Paint by Number from Photo: Achieving Your Best Result

Not all photos are created equal

Most of us have cherished photos on our mantles, framed on our walls, and in entryway foyers greeting guests in our homes. Great photos worth cherishing come in all forms. That said, some photos will turn into paint-by-number designs better than others.

Why is that?

We'll walk through the basics of what photo characteristics lead to the best paint-by-number results so you can spot them, choose your best photos, and get the most out of your work on pbnify.com.

First, a bit about what's happening under the hood

At PBNify, when we receive a photo, we begin the work of transforming it into a paint-by-number design in real time. What is going on in that system? How does it work?

Lighting and Shadows

First, when we receive a photo upload, we begin mapping the colors in your photo to our paint colors. This process is very literal, so you want to pay attention to things like shadows over important parts of the photo.

Example 1: You are wearing a baseball hat with a brim. Your skin tone in the shade of the brim will be darker than your skin tone that is exposed to the light. Our eyes naturally tend to ignore a lot of these details in real life. However, those different skin tones will show up in your paint-by-number design.

Example 2: You are standing on the beach by the Pacific Ocean with a beautiful West Coast sunset behind you. It's a lovely photo for the mantle and a cherished memory, no doubt. But when it comes to turning that photo into a paint-by-number design, keep in mind that your face may be in shadow because of its position relative to the sunset. That makes it darker and less clear than your eyes are used to seeing.

What you need to know: In general, for custom paint-by-number designs, you want to choose photos with nice, even lighting across the face. Try to avoid photos where a shadow falls across the face or part of the face.

Being “Closer Up”

When we create your paint-by-number designs, we also think about how practical the level of detail should be for customers. Said another way, we could make very detailed paintings that look amazing in theory, but those super detailed designs might require a magnifying glass just to see the tiny numbers. We know customers would not enjoy that painting experience. So we spend a lot of energy finding the right balance between being “paintable” and being highly detailed. This helps make sure you get a great result and enjoy the painting process too.

This balanced approach means that important but tiny details, like facial expressions on a person who is far away from the camera, are things you will want to avoid in your source photo. Important details in the photo should be somewhat close to the camera, or generally larger, so they can be captured well in your painting.

What you need to know: In general, for custom paint-by-number designs, you should expect that tiny details may be lost in the conversion process because they are too small to paint. So important details, such as eyes, will look best when they are closer to the camera, larger, or zoomed in.

Using PBNify

Now that you know a bit about what's happening under the hood and how to get the best results, here are a few simple steps to get started:

Upload — Select any image. Most file formats are supported.

Processing — Our engine analyzes your photo and converts it into a paintable numbered design in about 30 seconds.

Preview — A before-and-after comparison slider shows you exactly what your painting will look like. You can compare the original photo and the paint-by-number version side by side. Remove or add your background, and use other convenient editing features.

Receive your design — Receive a free PDF sent to your email, or order a complete paint kit with canvas, paints, and brushes.