Cat paint by numbers, from a photo of your cat

The coat decides how many colors you need

Black cats. A black coat is rarely black in a photo. It holds browns, blue greys from the window and a light streak along the back. At 12 colors all of that merges into one flat dark shape and only the eyes remain. Pick 36 or 48 colors with Fine detail. The counter under the preview will jump, mostly because of small areas along the fur.

White and cream cats. The opposite problem. On a white duvet the outline disappears, because the generator puts the cat and the bedding in the same color group. Move the cat onto a darker blanket or a wooden floor before taking the picture.

Tabbies and tortoiseshells. The stripes and patches are what makes your cat yours. 24 colors keep the main stripes of a tabby. A tortie, with orange and black patches cut into small pieces, comes out better at 36.

Eyes, the part people look at first

Cat eyes reflect light. With the flash on they come out as two green or yellow discs with no pupil, and the painting keeps exactly that. Turn the flash off, sit near a window and hold the phone at the cat's eye level rather than from above.

In dim light the pupils open wide and the eye turns into a black circle. Daylight narrows them and shows the color of the iris, which is worth a color number of its own.

Whiskers are thinner than the smallest area the generator keeps, even on Fine. Painters add them at the end with a fine brush and a little white.

Before you choose the photo

• One cat, filling at least half of the frame.
• Asleep or sitting. A tail in motion becomes a blur, and a blur becomes one muddy area.
• The original from the phone gallery, not a screenshot or a photo forwarded through a messaging app. The generator tells you when the file is under 900 px on its long side or heavily compressed.

On paper or on canvas

The PDF prints on Letter paper at home. The custom pet portrait kit prints the same kind of outline on canvas, from 12"x12" to 23.5"x23.5", with 24, 36 or 48 colors, the acrylics mixed for your photo and the brushes. Already painted cats are in the pet collection.

The same tool, with advice for other photos: the general generator, dog photos, any pet, people, couples and places.

Comparing shops? Here is how our kit stands against Davincified and Number Artist on price, delivery and returns, with a source for each line.