A paint by numbers mandala is a circular pattern with a number in every shape and a key that matches each number to a paint. You can make one from a free printable, convert a colored mandala with a photo tool, or buy a boxed kit.
We have two tools that sound like they should combine with one click: the Mandala Generator and Custom Paint by Number. They do not. No button sends a mandala from one to the other, and uploading a blank mandala gives you a useless pattern. We tested that, and the results are below, along with what does work.
Our paint-by-number tool builds its palette from the colors in the picture. A blank mandala has two colors: black lines on white paper. Thin lines also count as areas too small to hold a number, so they get merged away.
On November 3, 2026, we ran both tools' code on our own computer. We drew 9 mandalas, with 3 random designs at each of the Simple, Medium and Detailed levels, all at 8-fold symmetry with Medium lines. We then passed each one to the paint-by-number code at the size the download uses. This skipped the website's upload step, and the images were not saved or printed.
| Settings | Blank mandala | Same mandala, with shapes filled by a script in 8 flat colors |
|---|
| 12 colors, Easy | 1 color and 1 area, all 9 times | 8 to 9 colors, 59 to 385 areas |
| 24 colors, Medium | 1 to 2 colors, up to 434 areas | 8 to 10 colors, 59 to 452 areas |
| 36 colors, Detailed | 2 to 3 colors, up to 445 areas | 9 to 11 colors, 62 to 452 areas |
With 12 colors and Easy, a blank mandala came back as a single shape. The higher settings can keep some of the lines, but you get three colors at most, with nothing to tell you which paint goes in which petal.
The color has to be there before the upload. Note that the filled test used perfect flat color from a script. A hand-colored page will be less even, and we have not tested one.
This route is free and needs no account or upload. It suits a mandala better than most pictures, because each ring is one repeated shape. Plan one ring and the same number repeats all the way around.
- Open the Mandala Generator and press New mandala until you like one. Pick a symmetry from 5 to 24.
- Choose a detail level. Simple has 4 rings, Medium has 6 and Detailed has 8.
- Pick Bold lines if you are painting with a brush, since they give you a little room for error.
- Press Copy link so you can get the same design back, because there is no undo.
- Download the PDF on US Letter or A4, and print it on heavy paper or cardstock.
- Write a key. Give each ring a number and pick a paint for it. Add one number for the background shapes between the petals.
- Write the numbers on the sheet in pencil.
The ring count gives you a simple way to size the job. In our 9 test designs at 8-fold symmetry, the rings added up to 64 to 80 repeated shapes at Simple, 136 to 152 at Medium and 224 at Detailed. That leaves out the small gaps between them, so the true count of spaces to paint is higher. The Simple designs had 117 to 206 closed white spaces, and the Detailed ones had 519 to 586.
So plan on an evening of numbering for a Detailed page, or number one wedge of the circle and use it as your guide for the rest. Keep the key to one color per ring, plus the background color, and the finished look stays balanced. For the meaning behind the rings and colors, read what a mandala is.
To paint on canvas, print the mandala at the canvas size and trace it. The SVG download is a vector file, so it stays sharp when a design program or print shop enlarges it.
Use this route if you want the tool to pick the paints and print a numbered sheet with a key.
- Print a mandala from the Mandala Generator and color it with solid, flat color. Crayon texture and shading create extra tones, so markers suit this best. You can also download the PNG and fill it in a drawing app.
- Scan your page, or take a photo straight on in even light. Shadows across the page become extra paint colors.
- Crop it close to the circle and upload the JPG or PNG to Custom Paint by Number. The upload box does not take the SVG file.
- Start with 12 colors and Easy, then look at the preview.
- Switch the preview to Numbered sheet and check whether the pattern still looks even around the circle.
- Download the PDF if you like it. You need a free account, and it uses no credits.
Expect two limits. First, the tool's palette follows your coloring, so asking for 36 colors did not produce 36 in our test. With 8 colors in the picture, we got no more than 11 back.
Second, you may lose some symmetry and some shapes. The tool merges areas too small to hold a number, and it does not know the picture is a mandala. Our Simple designs had as many as 206 white spaces going in and at most 141 areas coming out. For this route, use Simple or Medium designs and print at the largest size, up to A3.
If exact symmetry is what you want, number by hand.
A boxed kit is the easy choice if you want paint and brushes included, and we do not sell one. Two kits show how different these can be.
Cromartie Hobbycraft lists a Figured'Art Sunburst Mandala kit on a 30 cm round wooden slice, rated Easy, at £11.94 when we checked. It comes with numbered acrylic paint pots, three brushes and hanging hardware.
Plaid's Traditional Mandala kit, as listed by Wood Art Supply, takes a different approach. It has a 14 × 14 inch black canvas stamped with a dot pattern, three double-ended dotting tools and 10 acrylic paints. You paint dots instead of filling shapes, so check which kind you are buying.
| You want | Pick | Cost |
|---|
| Exact symmetry and your own color plan | Number by hand | Free, plus paper and paint |
| A key with mixed colors made for you | Color and convert | Free, plus paper and paint |
| Everything in one box | Kit | Kit price |
| No painting, just numbered sheets | Color by number pages | Free |
If you would like to skip the numbers, the mandala coloring pages in the gallery are ready to color or paint freely.
Yes. The Mandala Generator is free with no account, and you add the numbers by hand. Custom Paint by Number is also free, with a free account to download.
No, not usefully. In our test, a blank mandala came back as one color and one area at the easiest setting. Color it first.
Acrylic works on thick paper and canvas. For watercolor, use watercolor paper and fewer, larger shapes, so a Simple design suits it.
Fewer than you might expect. Our generator's advice for coloring is three to five colors, with matching shapes in one ring sharing a color.
Last checked November 3, 2026.
