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Custom coloring book

How to make a custom coloring book from your photos

To make a custom coloring book, turn your photos into coloring pages with Penna, pick the pages in the order you want, and export them as one PDF that you print at home and staple or bind.

A personalized coloring book starring your child, your family or your pets makes a birthday present, a party favor or a rainy-day project.

A custom coloring book called Leo's Adventures with a color cover

Step by step

  1. Make your pages

    In Penna, turn photos into coloring pages, or draw the person in a photo into one of 24 adventure scenes. Each page is saved in your Library.

  2. Start a book

    Tap Make a book and pick the pages you want in it.

  3. Put them in order

    Arrange the pages on the grid and look through the book in the preview.

  4. Add a cover (Penna Pro)

    Give the book a title and a cover: in color from an adventure page, or in black and white from any other page.

  5. Export one PDF

    Penna puts the whole book into one PDF, sized for A4 or US Letter.

  6. Print and bind

    Print the PDF at home, then staple the pages, punch them into a binder or tie them with ribbon. A copy shop can print and bind it too.

Make your first page

Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle Play

Free to try: 2 pages to start. No account needed.

Ideas for a personalized coloring book

Starring your child

Your child as an astronaut, a superhero, a dragon rider: one adventure per page.

Birthday party favors

A small book of the birthday child for every guest, or a page of each guest to take home.

The family book

Parents, siblings, grandparents and cousins, one page each, to color on a visit.

Our summer

Photos from a trip or a holiday turned into a book of memories to color.

Pets

The dog, the cat and the hamster, each with their own page.

For the classroom

Teachers can make pages of class trips and school events from their own photos.

The Penna home screen with coloring pages, adventure scenes and Make a book

Everything stays in Penna's Library on your phone: reopen a book later, add pages, rename it or share the PDF again.

Making a book and the PDF is free. A cover with a title is part of Penna Pro.

Printing and binding at home

  • Paper: everyday printer paper for crayons and pencils, heavier paper (28 to 32 lb, 105 to 120 gsm) for markers.
  • Sides: print single-sided for markers so the ink does not show through.
  • Binding: two staples on the left edge, a ring binder, or a hole punch and ribbon.
  • Cover: print the cover on cardstock to make the book last longer.

Questions

How do I make my own coloring book for free?

Install Penna, turn your photos into coloring pages, tap Make a book, put the pages in order and export the book as one PDF to print at home. Making the book and the PDF is free, and Penna is free to try with 2 pages to start. For a whole book of pages and a cover with a title, there is Penna Pro.

Can I make a coloring book from my own photos?

Yes. Every page in a Penna book is made from your own photos, either as the photo itself or with the person drawn into an adventure scene.

Can I add a cover with a title?

Yes, with Penna Pro. The cover can be in color, made from an adventure page, or in black and white from any other page.

Can I get the book printed and bound?

Penna gives you the book as one PDF. Print it at home, or take the PDF to a copy shop to have it printed and bound.

Can I add more pages later?

Yes. Books are saved in Penna's Library on your phone, so you can reopen a book, add pages and export it again.

More ideas

How to turn a photo into a printable coloring page

Turn any photo into a printable coloring page with Penna on iPhone or Android: take or pick a photo, choose a style, print on A4 or US Letter. Free to try.

A coloring book of the grandchildren, a gift for grandparents who have everything

A gift for grandparents who have everything: a coloring book made from photos of the grandchildren. How to make one with Penna and print it at home.

Rainy day activities for kids at home, no screens needed

18 screen-free rainy day activities for kids at home: blanket forts, indoor scavenger hunts, baking, puppet shows, puddle walks and coloring pages of themselves.

Penna questions and answers

Answers about Penna: what happens to your photos, how to print pages and books, which paper to use, what is free and what Penna Pro adds, and which phones it runs on.

Make your first page

Penna is free to try on iPhone, iPad and Android.

Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle Play

Scan this code with your phone's camera to get Penna.

Free to try: 2 pages to start. No account needed.