Paintballs are not made of paint. they are soft gelatin capsules (the same gelatin as in Jell-O) containing a mixture of vegetable oil and food color. They are nontoxic and biodegradable. Paintballs are encapsulated by the same machines that make bath beads and vitamin capsules. R.P. Scherer, the worlds largest encapsulation company, was the first company to produce paintballs. Today there are many facilities in North America and Europe dedicated to manufacturing paintballs. Billions & billions of paintballs are produced each year in Asia, Europe and North America.