DESKTOP APP · MACOS
PaintByNumbers Studio turns any photo into a printable painting guide: clean vector outlines, A4 tiled at the size you want, and automatic colour match against real acrylic palettes (Maimeri Polycolor, Acrilico 200ml).
Try it free before you buy · One-time · No subscription · Works offline · 1 Mac per licence
USE CASE
PBN Studio splits the drawing into A4 sheets with registration marks and overlap guides. Print, tape together, trace onto canvas. Works for a 30 cm sketch and for full 1:1 human figures alike.
WHO'S BEHIND IT
PaintByNumbers Studio started because I needed it. I paint acrylics on canvas in my spare time, and I built my own tools to go from photo to canvas without losing my mind. Once they actually worked, I made them available to anyone who shares the hobby.
Mysticman Productions is just the label: behind it there's only me. Programming and painting, two passions that meet here. This isn't a commercial venture — it's how I keep my hobby projects alive in the time I have, and share them with anyone who might find them useful.
Everything you need to go from photo to canvas. Nothing else.
01
Three modes (outline / edges / combined) with controls over threshold, blur, Canny and Potrace. Live preview as you tweak.
02
Set the subject height in cm (or inches), the app computes the A4 grid. Registration marks and overlap guides built in.
03
K-means quantization in LAB space, matched against real tubes from Maimeri Polycolor (25), Maimeri Acrilico 200ml (98) or a generic palette.
04
Build your own palette, sample colours directly from the screen, save and reload across sessions.
05
Optional grid overlay (mm or inch) for classic cell-by-cell transfer onto canvas. Tone and colour adjustable.
06
Print-ready PDF with legend, region numbers and colour preview. Also SVG for editing in Illustrator/Inkscape.
PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF, WebP. Drag a yellow rectangle over the subject.
Real-time sliders balance how much detail to keep and how much noise to discard.
From a 30 cm sketch to a 1:1 portrait — the app figures out the A4 count.
Number of tints, minimum region area, target palette.
Print, tape, trace, paint.
macOS build. The Windows 10/11 version is in preparation and will ship separately.
Operating system
macOS 11 Big Sur or later
Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel 64-bit. Universal bundle.
Memory (RAM)
4 GB minimum · 8 GB recommended
8 GB if you work with high-resolution photos or life-size paintings.
Disk space
~500 MB
App + bundled libraries. Your files stay wherever you put them.
Display
1280 × 800 or higher
Retina and 4K/5K screens fully supported.
Printer
A4 (any model)
Inkjet or laser. A4 tiling is designed for home printers.
Internet
For activation only
One licence check roughly every 14 days. Between checks, 100% offline.
First time opening the demo
The app is signed but not Apple-notarized (the developer programme costs $99/year and for a hobby project I'd rather skip it). The first time you open it, macOS asks for confirmation. That's normal — it happens once.
If you see "App is damaged and can't be opened", open Terminal and run:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/PaintByNumbers Studio.app"
Try it for free with all the core features. PDF export and professional palettes unlock with a one-time licence.
DEMO
$0
Forever
FULL
$4.99
One-time · No subscription
Payment handled by Creem.io (merchant of record). The licence is valid for 1 Mac. You can move it to another Mac at any time from inside the app.
By purchasing downloadable digital content you consent to immediate performance and waive the 14-day right of withdrawal (Art. 16(m) Dir. 2011/83/EU). Software provided "as is"; see the Licence Terms.
This is the macOS build (Intel + Apple Silicon). The Windows 10/11 version is in preparation and will be sold separately.
Only for the initial activation and a licence check roughly every 14 days. Between checks it runs 100% offline. Your photos never leave your Mac.
Yes. In the app, click "Activate license…" → "Deactivate this machine". The slot is freed and you can use the same key on the new Mac.
Depends on the subject height. A 60 cm portrait fits in ~6 sheets; a life-size 170 cm portrait takes ~24-30 sheets depending on aspect. The app computes it in real time.