custom paint by number, from one photo
your photo, painted by you
for the person who loves the coloring and hates the getting started: the tracing, the drawing, the color choices and the marker matching are already done. pick the photo, a pet portrait, the wedding, the house you grew up in, and I turn it into a color-by-number kit you print at home and color in yourself, every swatch matched to the markers and pencils you already own. no drawing skill needed: if you can match a number to a number, you can do this.
- proof usually the same evening
- free photo swaps
- in your inbox in 1 to 2 days, total
five steps
how a custom kit happens
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order, then send the photo
it uploads right in the etsy order box, which also asks who is coloring, what you color with, and how long you want to color. I can size the job to fit, or leave it to me.
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I check it first
that it will survive being cut into flat colors. free photo swaps if it will not, and I will tell you why.
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approve your proof
a watermarked preview, usually the same evening. one round of changes is free.
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your kit lands in your inbox
within 1 to 2 days of ordering, total, the proof included. five PDFs, or a zip if you are painting on an iPad.
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paint, one number at a time
print it at home or at any print shop, or open it on your tablet. no drawing needed, ever.
on etsy right now
the listing, exactly as etsy shows it
the listing's own video and all 15 of its photos, in the order the listing shows them. scroll sideways for the rest.
just the colors
the palette card, on its own
already know how you want to paint it? send a photo and get just the swatch card: every color in your photo with its closest ohuhu, copic, prismacolor and polychromos, by code and by name, with true inch squares to swatch against.
the listing's own video and all 8 of its photos, in the order the listing shows them. scroll sideways for the rest.
what lands in your inbox
five PDFs, and not one of them is a single traced outline
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eighteen outlines to choose from
four darknesses, each one plain or numbered, with or without the color bar along the top. one way to use them: print the faintest plain one, and no lines or numbers show in your finished piece. the last two sit over a 1-inch grid so you can copy the design onto canvas by hand.
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the swatch card
every color as a true 1-inch square with its hex and RGB, so you can swatch your own markers straight onto it. then a page naming the closest ohuhu, copic, prismacolor and polychromos for every single color.
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the color-by-color guide
one page per color, that color alone on the page. wondering where every #12 hides? turn to page 12.
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the build-up guide
the same one page per color, but each page shows the whole picture as it grows, with only the color that page adds numbered on it. no hunting for which shape is new.
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the finished preview
in full color, plus a second copy with the numbers printed on the colors, so you can check yourself halfway through.
painting on a tablet instead? the custom kit comes as a layered procreate file too, $10.95. see how the iPad kits work.
the iPad custom listing, exactly as etsy shows it
the listing's own video and all 13 of its photos, in the order the listing shows them. scroll sideways for the rest.
before you send it
what photo works best
good light, one clear subject, and the face big in the frame if it is a pet or a person. dark, blurry or very busy photos go flat and muddy when they are cut into colors.
send it anyway. I will look at it before I start, and if it will not paint well I will tell you why and swap it for free. that check is the whole reason to buy this rather than run a photo through a free tracer.
your proof: watermarked, usually the same evening, one round of changes free.
the part nothing else does
every color, matched to the markers and pencils you already own
a free tracer hands you a hex code and wishes you luck. every kit here matches every swatch to its closest color in four popular brands, markers and pencils both, on a card printed at true 1-inch squares so you can swatch your own markers right beside it. the guesswork is done before you uncap anything.
ohuhu honolulu
320 alcohol markers
copic
357 alcohol markers
prismacolor premier
150 colored pencils
faber-castell polychromos
120 colored pencils
what that looks like in practice
the dog at the top of this site was colored entirely in ohuhu markers first, one flat color at a time. the last hour was prismacolor pencils on top: the little hairs on his face, the grass, the texture in the hydrangeas.
two different sets, one card, and every color matched. that is the whole point: you are not guessing which marker is closest while the ink is still wet, and you can finish in pencil over marker without the two sets arguing.
this reference is built from nine independent hand-swatched sources across the four sets, swatched on more than one paper, never off a maker's chart. where nothing comes close, the card says so. where nothing comes close, the card says no close marker match instead of pointing you at something wrong.
the honest comparison
there are free generators. here is the difference
they are real and some of them are decent. this is what you get for paying instead.
| what you get | a hello paint kit | a free generator |
|---|---|---|
| outlines to print | eighteen: four darknesses, plain or numbered, with or without the color bar | one |
| a page per color | yes, plus a build-up page showing the picture as it grows | no |
| matched to real markers and pencils | ohuhu, copic, prismacolor and polychromos, by code and by name | a hex code, if that |
| piece count before you buy | yes, and the count of pieces smaller than a size-0 brush tip | no |
| a person looks at your photo | yes, and says so if it will not paint well. free photo swaps | no |
real reviews
what buyers say
5.0 out of 5 stars 5.0 across 7 reviews on etsy, every word theirs.
It has been so fun making this!!
Awesome product. Easy to print and use. Customer service is stellar!
Amazing customer service, she does great work. Quick to download and start working on.
the honest bit
the tracing and the numbering are computer-assisted, by a program I wrote and keep fixing. then I check and finish every kit by hand. it is not a stock file and it is not a machine left alone with your photo.
premade kits download the moment you buy. custom kits land in your inbox within 1 to 2 days of ordering, total, proof included.
no surprises
about custom kits
there are free paint-by-number generators. why pay?
because a free generator hands you one machine trace and wishes you luck. a kit here is eighteen outlines at four darknesses, a page per color, the piece count and the small-piece warning in writing before you pay, and a swatch card that names the closest ohuhu, copic, prismacolor and polychromos for every color in the kit. and a person looks at your photo first and tells you if it will not paint well.
do I need to be able to draw?
no. no drawing needed, ever. if you can match a number to a number, you can paint this. nobody is grading this.
how long does a custom kit take?
your proof usually lands the same evening, and the finished kit is in your inbox within 1 to 2 days of ordering, total. premade kits are instant, they download the moment you buy.
what photo works best?
good light, one clear subject, and a face big in the frame if it is a pet or a person. dark, blurry, or very busy photos get flat and muddy when they are cut into colors. send it anyway: I will look, and if it will not work I will say so and swap it for free.