paint-by-numbers 
adjective
1(Of a child’s picture) marked out in advance into sections which are numbered according to the colour to be used.We were told by one of the docents that the artists had drawn the figures beforehand, and then filled them in like a paint-by-numbers picture; color by color; all the orange first, and then the blue, and so on, until all were complete....
- And while you've seen it before, it's seldom been done this well; even a paint-by-numbers picture can be a work of art if the artist does a careful job colouring within the lines.
- But then, I'll look at a paint-by-numbers picture of a little kid, and it'll warm and comfort me.
1.1Denoting something mechanical or formulaic rather than imaginative or natural: a paint-by-numbers way to feel or act...
- Heaven forbid that any of his scenes not be composed with a formal stateliness, or that his cinematography not stick absolutely to a paint-by-numbers colour scheme.
- So please, let's stop buying reproductions of paint-by-numbers singing butlers and start having the guts to fill our own houses with art that's intelligent, challenging and truly in tune with the spirit of the age.
- The movie's so precious, so obviously delighted by its paint-by-numbers quirkiness, it's actually embarrassing to watch.