Nonogram maker: draw a picture, get the clues
Paint squares on a grid and this free maker writes the row and column numbers for you. It also tells you whether your puzzle can be solved by logic alone, or whether a solver would have to guess. Print the blank puzzle, copy the clues, or send them to the step-by-step solver. It runs in your browser, saves nothing on a server and shows no ads.
Click or tap a square to fill it, or drag to paint. With the keyboard, move with the arrow keys and press Space.
How to use it
Pick a size, then paint the picture you want people to find. Under the grid you get the clue lists in the same format the step-by-step nonogram solver accepts, so you can paste them in and watch every deduction. "Print blank puzzle" hides the picture and prints only the numbers and an empty grid, ready for pencil. Anything from 3 by 3 up to 20 by 20 works.
Is my puzzle fair?
A drawing does not always make a good puzzle. The maker runs the same line logic a person uses, row by row and column by column, and reports one of three results. Solvable by logic means the clues have exactly one answer and a solver never needs to guess. Needs guessing means line logic stalls, so players would have to try a square and see what breaks. Several answers is shown when a different picture also fits the clues, which cannot happen with a puzzle that logic completes. Small tweaks usually help: move a lone square, add a square to an empty row, or break up a large solid block. Plain silhouettes with big filled areas and a smooth outline are the most common cause of ambiguous puzzles.
Clues treat a line with no filled squares as 0. Nothing you draw is uploaded or stored. If you want ready-made pictures that are all checked this way, the free Stencil daily nonogram publishes a new one every day, and the guide to solving nonograms explains the techniques.