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Create a smooth or abstract gradient in Microsoft Paint
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Think only fancy programs like GIMP and Photoshop can make gradients? Well, think again! With a bit of messing around, the simple Paint app that comes with your PC can give you a gradient just as good.
Quick Steps
- Use the line tool to draw a line diagonally across the canvas.
- Use the bucket tool to fill in your gradient colors on either side of the line.
- Open the Resize and skew tool.
- Select the Pixels radio button.
- Unlink the Horizontal and Vertical values and set Horizontal to 1.
- Set Horizontal back to its original width in pixels.
Steps
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Using the line tool, draw a diagonal line across the page. The line tool is in the Shapes section of the menu bar at the top of the screen.
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Fill one side in with the paint bucket. Select a color from the Colors section of the menu bar, then click the paint bucket in Tools . Click the side of the image where you want this color to fill it in.
- You may need to click somewhere else on the screen first to deselect the line you drew. Otherwise, the line will change color when you select a color.
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Repeat this process on the other side of the image. Choose a second color and use the paint bucket to fill in that color on the other side of the line.
- If you want a more complex gradient, add more colors. For example, you can try combining this method with the manual gradient method below.
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Click the Resize and skew tool. It’s in the Image section of the menu bar, and it looks like an image icon with a diagonal arrow at one corner and a larger dotted outline around it.
- You can also open this tool by pressing Control + W .
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Select the Pixels radio button. You can also adjust the image size by percentage, but that method requires more fiddling and the results won’t look as nice.
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Click the blue chain link button. By default, the horizontal and vertical pixels are locked so that if you change one, the other changes by the same amount. Click the blue chain link between the Horizontal and Vertical values to unlink them.
- If you want your final image to be the same size as the original, make note of how many pixels wide the original image is. You'll see this value next to Horizontal under the Resize header.
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Set the Horizontal value to 1. This will reduce the width of your image to 1 pixel. Click OK to apply your change.
- Double check that you're adjusting the Horizontal value under the Resize header rather than the one under Skew . Otherwise, you'll end up with some strange results.
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Set the Horizontal value back to your desired size. For example, if your image was 500 pixels wide, set Horizontal back to 500. Important: You’ll have to reopen Resize and skew and unlink the Horizontal and Vertical values again. Make sure you’re working in pixels and not percentage, too. Click OK to apply.
- You will now have a nice, smooth vertical gradient!
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Fill your canvas with your starting color. You can also manually edit colors to create gradients. To do this, start with one color. Select your starting color from the Colors section of the menu bar, then use the paint bucket tool (in Tools ) to fill your canvas.
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Edit your color slightly. With your starting color selected, click the color wheel icon to open the Edit colors menu. Move the color slider up or down to adjust the shade darker or lighter, or manually move the selection tool on the color gradient window to adjust it. Make sure it's different enough that you can see it, but not so different that your gradient will look choppy.
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Add that new color next to the original color. Use the line or rectangle tool to create a stripe for the new color next to the first one. Fill in your new color with the paint bucket.
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Repeat the process multiple times. If you are making a brown-green gradient, for example, start with brown and make it gradually more green.
- Have patience! This method takes a really long time, but it also allows you to blend the gradient in any direction. It will be worth it.
- To create more complex gradients, try combining this method with the Resize and Skew method above!
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Community Q&A
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QuestionMy height keeps changing with my width. How can I keep this from happening?Odina RoseCommunity AnswerWhen you go to the "Resize and Skew" part, there's a box that's labeled "Maintain Aspect Ratio." This box keeps the ratio between height and width the same, so unchecking it will allow you to change one measurement without changing the other.
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QuestionWhen I change the horizontal the vertical changes, too. How do I only change one?Community AnswerIf you see under the horizontal and vertical values there is a check box that says, "Maintain aspect ratio," untick that.
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QuestionHow do I use a gradient in a certain section? I am drawing a character and want her hair to be a gradient.Community AnswerFirst, you would make the gradient in another image and save it. Next, you would open the image with the character. Make the hair a color that's not the same color as the background or any color that anything else is using, and change Color 2 to that. Turn on "Transparent" selection from the "Select" drop-down menu. Do the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+A, and cut the image. Ctrl+A selects the whole image. Press the drop-down menu from the clipboard. Choose "Paste from" and choose the image with the image. Resize the gradient if you need to. Then do Ctrl+V to paste the original image. Move the image so you are satisfied with the gradient.
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