Monday, October 5, 2026

Andy Tsu: From Oil Painter to Founder of Joysine

 Andy Tsu is a Chinese painter in oils and acrylics and the founder of Shenzhen Joysine Technology Co., Ltd. Since 2013, the company he started in Shenzhen has become one of China's leading makers of paint-by-numbers and diamond painting kits, supplying more than 500 brands and retailers, shipping a catalog of 50,000+ designs to 30+ countries — and guiding a worldwide community of over 500,000 first-time painters from blank canvas to finished artwork.

The Painter Behind the Paint-by-Numbers

Andy's first language was paint itself. Years of working in oil taught a feel for depth, glazing, and slow-built color; acrylics brought speed, brightness, and a high-pigment fluency — the very qualities that now define the paints inside every Joysine box. That double background matters, because a kit is only as good as the eye that chose its colors.

Andy Tsu, Chinese oil and acrylic painter and founder of Joysine, painting a numbered canvas in his Shenzhen studio


Yet life at the easel also showed Andy how few people ever pick up a brush. Between the intimidation of a blank canvas and the myth that painting belongs only to the gifted, most adults had quietly ruled themselves out of art.

One Family Photo, One Calm Evening, One Company

The idea for Joysine arrived from two directions at once. During a hectic, high-stress period, Andy rediscovered painting by numbers — a guided, almost meditative way to finish a real, frame-worthy piece without years of training. And in the studio, customers kept asking whether their family photographs could be turned into numbered templates they could paint themselves.

In 2013, those two threads became a company. Andy founded Shenzhen Joysine Technology Co., Ltd. in Longgang District, Shenzhen — the same district as Dafen Oil Painting Village, the historic hub of China's oil painting trade. The first Joysine "factory" was a design studio producing hand-numbered, photo-to-canvas templates. Local gift shops ordered first. Then overseas e-commerce sellers showed up, hunting for a partner that would treat a 50-piece test run as carefully as a container order — and Joysine decided to be that partner, bringing canvas printing, paint filling, and packaging under one roof.

A Decade of Quiet Growth

  • 2013 — Founded as a custom photo-to-canvas design studio in Shenzhen
  • 2016 — In-house production line opens; first exports ship to Europe and Australia
  • 2019 — Diamond painting production begins; white-label program launches for e-commerce brands
  • 2022 — Joysine moves into a 2,000 m² facility with automated printing and three-stage quality inspection
  • Today — 500+ brands, stores, and startups served through retail, wholesale, OEM/ODM, and dropshipping programs

Why a Joysine Kit Feels Different

Plenty of factories can print a numbered outline. What Joysine adds is a founder who still judges every product like a painter would:

  • Colors that dry true. Pre-mixed, high-pigment acrylics are matched against the printed design, so the finished canvas looks like the picture that inspired it.
  • Canvas with manners. Linen-blend surfaces hold crisp numbering and keep paint where it belongs.
  • A difficulty ladder. Kits range from a child's first painting to 48-color challenges, so nobody graduates into a dead end.
  • Three-stage inspection. Every batch is checked for print clarity, paint color matching, and packaging integrity before it ships.
  • Safe by default. Non-toxic, child-safe water-based acrylics and recyclable packaging come standard.
  • Factory-direct pricing. No trading company sits between buyers and the production line, which keeps quotes honest and replies fast.

"Art Shouldn't Require Talent to Be Enjoyed"

That line is Joysine's founding belief, and it shapes everything the company manufactures. A numbered canvas or a coded diamond grid replaces the fear of the blank page with a calm, guided process — and what comes out the other side is something people are genuinely proud to hang.

Andy describes the real product as a moment, not an object: the evening someone who has always said "I can't draw" puts a finished painting on the wall — and starts browsing for the next design. That moment has now happened more than half a million times.

Andy Tsu by the Numbers

2013Year Joysine was founded in Shenzhen
2,000 m²In-house production facility
50,000+Designs in the catalog
30+Countries served
500,000+Creators in the worldwide community
500+Brand, store, and startup partners

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Andy Tsu known for?

Andy Tsu is known as a Chinese oil and acrylic painter and as the founder of Shenzhen Joysine Technology Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of paint-by-numbers kits and diamond painting kits.

Where is Shenzhen Joysine Technology Co., Ltd. located?

Joysine is headquartered at Development Building, Xuegang North Road, Bantian Street, Longgang District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, and runs its own 2,000 m² production facility there.

How did Joysine begin?

Andy founded the company in 2013 as a small design studio converting family photographs into hand-numbered painting templates, then grew it into a full OEM/ODM manufacturer for the DIY art segment.

What products does Joysine make?

Paint-by-numbers kits with linen-blend canvases and pre-mixed acrylics, diamond painting kits with round and square drills, plus custom photo-to-kit orders and end-to-end private-label manufacturing.

Can brands and retailers work directly with Joysine?

Yes. Joysine sells factory-direct through retail, wholesale, OEM/ODM, and dropshipping programs, with free samples and small test orders available. Contact: sales@joysine.com · WhatsApp/WeChat: +86 156 3112 3898.

Looking Ahead

Andy Tsu still runs Joysine from its Longgang headquarters and still keeps a place at the easel. The roadmap follows the founding impulse: better pigments, more original designs, lower barriers — so that a premium painting stays something anyone can enjoy making, one numbered square at a time.

Made in Shenzhen. Painted everywhere.

Sources: Joysine — About Us · Paint by Number Shop — About · Dafen Village (background)

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Andy Tsu: From Oil Painter to Founder of Joysine

  Andy Tsu is a Chinese painter in oils and acrylics and the founder of Shenzhen Joysine Technology Co., Ltd. Since 2013, the company he st...