small to read at full view and appear as dots, and the note below the picture tells you how many. Zoom in to read them. Downloads and printouts always contain every number.

The Palette, Legend, and Color Guide

The palette lists every color with its number, its HEX code, the closest name from a list of 2,331 named colors, and the share of the picture it covers. Colors are numbered from the lightest (1) to the darkest. “Copy color list” copies all colors with their HEX and RGB values as plain text, which is handy for shopping lists or for matching paint in a store.

The printout has two pages. Page 1 shows the numbered template with a legend of colored dots underneath. Page 2 shows the painted solution, so you always know what the finished picture should look like. Tick “Add a color mixing guide page” for a third page with a large swatch of each color next to an empty box. Paint a sample of your mix into the box and compare it with the swatch before you start on the canvas. The same guide is available as a PNG image.

The color names describe the color, not a specific paint. For help with mixing a color from the paints you own, read our guide to mixing colors or try the color mixer.

How the Paint by Number Generator Works

The tool works in several steps, all of them inside your browser:

Scaling. Your picture is scaled to a working size of 1,200 pixels on the longest side (900 pixels on phones and tablets). Very small pictures are enlarged to at least 600 pixels.
Softening. A blur, set by the Smoothing slider, removes fine texture so that it does not turn into hundreds of specks.
Finding the colors. The tool groups the colors with k-means clustering in the CIELAB color space. CIELAB was designed so that equal distances roughly match equal differences as people see them, which gives a more natural palette than grouping plain RGB values.
Cleaning up the areas. Unless Smoothing is set to 0, a majority filter smooths the borders. Then every area that is too small, or too narrow to hold a number, joins the neighboring color it shares the longest border with.
Placing the numbers. For each area, the tool measures how far every pixel is from the border. The number goes to one of the innermost points, the one closest to the middle of the area, so it sits in the widest part instead of a thin corner.
Drawing the output. For downloads and printing, the template is redrawn at 2,400 pixels on the longest side (2,000 on phones and tablets) with smooth outlines. The palette colors are the average photo color of each group.

The calculation runs in small steps with a progress display, so the page stays responsive even with large photos.

Tips for the Best Results

Choose a clear subject. A pet, a portrait, a landscape with a clear horizon, or a flower close-up works better than a busy crowd scene.
Crop before you upload. The tool uses the whole picture, so cut away empty or cluttered edges first.
Match colors to the canvas size. A small canvas or a child’s first project needs fewer colors and a low Detail value. Large canvases can handle 20 or more colors.
Merge similar shades yourself. If two palette colors look almost the same, you can paint both with one mix. Or lower the color count and let the tool combine them.
Transfer the template to canvas. Print it at the size of your canvas, then trace it with graphite transfer paper or a light box. Our art grid tool helps if you prefer to copy the outlines with the grid method.
Use opaque paint. Acrylic paint covers well and dries quickly. Light colors may need two coats to hide the lines. Our guide to acrylic painting for beginners covers brushes, paint, and surfaces.

Who Uses a Paint by Number Maker?

Artists use it as a quick value and color study. Reducing a reference photo to 8 or 10 flat colors shows the main shapes and color groups before you start a painting.
Art teachers make templates of famous paintings to talk about color, composition, and the artist while students paint.
Families turn photos of pets, holidays, and grandchildren into a painting project or a handmade gift.
Hobby painters who enjoy store-bought kits can create their own motifs for free and paint them on paper, canvas board, or wood.

If you prefer coloring with pencils or markers, our color by number pages are ready to print.

Paint by number kits are not new. Dan Robbins, a commercial artist, and Max Klein of the Palmer Paint Company in Detroit brought them to market under the Craft Master brand in 1951, and millions of kits were sold in the following years (Smithsonian Magazine).

Your Privacy

Your photo never leaves your device. All calculations happen in your browser, and nothing is uploaded or saved on a server. There is no sign-up, no watermark, and no limit on how many templates you make. The only images loaded from the internet are the sample paintings from Wikimedia Commons, and an image link you paste yourself.

More Free Art Tools

All our tools are free, run in your browser, and need no account. See them all on the free art tools page.

Photo to sketch: turn a photo into a pencil sketch or line art.
Photo to coloring page: turn any picture into a printable coloring page.
Image to pixel art: convert an image into editable pixel art.
Notan generator: plan light and dark shapes with a two- or three-value study.
Art grid tool: put a drawing grid over any photo.
Golden ratio overlay: check your composition with a golden spiral and rule of thirds.
Perspective grid generator: print one-, two-, and three-point perspective grids.
Image color picker: find the exact colors in any photo or painting.
Color name finder: get the name of any HEX, RGB, or photo color.
Color wheel: find complementary, triadic, and analogous colors.
Color mixer: mix paint or screen colors and find paint recipes.
Color palette generator: create matching color schemes or a palette from an image.
Color blindness simulator: see images and palettes as color blind people do.
Art pricing calculator: find a fair price for your paintings and prints.
Art prompt generator: get random ideas for drawing and painting.
Random character generator: create an original character with traits and a palette.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Turn a Photo Into a Paint by Number?

Upload your photo to the paint by number generator above, choose the number of colors, and adjust Detail and Smoothing until the template looks right. Then click “Print / Save as PDF” or download the template and solution as PNG images. The whole process happens in your browser.

Is This Paint by Number Generator Free?

Yes. You can make as many templates as you like without an account, and the downloads have no watermark. There are no paid upgrades.

How Many Colors Should a Paint by Number Have?

Beginners and children do well with 6 to 12 colors. Adults who want a more realistic result often choose 16 to 24. Every extra color means more mixing and smaller areas, so start low and add colors if the preview looks too flat.

Can I Print a Custom Paint by Number on Canvas?

The tool creates printable files, not canvas prints. You can print the template on paper and transfer it to canvas with transfer paper or a light box, or take the PNG file to a print shop that prints on canvas. Choose light gray lines if you plan to paint over the print with light colors.

Can I Save My Paint by Number as a PDF?

Yes. Click “Print / Save as PDF” and select “Save as PDF” (or “Microsoft Print to PDF”) as the printer in the print dialog. The PDF has the template with its legend on page 1, the solution on page 2, and the optional color mixing guide on page 3.

What Kind of Paint Should I Use for Paint by Number?

Acrylic paint is the usual choice because it covers well, dries fast, and cleans up with water. Use small round and flat brushes for the details, and paint light colors with two thin coats if the lines still show. Our list of the best acrylic paintbrushes can help you choose.

Why Does My Template Have So Many Tiny Areas?

Detailed photos with texture, such as fur, leaves, or grass, create many small color patches. Lower the Detail value, raise Smoothing, or reduce the number of colors. A larger Number size also joins areas that are too narrow for a readable number.

Is a Paint by Number Generator the Same as Color by Number?

They work the same way, with numbered areas and a color key. Paint by number templates are meant for paint and usually use your own photo, while color by number sheets are usually simpler drawings for crayons, pencils, or markers.