60 designs
Checked October 2026

Puzzle Painting Ideas

Press for three puzzle designs, each with its colors, where the paint goes and the brush or tool.

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Loose pieces glued around a penciled heart, tabs outwardPink, red, white. Pieces follow a penciled heart; a white highlight dash on each. Liner brush.
Train track crossing every row of pieces, a station halfwayGreen, gray, brown, red. The track runs from a top edge piece to the bottom edge in two bends. Liner brush.
Picture frame edged with pieces in four bluesFour blues, white. Blues alternate around the frame; a white edge dragged on each piece. Dry brush.

Next step Paint one picture across three canvases Paint an ornament next

All 60 designs

One picture across the assembled puzzle 12

Checkerboard that ignores the cuts Black, red. Squares ruled a different size from the pieces, so each piece holds parts of several. Tape.
Exactly one yellow star centered on every navy piece Navy, white, yellow. Navy over the whole puzzle; one five-point star centered on each piece. Stencil.
Kitchen plot: a different crop along each row of pieces Brown, green, orange, purple. Carrot tops, lettuces and beets in rows that follow the cuts. Round brush.
One goldfish to a piece, ripples crossing every cut Teal, orange, white. Each fish stays inside its own piece; ripples cross the cuts. Round brush.
One huge sunflower, its middle on the center piece Yellow, brown, green. Petals reach the four edges; the brown middle fills one piece. Round brush.
Patchwork quilt, a different print inside every piece Six brights, white. Dots, stripes or checks fill each piece; stitch dashes follow the cuts. Liner brush.
Sea depth bands: pale top row to navy bottom row Five blues, white. Each row one step darker; a small fish on one piece of every row. Flat brush.

Show all 60 designs (53 more)

One picture across the assembled puzzle, continued

Stained-glass look: each piece one flat color Eight colors, black. No two touching pieces match; the cuts are traced in black as leading. Liner brush.
Storefronts: doors on the bottom row, roofs on the top row Brick red, cream, teal, gray. One building fills each column of pieces. Flat brush.
Sunrise with one ray ending on every edge piece Yellow, orange, pink. The sun sits on the bottom middle piece; rays fan out to the border. Flat brush.
Train track crossing every row of pieces, a station halfway Green, gray, brown, red. The track runs from a top edge piece to the bottom edge in two bends. Liner brush.
Whale from corner to corner, spout on a top edge piece Blue-gray, white, pale blue. The tail starts on a corner piece; the eye lands mid-puzzle. Flat brush.

Single pieces as charms and magnets 12

Brooch piece with a daisy, its center on the middle Teal, white, yellow. Petals reach toward each tab; a pin back goes on the reverse. Round brush.
Chalkboard-black piece as a gift tag Chalkboard black. The whole face black, edges included; a hole in one tab takes the string. Flat brush.
Earring pair: two small pieces in teal with gold edges Teal, gold. Flat teal on the face; gold along the cut edge all the way around. Liner brush.
Five magnets stepping from pale pink to plum Pink, white, plum. One piece per step, mixed lighter each time; the cut edges painted too. Flat brush.
Fruit magnets: one fruit on each of six pieces White, red, yellow, green, purple. One fruit centered on white; the tabs stay white. Round brush.
Memory-match set: polka dots in pairs of six colors Six colors, white. Twelve pieces, two in each color; even white dots on every one. Dotting tool.
Night-sky charm: navy piece flicked with white stars Navy, purple, white. Purple dabbed over navy; stars flicked across the whole face. Toothbrush.
Number magnets: a numeral on each of ten pieces Ten colors, white. One white numeral centered on each piece, zero to nine. Paint pen.
Piece dipped half in gold, a cord through one tab Any solid color, gold. Color all over; gold on the lower half up to a masked line. Tape.
Swirled piece: drops of two colors dragged with a toothpick One bright, one dark. Drops of both colors dragged into swirls over the bare face of the piece. Toothpick.
Tiny landscape on a single piece: hill, sun, one tree Green, blue, yellow. The hill fills the bottom tab; the sun sits in the top tab. Liner brush.
Zipper-pull piece with stripes that follow the tabs Two colors. Stripes run straight across the body and bend out along each tab. Liner brush.

The back of an old puzzle 12

Back in four color quarters to sort by corner Red, yellow, green, blue. Each quarter of the assembled back one flat color. Tape.
Back painted white, then a child's own drawing across it White, any colors. Two white coats over the assembled back; the drawing covers every piece. Foam brush.
Bare cardboard back as the sky, three clouds sponged on White. The blue-gray back stays bare; each cloud crosses several pieces. Sponge.
Column letters and row numbers on the back Black. A letter for each column and a numeral for each row, written small on every piece. Paint pen.
Diagonal color bands on the back as a second puzzle Four colors. Wide bands from corner to corner across the assembled back. Tape.
Edge pieces gold and middle pieces navy on the back Gold, navy. Every piece with a straight side in gold; all the rest navy. Flat brush.
Family handprints overlapping across the back White, four colors. One hand per person, pressed so each print crosses the cuts. Handprint.
Glow dots on the back for building with the lights low Glow paint, navy. Navy over the back; one glow dot in the middle of each piece. Dotting tool.
Hidden message in capitals, read by flipping the puzzle White, black. Two white coats over the back, then your own words across every piece. Paint pen.
Maze across the back, start and finish on corner pieces White, black, red. Ruled paths cross the cuts; a red dot marks each end. Paint pen.
New picture on the back: a lighthouse over bare cardboard White, red, blue, yellow. The tower runs up the middle column; bare cardboard stays as fog. Flat brush.
Three-in-a-row grid on the back of a nine-piece puzzle White, black. Two lines each way along the cuts; loose buttons serve as markers. Liner brush.

Piece-shaped animals and people 12

Astronaut: top tab as the helmet with a blue visor White, blue, gray, orange. A gray pack outline on the body; an orange stripe on each arm tab. Liner brush.
Bat: black piece, side tabs as wing tips Black, purple, white. Purple wing ribs fan to each side tab; two white fangs under the eyes. Liner brush.
Crab: side tabs as claws, eyes on the top tab Red, white, black. Two eyes on the top tab; a black pincer notch on each side tab. Round brush.
Elephant: one side tab as the trunk Gray, pink, black. Two crease lines on the trunk tab; a large pink-lined ear beside the eye. Liner brush.
Fox face: piece turned corner-up, two tabs as ears Orange, white, black. White cheeks meet at the lower corner; a black nose on the tip. Round brush.
Gingerbread figure on a four-tab piece Tan, white, red. White icing zigzags at the neck of each tab; two red buttons in the middle. Paint pen.
Owl: side tabs as wings, eyes under the top tab Brown, cream, yellow. Two cream eye rings fill the upper half; feather scallops below. Round brush.
Penguin: black piece, white belly, side tabs as flippers Black, white, orange. A white oval down the middle; an orange beak under two dot eyes. Round brush.
Reindeer trio of pieces: tab-down face, two antler pieces Brown, tan, red. The face piece points a tab down as the nose; two tan pieces sit behind. Round brush.
Robot: silver piece, tabs as head and arms Silver, red, blue, black. A dial and three buttons on the chest; a grille mouth on the top tab. Paint pen.
Scarecrow: side tabs as straw arms Tan, blue, red, yellow. A patched blue shirt on the body; yellow straw strokes on both arm tabs. Liner brush.
Snowman: top tab as the head, scarf at the neck White, orange, red, black. A red scarf line where the tab joins; coal dots down the body. Dotting tool.

Frames, wreaths and garlands of loose pieces 12

Candy cane: red and white pieces along a hook shape Red, white. Pieces alternate along a card cane; a gloss stripe on each red piece. Flat brush.
Fall wreath: rust, mustard and brown, tabs pointing out Rust, mustard, brown. One flat color per piece, mixed around the ring like leaves. Flat brush.
Flower: yellow piece in the middle, six pieces as petals Yellow, pink, green. Petal pieces point one tab outward; a green piece as the leaf. Round brush.
Frame in spectrum order around the opening Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. One color per piece, running once around the frame. Flat brush.
Garland of pieces painted as pennants on a string Five brights, white. One color per piece with a white dot border; string through a tab. Dotting tool.
Loose pieces glued around a penciled heart, tabs outward Pink, red, white. Pieces follow a penciled heart; a white highlight dash on each. Liner brush.
Picture frame edged with pieces in four blues Four blues, white. Blues alternate around the frame; a white edge dragged on each piece. Dry brush.
Pumpkin: orange pieces in an oval, one green piece as stem Orange, burnt orange, green. Darker orange down the middle of each piece for the ribs. Round brush.
Snowflake from six white pieces, tabs meeting in the middle White, silver, pale blue. Silver vein lines from the middle out along each piece. Liner brush.
Sunburst around a round mirror, gold pieces fanned out Gold, white. Two rings of gold pieces, tabs pointing away from the glass. Foam brush.
Tree of green pieces in rows, a yellow piece on top Green, yellow, red, brown. Rows widen toward the base; red ornament dots on the tabs. Dotting tool.
Winter ring of overlapped green pieces, a red dot on each tab Three greens, red. Pieces painted before gluing, overlapped tab over blank; the dots go on last. Dotting tool.

How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-02: 60 designs for blank puzzles, loose puzzle pieces and old puzzles, in five groups of 12. The designs, color lists and placements are our own; each detail line gives the colors first, then where the paint goes, then the brush or tool. Read on 2026-10-03 in the English Wikipedia (text under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license): that the pieces of today's jigsaw puzzles lock together with rounded tabs and indentations called blanks, that most puzzles have edge pieces, straight on one side, and four corners, and that they are now made mainly of interlocking cardboard pieces, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jigsaw_puzzle; that acrylic paint is fast-drying and that acrylic paints are mostly water-based and resist water once dry, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylic_paint. We do not test paints or sealers: read the label on yours. Licence: own work

How it works

Jigsaw pieces interlock by rounded tabs and the indentations called blanks, and an edge piece has one straight side. These 60 designs use the tabs, the cuts or the whole assembled grid.

Read the full guide

Puzzle piece painting ideas, one piece at a time

A single piece holds one idea. Under Single pieces as charms and magnets, Swirled piece: drops of two colors dragged with a toothpick needs no brush at all. Under Piece-shaped animals and people the tabs do the drawing, as in Owl: side tabs as wings, eyes under the top tab.

The whole puzzle as one surface

Twelve designs are painted across an assembled blank puzzle, cuts and all. Checkerboard that ignores the cuts is a hard puzzle on purpose; Exactly one yellow star centered on every navy piece gives each piece its own clue.

Questions and answers

What paint do you use on puzzle pieces?

Acrylic paint is fast-drying, and most kinds are water-based and become water-resistant when dry. Whether a paint or a sealer suits coated cardboard or wood is on its label: we do not test paints.

Can you paint over an old puzzle?

Yes. Twelve designs are for the back of an old puzzle, where the cardboard is bare. Back painted white, then a child's own drawing across it turns a puzzle nobody builds any more into a new one.

What can you make with loose puzzle pieces?

Wreaths, frames and garlands. Twelve designs glue painted pieces in a ring, a row or a shape, such as Snowflake from six white pieces, tabs meeting in the middle and Fall wreath: rust, mustard and brown, tabs pointing out.

Do the animal designs need a special piece?

Most need an ordinary piece with a tab on top and one on each side. Gingerbread figure on a four-tab piece is the exception, and Reindeer trio of pieces: tab-down face, two antler pieces uses three.