WORKING WITH THE PAINT TOOLS

Windows Paint is an accessory designed specifically for graphics – drawing and images of all kinds, from simple to complex. Paint provides tools that make the process of drawing images quite simple, and it offers many features that make revising and modifying artwork more fun that work (even for people who tremble at the thought of sketching of paper). The finished art can be used as a stand-alone image or placed in a newsletter, poster, letterhead, advertisement, notice, flier, or other document.

Introducing the Paint Tools

You open the Paint program from

the Accessories menu. The Paint icon

resembles a bucket of paintbrushes.

When Paint opens, you see an opening

screen with these familiar features:

a title bar; and, of course, a menu bar.

In addition, the Paint window has

two unique tool areas: a toolbox

and a color box.

Step-by –Step 4.1

1. Start Paint: Click the Start button, select Programs, then Accessories, and then choose Paint. The Paint screen appears.
2. Maximize the screen.
3. Display the View menu and make sure that the first three menu options are checked. Leave the Paint screen open for the next Step-by-Step.

Using the Toolbox

The drawing area of the Paint window is where all the action takes place. The tools you need are to the left of the drawing area in the toolbox, and the color box is beneath it. Take a look at the figure below, an enlarged picture of the toolbox. Notice that each tool is represented by an icon that illustrates the tool’s function.

The 16 tools in the Paint toolbox can be classified in four groups: drawing tools, paint tools, modifying tools, and a text tool:

• Eight drawing tools are provided. The four line tools are used to draw lines, boxes, and circles. These tools are Pencil, Brush, Curve, and Line. Four shape tools (or geometric tools) are used to form shaped objects. The shape tools are Rectangle Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, and Polygon. Each shape tool is available in outline, filled/bordered, and filled (no border) styles.
• Two painting tools are used to paint or “color” objects: Air brush and Fill With Color.

• Five modifying tools allow you to edit drawing and paintings: Select, Free-Form Select, Eraser/Color Eraser, Pick Color, and Magnifier.
• One text tool lets you add text to your graphic.

To draw or paint, click the desired tool in the toolbox. Then when you move the pointer to the drawing area, the pointer changes to the tool you selected or to a crosshair that allows you to draw a shape or line. When you select a tool, the bottom portion of the toolbox may provide further options for the tool, such as line style or weight. Figure 4-3, for example shows the different shapes available for the Brushy tool and the kinds of lines that can be created with them. Simply click one of the options in the selection area to change the shape of the line. The selection area is commonly found below the toolbox in Paint.

Using the Color Box

The color box offers a palette of colors that you can use to select foreground and background colors. The two small overlapping squares at the far left of the color box indicate the current selection for foreground (top square) and background (bottom square) colors. By default, Paint selects black as the foreground color and white as the background color.

Generally, foreground color is controlled by the left mouse button and background color by the right button. When you are creating a filled shape with no border, the foreground color is the fill. If you create the shape using the right mouse button, however, foreground and background colors reverse. Figure 4-4 shows how foreground and background colors are applied to various shapes drawn with the left and right mouse buttons.

It is easy to change color box colors and patterns. To change the foreground color or pattern, point to the desired color or pattern and click the left mouse button. To change the background color or pattern, point to the desired color or pattern and click the right mouse button.

Using the Drawing Tools

Now let’s prepare to use Paint’s drawing tools. First a few general guidelines:

• To use a drawing tool, select it from the toolbox. Position the tool’s icon or crosshair where you want to begin the object, then click and hold down the mouse button, drag until the object is the desired size, and release the mouse button.
• To delete the last object you created with the current tool, select Undo from the Edit menu.
• To clear your screen at any time, choose Clear image from the Image menu.

The four line tools are used for drawing lines:

• Use the Pencil tool to draw thin, free-form lines.
• Use the Curve and the Line tools to draw curved and straight lines. To draw a perfectly straight line, hold down the Shift key as you draw.
• Use the Brush tool to draw free-form lines using any of 12 brush shapes and sizes.

Before you use any line tools (except the Pencil), determine the size and/or the shape of the line by selecting from the palette of brush shapes or line sizes below the toolbox.

The four shape tools (or geometric tools) are used fro drawing objects:

• Use the Rectangle and Rounded Rectangle tools to draw rectangle with square or rounded corners. If you want a perfect square, hold down the shift key as your draw.
• Use the Ellipse tool to draw circles and ovals. For a perfect circle, hold down the Shift key as you draw.
• The Polygon tool is used to draw multisided closed objects with straight sides. Draw the first line of the object using the crosshair. Position the crosshair where you want the next side of the object to end, then click the mouse button. Double-click when you want to finish the object.

To change the weight of the line for these shapes, first select the Line tool and choose a line weight. To change outline and fill options, select foreground and background colors from the color box.

You’re ready to use the drawing tools to create simple drawings. Don’t worry about your “artistic ability”! Your graphic may differ slightly from the illustrations in the Paint exercises. Just do your best and have fun!

Hot Tip: If you make an error or you click or release the mouse button too soon, select the Undo option on the Edit menu.

Step-by-Step 4.2

1. Figure 4-5 shows a number of objects in the drawing area. Use this figure as a guide when completing the following steps.
2. Draw a thick vertical line down the center of the screen:
1. Select the Line tool from the toolbox.
2. Select the thickest (the last) line from the selection area.
3. Position the crosshair at the top center of the drawing area—not on the menu bar.
4. Press and hold down the Shift key, press and hold down the mouse button, and then drag to the bottom of the drawing area. Release the mouse button, and then release the Shift key.
3. In the upper half of the left side of the page, draw a perfect square box with the thin border:
1. With the Line tool still selected, choose the thinnest line from the selection area.
2. Select the Rectangle tool.
3. Select the first option (outline) from the selection area.
4. Position the crosshair in the upper portion of the drawing area.
5. Press and hold down the Shift key, press and hold down the left mouse button, and then drag down and to the right until you have a box similar to the one in Figure 4-5. Release the mouse; then release the Shift key.
4. Draw a perfect filled circle in the lower half of the left side of the page:
1. Select the Ellipse tool and choose the second option from the selection area.
2. Select a foreground color or pattern by clicking in the color box, with the left mouse button.
3. Select a different color for the background by clicking in the color box, with the right mouse button.
4. Position the crosshair in the lower portion of the drawing area.
5. Press and hold down the Shift key, press and hold down the right mouse button, and then drag up and to the right until you have a circle similar to the one in Figure 4-5. Release the mouse; then release the Shift key.
5. Use the drawing tools to draw lines and objects similar to those in Figure 4-5. Do not draw anything on the right side of the screen. Leave your practice drawing on-screen for the next Step-by-Step.

Using the Painting Tools

You can use the two painting tools to draw free-form objects and to fill graphic objects:

• Like a can of spray paint, the Airbrush tool sprays a light circular pattern of colored dots, not a solid color. Click once on the mouse button to get one “spurt” of color, hold down the mouse button and drag to get a “trail” of spray color.
• The Fill With color tool fills a shape with color or shading. The shape must be completely enclosed (such as a box or a circle); any opening will cause the paint to spill out of the shape The Fill With color icon looks like a paint jar pouring paint.

Step-by-Step 4.3

1. Figure 4-6 shows several new objects added to the practice drawing, Use this figure as a guide as you complete the following steps.
2. Draw a thin horizontal line across the center of the right half of the screen using the Line tool.
3. Using the Brush tool, write your first name in the upper portion of the right side of the drawing area:
1. Select the Brush tool
2. Select the last brush shape in the third row of the selection area.
3. Select a foreground color (or pattern) of your choice by clicking on your selection on the color box with the left mouse button.
4. Position the brush-shape mouse pointer where you want to start, press the mouse button, and “write” your name.
4. Using the Brush tool, draw three different closed shapes in the lower portion of the right side of the drawing area:
1. Select the Brush tool, if it is not already selected.
2. Select a foreground color (or pattern) of your choice.
3. Draw the shape. Be sure you make a closed shape.
4. Repeat steps 4a-4c to create two additional objects.
5. Use the Fill With Color tool to fill the interior of two of the objects you created in Step 4 with a different color or pattern.
1. Select the Fill With Color tool from the toolbox.
2. Select a foreground color or pattern from the color box.
3. Position the tip of the pouring paint from the Fill With Color mouse pointer inside the object you want to fill.
4. Click the left mouse button.
5. Repeat steps 5b-5d to fill one more object.
6. Use the Airbrush to fill the interior of the last of your three objects with a different color or pattern:
1. Select the Airbrush tool from the toolbox.
2. Select a foreground color or pattern from the color box.
3. Position the Airbrush tool mouse pointer inside the object where you want the airbrush stroke press and hold the mouse button, and “spray” the interior of the object.
7. Leave the Paint document on-screen for the next Step-by-Step.

Saving and Printing a Drawing

You can save and print a drawing exactly as you save and print a Notepad or WordPad document.

You select Save As on the File menu to save the drawing for the first time. Select Save to periodically save your work. To print a drawing, select Print from the File menu to display the Print dialog box. Here you can choose what pages to print and how many copies to print.

To change page settings before you print, choose Page Setup from the File menu. The Page Setup dialog box lets you change paper size, orientation, and margins.

To see how your drawing will appear on the page before you print it, chooses Print Preview from the File menu. The Print Preview window allows you to zoom in on your drawing and to print it if you are satisfied with it.

Step-by-Step 4.4

1. Select Save As from the File menu.
2. Save the file as My Drawing lastnameinitial to My Documents and to the Assignments folder for this class.
3. Choose Print Preview from the File menu to view your drawing as it will look when printed.
4. If it will print to 2 pages, you need to make some adjustments. Try going to page setup. Choose landscape and Fit to 1 by 1 page.
5. Check it in Print Preview but do not actually print it!