diff --git a/skimage/novice/_novice.py b/skimage/novice/_novice.py
index 28df15d4..24c2ff0e 100644
--- a/skimage/novice/_novice.py
+++ b/skimage/novice/_novice.py
@@ -281,8 +281,8 @@ class Picture(object):
         if isinstance(color, six.string_types):
             color = color_dict[color]
         rgb_size = tuple(size) + (len(color),)
+        color = np.array(color, dtype=np.uint8)
         array = np.ones(rgb_size, dtype=np.uint8) * color
-        array = array.astype(np.uint8)
 
         # Force RGBA internally (use max alpha)
         if array.shape[-1] == 3: