start to finish
how it works
no drawing needed, ever. if you can match a number to a number, you can paint this. nobody is grading this.
five steps
photo in, kit out
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order, then send the photo
in an etsy message. tell me what you will colour with and who it is for.
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I check it first
that it will survive being cut into flat colours. 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 approving the proof. 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.
step two, the one that matters
a person looks at your photo first
a colour by number kit is a photo cut into flat colours. some photos survive that and some do not. dark ones go muddy. very busy ones turn into a thousand tiny pieces nobody wants to fill. a face lit from behind loses the face.
so before anything is built, I look at yours and tell you honestly which it is. if it will not work, we swap it for free and I will say what to look for instead. no free tracer does this, and it is the single biggest difference between a kit you finish and a kit you abandon.
step three: your watermarked proof, usually the same evening.
then you paint it
photo, numbered page, painting
this is a real premade kit, in its three states. drag through them.
halved oranges, pink grapefruit, lemons and limes seen from above on a white table, painted from the hello paint colour by number kit.
the photo the citrus halves kit was made from.the page you work from: every region outlined and numbered. 440 pieces, 25 colours.halved oranges, pink grapefruit, lemons and limes seen from above on a white table, painted from the hello paint colour by number kit.on paper
print it at 100%
the art is centred on an 8.5 x 11 inch page, which is US Letter. choose actual size or 100%, never fit-to-page, and it comes out true to size on the paper you already have. print the faintest plain outline to colour on, keep the numbered one beside you, and nothing shows in the finished piece.
on an iPad
colour drop through the numbers
set the line art as your reference layer, add a layer underneath, and drop colour straight in: it lands on your layer and the lines stay crisp. at the end the numbers switch off, and so do the outlines. the longer explanation.
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 you approving the proof.
no surprises
the practical questions
what do I paint it with?
alcohol markers, coloured pencils, acrylics or watercolour all work. the kits are built around ohuhu and copic markers and prismacolor and polychromos pencils, and every colour carries its exact hex and RGB, so anything else in your pen cup still works.
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. the finished kit is in your inbox within 1 to 2 days of you approving it. 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 colours. send it anyway: I will look, and if it will not work I will say so and swap it for free.
what size does it print?
the art prints 8 x 10, 10 x 8 or 8 x 8 inches depending on the kit, centred on a US Letter page. print at 100%, not fit-to-page, and it comes out true to size on the paper you already have.