Windows
Accessory: Microsoft Paint
Program (Tool
Identification)
Window
95, 98 & NT
(Learn
Tool Features, common to Other Paint Programs)
Location: "C:\Program
Files\Accessories\MSPAINT.EXE" |
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Directory | Disclaimer |
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Windows packages a simple and basic Paint
Program for rasterized images like bmp, jpg, and gif files. Only
recommended if you have nothing else. Recommended: Adobe Photoshop,
CorelPaint, and PaintShop Pro and in that order. There may be others I'm
not familiar with, but Adobe Photoshop is the choice of professionals
and my choice.
However, MS Paint basic tools are all included in other Paint Programs,
therefore is worth learning and can be very useful when you graduate to
the powerful programs. Line Art Catalog is also available to create
ideas not only for stationary, but other crafts; Rubber Stamp Art,
Leather Craft, Glass Etching, etc., including coloring book for kids to
used in a paint program or printed and colored with crayons or
paint. The line art Catalog is expanding and will include a
coloring book that you can download from it's location. |
How
To Get/Edit
Stationary Art
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do not recommend using this program to create images
but you may find it satisfactory. Can be useful in editing an image created in
another program. Copying a picture off the web is a good
example where you want just a part of it, like a sprig
of holly that's incorporated in a larger picture. |
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Let's
Open MS Paint
1. Note the locations
of the tools:
Toolbar is on the left
Canvas is white and
selected. 6 dots are stretch locations for mouse to drag and
size the canvas, fit the canvas size to the picture. Canvas
determines total size of file. Therefore, the canvas should
be resized to fit the image as close as possible without
cropping the image.
Color Bar is across the
bottom with basic colors
Color Selected are two
square on top of each other in the lower left corner. The
top color is foreground/left mouse click and the bottom
color is background/right mouse click. In this example, the
foreground/left mouse color is black and the
background/right mouse color is white.
Eyedropper is associated
with color selected. Selecting and placing eyedropper over a
color in the color bar or picture pixel will change the
selection in these two boxes. With eyedropper placed over
color, left mouse click will set the foreground/left mouse
color and right mouse click will set the background/right
mouse color that are associated with the rest of the tools.
Gray Area Indented under
tools will have available settings for the tool selected
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Tool
Bar (left side down)
Eraser: select,
and the cursor will change to eraser image. use like
an eraser. Be sure your background color matches the
canvas as the eraser will erase the image and leave a
color chosen for your background. Choose the size of
the eraser by selecting options now visible in the
gray indented area.
Eyedropper: See
above for instruction.
Pencil: Free hand
draws 1 pixel line with mouse down. Foreground color
with left mouse down and background color with right
mouse down.
Line; select,
Choice of width in gray area indented. draws a
straight line and ends when you release the mouse or
called mouse up. Left and Right mouse colors apply as
in Pencil tool. |
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(Right
side down)
Rectangle
Selection Frame: Draws a frame around a
section of the image area. No crop tool so you have to
select an area to delete, cut, copy and paste. Right
mouse click will deselect or place the image in the
selection rectangle. Note: choices in selection gray
area indented:
Paint Bucket is
fill tool. Fills identical colored pixels with left or
right mouse colors. Colors that are isolated will not
be filled even though they are the same color if not
connected to fill area.
Magnifying Glass
enlarges image with left mouse and reduces image size
with right mouse click. Selection gray area gives you
magnifying choices.
Paint Brush is
like pencil with choices of shape and size of stroke
in gray area indented. Left and right mouse colors.
Capital A is Text
tool. Magnification must be 1:1 to use. Choose
Style, Type, Size, Color is foreground color. Stretch
box to fit the amount and size of lettering. No
anti-alias filter so letters will appear jaggy on
screen.
Squiggle Line:
exactly like pencil but choice of size, shape of line.
Left/Right mouse colors apply.
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most important tool in a
paint program is the "UNDO"
command located under menu "Edit",
"Undo". You can immediately undo a
mistake by selecting undo. |
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Let's
talk about common web pictures
images require a lot
of memory or size and the internet & modems are slow in
transmitting a large file. If it takes too long to download
on a recipient's cpu, the recipient is bored and goes
elsewhere. Solution is to reduce the size of a file to a
satisfactory image quality. Technology is coming on board
with fast Tier 1 and relay systems that the public may be
able to afford in the future. Right now the public is stuck
with slow copper wire telephone modem connections thus the
need to be concerned with file size for electronic
transmissions.
bmp
files is bitmap 16 million colors and used to be
the standard for quality pictures but requires excessive
file size. Some programs are capable of constructing a
bmp file efficiently thus reducing the size, but most are
not. Bmp files should be converted to jpg or gif
files.
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jpg/jpeg
files, I believe was created by Kodak to reduce
picture size for digit cameras and storing more pictures on
CDs. They contain 16 million colors and are excellent
quality. Compression techniques reduced the file size even
more, looking for that 16 million color quality and
satisfying download time.
gif files, 256 colors
was created by CompuServe to satisfy their internet
needs. gif files are normally the standard for the web
because of their satisfactory image quality and sizable file
size reduction. Converting a 16 million color image to a 256
colors will create an affect known a "Posterizing".
Blocks of color in given areas are simularized which reduces
the even flow between colors. However, Adobe Photoshop
converts to a gif image without visible difference in my
opinion. Note: Some jpg files are more efficient than
a gif file of the same image but not often. A detail
Professional will save the the file both ways and then
compare the quality and size to determine which they will
use. |
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| Now
practice each one of the tools I outlined on a blank canvas.
Choose different settings. Ready, let's go step by
step through an actual edit. Click
Here Copy web art
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