Your family photos can now become a child’s colouring book: Here’s how

Parents now have a new way to turn everyday family photos into colouring pages, using an AI app designed to keep children engaged at home.

Parents looking for new ways to keep children busy now have an option that starts with photos already saved on their phones. A new app called Splat uses artificial intelligence to convert personal images into colouring book pages that children can print and fill in.

Here’s how to turn personal photos into kids’ colouring pages using this AI app. (Pexels)

By MD Ijaj Khan

Ijaj Khan is a technology journalist and Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times, with over three years of experience covering the consumer technology industry. His work spans smartphones, laptops, wearables, gaming, appliances and AI - from hands-on reviews, comparison and buying guides to breaking news and in-depth features that help readers cut through the noise and make informed decisions. Before joining HT Tech, he worked with Jagran New Media, where he sharpened his instincts for fast-paced digital reporting. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in English Journalism and Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi. Whether he's testing the latest flagship smartphone, tracking a major AI announcement, or putting a gaming laptop through its paces, Ijaj approaches every story with the same goal - making technology feel relevant and easy to understand for everyday users, not just enthusiasts. When he's not in front of a screen for work, he's usually travelling to a new city, hunting for great food, or keeping tabs on what's next in tech before everyone else catches on.

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How Splat Works

Users can upload family photos, pictures of pets, or everyday moments and turn them into black-and-white outlines made for colouring. The app also supports educational themes such as animals, space, flowers, vehicles, robots, and storybook scenes. This allows parents to mix personal images with learning-focused content.

Splat comes from the same startup behind Retro, a photo-sharing app built for private sharing among friends and family. With Splat, the focus shifts from sharing images to reusing them in activities meant for children.

Subscription Plans and Availability

The app offers one free AI-generated page as a trial. After that, users need a subscription. A weekly plan costs $4.99 (around Rs. 415)and allows up to 25 pages each week. An annual plan costs $49.99 (roughly Rs. 4,150)and allows up to 500 pages in a year. Users can print the pages or use them on a screen.

Splat is available on both iOS and Android. While many websites already offer colouring pages, they often rely on stock images and feature ads that interrupt use. By using personal photos, Splat aims to give families a more direct and familiar option.

The app joins a growing group of child-focused AI tools. Other products in this space include apps that create printable stickers and AI-powered toys that change behaviour over time. This trend comes as parents continue to debate whether children should use broader AI tools such as chatbots.

That debate drew attention recently after a technology executive shared that he used an AI tool to help his child complete a colouring task. Critics responded by saying such tools could reduce skill development in children. The post was later removed.

To use Splat, users upload or take a photo and choose a visual style such as cartoon, comic, anime, manga, or 3D film. The app then creates a colouring page. Parents can select topics their child likes during setup. To limit access to purchases and settings, the app requires parents to confirm their birth year before making changes.