How to turn a photo into color by number.

Three ways to turn a photo of the dog, a favorite toy, or the backyard into a numbered page your kid can color: a free preview in your browser, an app, or a page you print.

Updated November 1, 2026

The short version

  • Preview it free: use the photo to pixel art tool in your browser.
  • Color it on a screen: the Color Cafe app does it with the camera, on iPhone and iPad.
  • Color it on paper: download the numbered PNG and print it.

Before you start: what makes a good photo

Color by number works best when the picture has big, clear shapes. A dog on the grass beats a dog at a birthday party. Kids also care more about a picture of their own thing, so let them pick the subject.

  • One subject, in the middle of the frame
  • A plain background
  • Even light, like daylight from a window

Path 1: preview it free in your browser

  1. Pick a good photo. Choose one clear subject, like a pet, a toy, or a flower, on a plain background. Put it in the middle of the frame, since the picture is cropped to a square.
  2. Preview it as pixel art. Open the free photo to pixel art tool on this site and choose the photo. Nothing is uploaded. Start with a 32 × 32 grid and 8 colors.
  3. Tune the difficulty. Fewer squares and fewer colors make an easier page. For kids 6 to 8, 24 to 48 squares and 6 to 12 colors is a good range. Older kids and grown-ups can go up to 96 squares and 18 colors.
  4. Switch to Color by number. Flip the view to Color by number. Each square gets the number of its color, and a numbered color key sits underneath.
  5. Download, then color. Tap Download PNG. Print it on plain paper and color with markers or crayons, or open it in the app path below to color on a screen.

Everything in the tool runs on your device. The photo never leaves it.

Path 2: let your kid make it in the app

Color Cafe is the app we made for this. Your kid takes a photo, or picks one from Photos, and the app turns it into a numbered pixel grid with 8 to 18 colors.

  1. Snap. Take a photo of anything, or choose one from Photos.
  2. Pick a style. Storybook (8 soft colors), Crayon (14 everyday colors), Pop (10 bright colors), or Photo (18 true-to-life colors).
  3. Pick a difficulty. The slider runs from 32 × 32 squares on Easy to 128 × 128 on Hard.
  4. Color. Press and hold to paint, drag to move, and pinch to zoom. Each finished color gets a little celebration.
  5. Watch it back. A time-lapse replays the whole picture filling in.

The first 10 pictures are free. It has no ads and no accounts, and it works offline.

Path 3: print it and color on paper

  1. In the tool, switch to Color by number and tap Download PNG.
  2. Print it on letter or A4 paper. Choose "fit to page" in the print settings.
  3. Match markers or crayons to the numbered color key. Close is fine. Kids enjoy choosing their own stand-ins.

Print tip: above about 48 squares, the numbers get small on one sheet of paper. For a printed page, 24 to 40 squares is easiest to read.

Which path should you pick?

  • Quick look, or a one-off rainy-day page: the free tool and a printer.
  • A kid who wants to make lots of pictures of their own stuff: the app, so they can snap and start without you.
  • Both: print the first one together, then let them try the app.

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