Picture nonograms
A picture nonogram hides a recognisable shape rather than an abstract pattern: shade the cells the clues call for and a heart, a star or a sailboat appears. Each one has exactly one solution, checked before it prints. Unlike the abstract grids, a picture can take a little trial and error on top of pure line logic, which is the trade for a shape you recognise.
Abstract hides a smooth blob that solves by pure logic. Shapes hides a recognisable picture: a heart, a star, a sailboat.
Larger grids have more lines to track. Every puzzle has exactly one solution; a shape may need some trial and error.
Customise colours
Clean drops the title band and footer, leaving the grid.
Two pages: the puzzle and its solved picture. Every puzzle has exactly one solution, proved by the same engine as our KDP studio. A shape puzzle can need a little trial and error on top of plain line logic.
Want the whole book?
This makes one puzzle. Sign up to turn it into a full nonogram book for Amazon KDP: hundreds of graded picture-logic puzzles at any trim, as print-ready PDFs.
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Preview
The puzzle and its solved picture, as they print.
How to solve a nonogram
The numbers around the grid describe a hidden picture. Shade the right squares and it appears.
The method
- 1Read the clues as runs. Each number is a block of shaded squares in that row or column, and the numbers are given in order.
- 2Start where the numbers are tight. A long run, or several runs that nearly fill a line, leaves only one way to place them. Shade what every arrangement agrees on.
- 3Mark the empty squares too. Cross out squares you can prove stay blank. Those crosses often force the next shaded square.
- 4Cross-check rows against columns. A square shaded for a row must satisfy its column as well. Work the two together until the picture is complete.
- The one rule
- Each line is shaded to match its clue numbers in order, with at least one blank between runs.
- What the answer page shows
- Every solved picture is printed at the back, so you can check your grid.
- How the grades differ
- Small grids reveal a simple shape fast. Larger grids hide more detail and take more cross-checking.
- Good for
- Anyone who likes a picture as the reward, from quick warm-ups to a long solve.
Making a whole nonogram book?
This page makes one puzzle. To publish a book on Amazon KDP, the KDP nonogram maker generates hundreds of graded puzzles at any trim, as a print-ready 300 DPI interior and solutions PDF. Generate once, export unlimited sizes.
More printable nonograms
Questions
- Are these picture nonograms free to print?
- Yes. Generate the puzzle above and print it with its answer, at no cost and with no sign-up. It is free for classroom, home and personal use.
- Does every picture nonogram have one answer?
- Yes. Every picture has exactly one solution, checked before it prints. Unlike the abstract grids, a recognisable picture can need a little trial and error on top of pure line logic, which is the trade for a shape you know. The solved picture is on the second page.
- Can I make a nonogram book to sell on KDP?
- Yes. The free tool makes one puzzle. The KDP nonogram maker generates hundreds of graded puzzles at any KDP trim, as a print-ready 300 DPI interior and solutions PDF, so you can publish a book.