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What is PBNify?
PBNify is a web tool that turns a photo you upload into a custom paint-by-number design. You can download a free, print-ready numbered PDF with a matching color guide, or order a physical kit built from that same design. It is aimed at people who want a personalized DIY painting project — a pet portrait, a family photo, a landscape — without designing the numbering themselves.
What you actually get
The free output is a numbered design plus a palette telling you which color goes with each number. If you order the kit instead, PBNify describes it as including a 12 × 15-inch printed canvas with your custom design, up to 60 paint colors, and two brushes. The company says kits ship from its facility in Columbus, Ohio, with tracking.
How the process works
- Upload a photo (JPEG, PNG, GIF, WEBP, HEIC or AVIF, up to 20MB).
- Generate the design and review the preview.
- Either download the free printable PDF or order the complete kit.
Two editing options are offered at the preview stage: toggling background removal on or off, and choosing among several crop options. The stated intent is that the preview matches the final result.
Who it suits, and the trade-offs
- Free download: good if you already own paints or want to test whether a photo converts well before spending money. You handle printing and sourcing colors yourself.
- Ordered kit: better if you want the exact generated colors and a ready canvas without matching paints by hand. You trade money and shipping time for convenience.
- Detail level: PBNify emphasizes highly detailed designs and up to 60 colors. More colors generally means a more faithful result but more switching and a longer project; a photo with a busy background may be more satisfying with background removal turned on.
A practical next step
Pick a photo with clear, distinct subjects and decent lighting, then generate the free design first and look at the preview closely — check whether faces, eyes or key details survive the numbering. If they do, the kit is a reasonable upgrade; if the preview looks muddled, try a different crop or a simpler photo before ordering. For general background on the format, see Wikipedia.
How do I turn a photo into a paint by number design with PBNify?
Upload your photo to PBNify, let it generate a numbered design and color guide, then either download the free printable PDF or order a complete kit. The whole process is built around three steps: choose a photo, generate the design, and decide between printing it yourself or buying the kit.
The three-step workflow
- Upload your photo. Drag and drop an image, or tap to select one from your camera roll. PBNify accepts JPEG, PNG, GIF, WEBP, HEIC and AVIF files, with a maximum size of 20MB.
- Generate the design. The generator converts your photo into a paint-by-number layout, matching a palette to the image. The preview shows what the finished design will look like.
- Download or order. You can download a free print-ready PDF, or purchase a complete kit that ships with the paints matched to your specific design.
What you get for free
- A numbered paint-by-number design you can preview before committing to anything.
- A printable canvas PDF you can print at home for a DIY project.
- A color guide listing the matched palette so you know which colors to use.
Free download vs. full kit
| Free design | Complete kit | |
|---|---|---|
| What you receive | Printable PDF and color guide | Printed canvas, paints and brushes |
| Best for | Testing the result, casual DIY, crafters with their own supplies | A finished project with no extra shopping |
| Trade-off | You print it and source your own paints | Costs more, but everything is matched to your design |
The kit option described on the page includes a 12 × 15-inch printed canvas, up to 60 paint colors and two brushes, shipped from Columbus, Ohio.
Practical tips before you upload
A few choices make a bigger difference than any setting:
- Pick a photo with clear contrast. Faces, pets and landscapes with distinct light and dark areas convert better than flat, low-contrast images, because the generator needs edges to place numbered regions.
- Use the editing toggles. PBNify lets you switch background removal on or off and choose from multiple crop options. Removing a busy background usually produces a cleaner, easier-to-paint design.
- Trust the preview. The page states that what you see in the preview is what you get, so review it carefully before ordering a kit.
- Check the color count against your patience. Up to 60 colors means finer detail but more switching between paints. For a first project or a child, a simpler image with fewer colors is often more enjoyable.
A concrete scenario
Suppose you want a gift made from a holiday photo of your family. You upload the image, turn on background removal so the focus stays on the people, and crop to a portrait orientation. The preview shows a numbered design with a matched palette. If you have acrylics at home, download the free PDF and print it. If you want the recipient to paint it themselves with no guesswork, order the kit so the canvas and exact colors arrive together.
Where to go next
Start with the free design first. Generating and previewing costs nothing, and it tells you whether your photo translates well before you spend on a kit. If the preview looks too busy, try a different crop or a simpler photo, then compare the two results.
What is included in the free printable paint by number PDF and color guide?
The free design gives you two things: a numbered paint-by-number canvas PDF you can print at home, and a matched color guide listing the paints your design calls for. Together they let you complete the project with your own supplies, or simply preview the design before deciding whether to order the full kit.
What the free design includes
- Paint-by-number design — your uploaded photo converted into a numbered template, shown before you commit to anything further.
- Printable canvas PDF — a print-ready numbered sheet sized for home printing, intended for DIY projects.
- Color guide — the palette matched to your specific design, so you know which colors fill which numbers.
In practice, that means someone with acrylics or craft paint on hand can print the PDF, match the numbers to the guide, and start painting without buying anything. It also works as a trial run: generate a design, judge whether the detail level suits your skill and patience, then decide about a physical kit.
What the free version does not cover
The printable is a flat sheet, not a stretched or mounted canvas, and it does not include paint or brushes. If you want the full setup, the paid kit is described as a 12 × 15-inch printed canvas with up to 60 paint colors and two brushes, shipped from Columbus, Ohio.
A practical note before printing
The design preview is meant to reflect the final output, and the generator offers background removal toggling and crop options, so adjust those first. A busy background tends to produce many small numbered regions, which is harder to paint and less forgiving on a home printer. Cropping tighter around your subject usually yields larger, cleaner areas.
Next step: upload a photo, test a couple of crop options, and download the free PDF to check the region sizes on paper before committing to a kit.
What are the canvas size, paint colors, and brushes in the custom paint by number kit?
The kit uses a 12 × 15-inch printed canvas, includes up to 60 paint colors matched to your generated design, and comes with two brushes.
What that means in practice
- Canvas size: 12 × 15 inches is a mid-size format—large enough to hold detail from a photo, small enough to finish as a hobby project rather than a wall-scale commission.
- Paint colors: The palette is generated from your specific image, with a ceiling of 60 colors. More colors generally mean finer gradients and more realistic shading, but also more switching and a longer painting process.
- Brushes: Two brushes are included, which suits the two most common needs—a broader brush for filling larger areas and a finer one for small numbered regions.
Choosing between the free download and the kit
| Option | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Free design | A print-ready numbered PDF and a color guide | Testing whether a photo translates well, or using your own paints and canvas |
| Full kit | Printed canvas, matched paints, two brushes | A ready-to-start project with no color matching or printing |
If you are unsure how a photo will look once simplified into numbered regions, generate the free design first and check the preview—PBNify states that the preview matches the final output, and background removal and crop options can be toggled before you commit.
A practical next step: pick a photo with clear contrast and a distinct subject, generate the free design, and count how many tiny regions appear in the areas that matter most to you. If those regions look manageable, the kit's 60-color ceiling should give you enough fidelity. If you would rather compare formats or suppliers first, PBNify is the source for this kit's specifics.
Can I remove the background or crop my photo before generating the design?
Yes. PBNify includes background removal and cropping as editing options before you generate the design. The page describes an instant toggle for background removal (on or off) and multiple crop choices, with a preview that reflects what the final design will look like.
What this looks like in practice
- Background removal: Best when the subject is a person, pet, or single object and the background is busy or distracting. Toggling it off keeps the full scene, which suits landscapes, group photos, or interiors where the setting matters.
- Cropping: Useful for tightening the composition around a face, centering a subject, or matching the proportions of your canvas so the design fills the frame instead of leaving awkward empty edges.
A quick decision guide
| Goal | Setting to try |
|---|---|
| Portrait of one person or pet | Background removal on, crop tight to head and shoulders |
| Full scene (landscape, room, crowd) | Background removal off, crop to the most interesting area |
| Small or distant subject | Crop in first, then check the preview for detail loss |
| Photo with a clean, plain backdrop | Either works; leaving the background often adds depth |
Practical tip
Do your cropping and background decisions in the preview stage, before you commit to downloading or ordering. A tighter crop usually means fewer, larger numbered areas that are easier to paint, while a wider crop with lots of background can produce many small regions. If you plan to order a physical kit, review the preview carefully at that stage — the design you approve is the design that gets printed.
Where are PBNify paint by number kits shipped from and how can I track my order?
PBNify ships its custom paint-by-number kits from its own facility in Columbus, Ohio, in the United States. The site states that tracking is provided so you can follow the kit to your door.
The practical detail worth knowing: shipping origin is fixed to the U.S., so domestic buyers avoid customs and long international transit, while overseas customers should expect the usual import handling on top of the transit time. Tracking numbers are typically issued when the carrier scans the parcel, not at the moment the order is placed.
If you need the tracking number, check the shipping confirmation email first, then your account's order history if PBNify stores your designs and orders there. If nothing has arrived a few days after the stated processing window, contact PBNify support with your order number and the shipping address you used.
For a concrete scenario: order a kit as a birthday gift three to four weeks ahead, have it shipped to your own address so you can confirm the canvas and paints before wrapping it, and keep the tracking link handy if the recipient asks when it will arrive.
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