Image editing tools

Paint-by-Numbers Generator

Upload a photo and get a black-line outline template plus a numbered color reference thumbnail, ready to paint by hand.

Template (outline)

Download template

Color reference

Download reference

Match the numbered swatches below to this reference thumbnail to know which color goes where — irregular hand-drawn regions aren't auto-numbered on the template itself, but the reference thumbnail shows you the full picture at a glance.

How to use the paint-by-numbers generator

  1. Upload a photoChoose an image from your device.
  2. Pick a color countChoose how many colors to simplify the photo down to, then click Generate.
  3. Download both outputsSave the outline template to paint on and the color reference thumbnail to guide your colors.

How the outline and reference are built

The photo is first scaled down to a maximum of 500px on its longest edge, then posterized: every pixel's color is quantized and grouped down to your chosen color count by keeping the most common colors and reassigning every other color to its nearest match. The outline template is then built by scanning every pixel and drawing a black line anywhere its color differs from the pixel immediately to its right or below it, which traces the boundary of every color region onto a plain white background. The color reference thumbnail shows the same posterized image in full color, alongside a numbered legend.

Boundary detection, not tracing

Outlines come from comparing each posterized pixel to its right and bottom neighbor, which is a simple and fast way to find the edges between color regions.

Two honest outputs

Rather than trying to print a number inside every irregular shape, which is unreliable for arbitrary photos, this tool gives you a clean outline plus a reference thumbnail to match colors by eye.

Fully local

Both the outline and the reference are generated on an HTML canvas in your browser; your photo is never uploaded.

Paint-by-Numbers Generator FAQ

Why are there two separate images instead of numbers printed inside the template?

Automatically placing a number inside every irregular, hand-drawn region of an outline reliably is a hard layout problem that this lightweight browser tool doesn't attempt. Instead it gives you an honest two-part output: a clean black-line outline template to paint on, and a small numbered color reference thumbnail showing the full picture so you know which color goes where.

How is the outline generated?

The photo is posterized down to your chosen color count. The tool then scans every pixel and draws a black line anywhere a pixel's color differs from the pixel immediately to its right or below it, which traces the boundary between color regions.

How do I know which color goes where?

Match the numbered swatches in the legend to the color reference thumbnail to see roughly where each color appears, then compare that to the shapes in the outline template.

Is my photo uploaded anywhere?

No. The photo is read and both outputs are generated locally on an HTML canvas in your browser.

Why is my template a bit small or blocky?

The photo is scaled down to a maximum of 500px on its longest edge before processing, which keeps posterizing and outline detection fast in the browser.

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