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Beginner Lessons

Microsoft Windows XP Starter Edition

Lesson 5: Intermediate Paint

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you will understand how to:

Skills You Will Need

Before you learn the stated objectives, you should be familiar with:

  • Starting and exiting Paint
  • Erasing parts of a picture
  • Setting foreground and background color for a picture
  • Coloring a picture
  • Saving a picture in Paint
  • Opening an existing file

Session 1: Drawing Shapes

In the previous lesson, you created pictures by using the Pencil and Brush tools. Paint provides several other tools to draw shapes, color pictures, change how pictures appear on the screen, and add text to pictures. You will now learn to draw various shapes in Paint.

Drawing a Line

The Line tool is used to draw lines. For example, you can use the Line tool to draw geometric shapes, such as a right-angled triangle.

To draw a line

  • Click the Line tool in the toolbox, and then drag the pointer to draw the line.

To draw a triangle (See Figure 5.1.)

  1. Click the Line tool in the toolbox.
  2. Drag the pointer to draw the horizontal line of the triangle.
  3. Similarly, draw the other two sides to complete the triangle.

Note  To draw a perfectly straight line by using the Line tool, hold down SHIFT while dragging the pointer.

Figure 5.1: Stages of triangle drawn with the Line tool

Drawing Ellipses and Circles

The Ellipse tool is used to draw ellipses and circles. For example, you can use the Ellipse tool to draw geometric shapes, such as a hemisphere. You can also use the Ellipse tool to draw the circular bases for shapes, such as cylinders and cones.

To draw an ellipse

  • Click the Ellipse tool in the toolbox, and then drag the pointer diagonally in the appropriate direction.

To draw a hemisphere (Figure 5.2.)

  1. Click the Ellipse tool in the toolbox.
  2. Hold down SHIFT, and then drag the pointer diagonally in the direction in which you want to draw a perfect circle.
  3. Erase the upper half of the circle.
  4. Click the Ellipse tool in the toolbox.
  5. Drag the pointer to draw the flat surface of the hemisphere as shown in Figure 5.2. Erase the unwanted area, if any.

To draw a perfect circle by using the Ellipse tool, hold down SHIFT while dragging the pointer.

Figure 5.2: Stages of hemisphere drawn with the Ellipse tool

You can also draw the base of a cylinder or cone by using the Ellipse tool. To draw the sides of the cylinder or cone, you can use the Line tool. (See Figure 5.3.)

Figure 5.3: Figures drawn with the Ellipse and Line tools

Drawing Rectangles and Squares

The Rectangle tool is used to draw rectangles and squares. You can also use the Rectangle tool to draw geometric shapes, such as cubes and cuboids.

To draw a rectangle

  • Click the Rectangle tool in the toolbox, and then drag the pointer diagonally in the appropriate direction.

To draw a cuboid by using the Rectangle tool (Figure 5.4.)

  1. Click the Rectangle tool in the toolbox.
  2. Drag the pointer diagonally in the appropriate direction.
  3. Similarly, draw another rectangle overlapping the first rectangle.
  4. Join the corners by using the Line tool .

Figure 5.4: Stages of a cuboid drawn with the Rectangle tool

To draw a cube, you can follow the steps given to draw the cuboid. However, to draw a perfect square for the cube, hold down SHIFT while dragging the pointer.

If you want to draw a rectangular shape with rounded corners instead of sharp edges, you can use the Rounded Rectangle tool.

To draw a Rounded Rectangle

  • Click the Rounded Rectangle tool in the toolbox, and then drag the pointer in the direction you want.

Drawing Irregular Shapes

Use the Polygon tool to draw irregular shapes. For example, you can draw parallelograms, pentagons, hexagons, rhombuses or trapeziums by using the Polygon tool.

To draw a parallelogram (Figure 5.5.)

  1. Click the Polygon tool in the toolbox.
  2. Drag the pointer from one point to another.

    A line appears between the points.

  3. Click at the point where the second side should end.

    A line is drawn from the end of the first line to the point you click.

  4. Click at the point where the third side should end.

    A line is drawn from the end of the second line to the point you click.

  5. Click at the starting point.

    A line is drawn from the end of the third line to the starting point and the figure is closed.

Figure 5.5: Parallelogram drawn with the Polygon tool

When you click a tool to draw a shape, you will find three fill styles at the bottom of the toolbox. The first fill style creates an outline of the shape by using the foreground color. The second fill style creates a filled shape. The outline of the shape is drawn using the foreground color and the inner area is filled with the background color. The third fill style creates a shape filled with the foreground color.

Drawing Curves

You can use the Curve tool to draw curves. A curve can have one or two arcs in it. Draw a line as you would with the Line tool, and then drag the pointer to make it curve.

To draw a volcano by using the Curve tool

  1. Click the Curve tool in the toolbox.
  2. Click to draw a slanting line from point A to point B. (See Figure 5.6.)

    Figure 5.6: Slanting line drawn with the Curve tool

  3. Drag the pointer upwards to adjust the curve.

    A curve representing a mountain appears.

  4. To depict the crater of the volcano, erase the upper part of the curve with the Eraser tool and draw an arc. (See Figure 5.7.)

    Figure 5.7: Using the Curve tool

  5. Draw arcs to represent the smoke above the curve by using the Pencil tool . (See Figure 5.8.)

    After you finish the drawing, the volcano appears as shown in Figure 5.8.

Figure 5.8: Picture of a volcanic mountain drawn with the Curve tool

Practice Your Drawing Skills

Draw the figures mentioned below by using the Line, Rectangle, and Ellipse tools. Use the Eraser tool, if necessary. Every time you save a file, start the filename with the first four characters of your name.

  1. Draw a diagram representing a pair of sets. Match them with lines as shown in Figure 5.9. Save the picture as SetPairs.

    Figure 5.9: A diagram

  2. Draw a picture of a road map as shown in Figure 5.10. Save the picture as Road Map.

Figure 5.10: Road map

Practice Your Drawing Skills

Draw the figures mentioned below by using the Line, Polygon, Rounded Rectangle, and Pencil tools.

  1. Draw a Ludo board as shown in Figure 5.11. Save the picture as Ludo.

    Figure 5.11: Ludo board

  2. Draw the scientific apparatus shown in Figure 5.12. Save the picture as Apparatus.

Figure 5.12: Scientific apparatus

Practice Your Drawing Skills

Draw the figures mentioned below by using the Curve, Line, and Pencil tools.

  1. Draw the petals of a flower that are arranged symmetrically as shown in Figure 5.13. Save the picture as Flower.

    Figure 5.13: Symmetrical flower

  2. Draw a rainbow as shown in Figure 5.14. Save the picture as Rainbow.

    Figure 5.14: Rainbow

  3. Draw various geometric shapes as shown in Figure 5.15. Save the picture as Shape.

    Figure 5.15: Geometric shapes

  4. Draw a musical instrument as shown in Figure 5.16. Save the picture as Instrument.

    Figure 5.16: Musical instrument

Check Your Learning

  1. Which tool and key combination should you use to draw perfect straight lines?
  2. You can draw a rectangle by using the Rectangle tool. Identify the other tools that you can use to draw a rectangle.
  3. How can you draw a semi-circle without using the Pencil tool?
  4. Can you draw an open-ended polygon by using the Polygon tool? If yes, how? If no, why not?
  5. Which tools have fill styles?
  6. What happens in the following cases? Assume that the Polygon tool is selected.
    1. Draw a line and click another tool.
    2. Draw a V-shaped figure and click another tool.
  7. A curve can have a maximum number of ______ arcs.
  8. What happens when you draw a straight line by using the Curve tool and then click another tool in the toolbox?

Session 2: Undoing and Repeating Actions

If you erase a part of a picture by mistake, you can cancel the action by using the Undo command. For example, if you make a mistake while drawing the leaves in your picture of a tree, you can undo the action instead of erasing it by using the Eraser tool. The Undo command allows you to cancel up to three recent changes made to your drawing.

To cancel a past action

  • Click Undo on the Edit menu.

Figure 5.19: The Undo command on the Edit menu

If you click the Undo command and accidentally remove a part of a picture that you wished to keep, you can restore the picture by clicking the Repeat command.

To restore an action

  • Click Repeat on the Edit menu. (See Figure 5.20.)

Figure 5.20: The Repeat command on the Edit menu

For example, you may draw the outline of a balloon and attach a string to it. If you click the Undo command by mistake, the string is deleted. To get back to the original picture of a balloon with a string, click Repeat. The balloon appears with the string. (See Figure 5.21.)

Figure 5.21: Balloon with and without a string

Check Your Learning

  1. What is the advantage of using the Undo command instead of the Eraser tool?
  2. In what situation will you use the Undo command?
  3. If you use the Undo command by mistake, what can you do?
  4. Under what menu should you look for the Repeat command?
  5. What keystroke combinations can you use to cancel and repeat actions in Paint?

Session 3: Manipulating Pictures

Copying Pictures

Consider Figure 5.22. If you want to include a few more clouds in the picture, you don't need to draw them again. Instead, you can make a copy of the cloud and paste it in various places in the picture.

Figure 5.22: Picture showing a cloud

To copy the cloud shown in Figure 5.22

  1. Click the Select tool .
  2. Select the cloud. (See Figure 5.23.)

    Figure 5.23: Cloud selected by using the Select tool

  3. On the Edit menu, click Copy.

    The selected picture is copied to the clipboard. The clipboard is a temporary storage area where any picture that you copy is stored. After you copy a picture, you can place it in the location of your choice in the drawing area. The next step shows how to do this.

  4. On the Edit menu, click Paste.

    The cloud is pasted in the top-left corner of the drawing area. (See Figure 5.24.)

    Figure 5.24: Picture with a copy of the cloud

  5. Drag the selected cloud to the position where you want to place it.
  6. Click outside the picture to remove the selection box around the picture.

Note  You cannot drag the pasted picture to a new position after you remove the selection box.

You can paste the picture as many times you want by repeating steps 4 through 6. (See Figure 5.25.)

Figure 5.25: Using the Paste command

Moving Pictures

Notice that the clouds appear above the sun. (See Figure 5.25.) You want to shift the position of the sun so that it appears above the clouds. To do so, you can use the Cut and Paste commands in Paint.

To move the picture of the sun

  1. Click the Select tool in the toolbox.
  2. Select the sun. (See Figure 5.26.)

    Figure 5.26: Sun selected with the Select tool

  3. On the Edit menu, click Cut.

    When you cut a picture, it is removed from its original position and pasted in the clipboard.

  4. On the Edit menu, click Paste.

    The sun is now placed above the clouds with a selection box around it.

  5. Drag the pasted picture to the position where you want to place it. (See Figure 5.27.)
  6. Click outside the picture to remove the selection box.

Figure 5.27: The picture showing the new position of the sun

Zooming

When a picture is small, it may be difficult to draw or edit intricate designs in the picture. To help you work with detailed sections, you can use the Magnifier tool to enlarge the image.

To magnify a picture

  1. Click the Magnifier tool in the toolbox.
  2. Click anywhere in the picture. The picture is magnified and only a part of the picture is visible.

For example, you can magnify the picture of the sun shown in Figure 5.27. (See Figure 5.28.)

Figure 5.28: Enlarged view of the picture

Scroll the window by using the scroll bars to view any part of the picture. To bring the picture back to normal size, click the Magnifier tool in the toolbox, and then click 1x from the list given at the bottom of the toolbox. The picture is restored to its normal size.

The other zoom options available at the bottom of the toolbox are 2x, 4x, and 6x. Click 2x to zoom the picture to twice its original size. Click 4x to zoom the picture to four times its original size. Click 6x to zoom the picture to six times its original size.

Alternatively, to restore the picture to the normal size, select the Magnifier tool and click anywhere in the drawing area.

Adding Labels

You can add labels by using the Text tool. The text tool is used to add text with different styles to a picture.

To add text to a picture

  1. Click the Text tool in the toolbox.
  2. Drag the pointer diagonally in the drawing area to the size you want.

    A dotted box appears. (See Figure 5.31.)

    Figure 5.31: The dotted box in which you can enter text

  3. On the View menu, click Text Toolbar.

    The Fonts toolbar appears. (See Figure 5.32.)

    Figure 5.32: The Fonts toolbar

  4. Click the font and font size you want.

Note  Font refers to the style of type in which the text will be displayed. Font size refers to the size of the text.

  1. Click inside the dotted box.
  2. Type the label in the box.
  3. Click outside the box.

The text appears in the picture as shown in Figure 5.33.

Figure 5.33: Text added by using the Text tool

Note  After you click outside the box, you cannot change the text. If you want to change the text after you have clicked outside the box, you must use the Undo command and retype your text.

Practice Your Drawing Skills

In this activity, you will copy and move pictures in Paint.

  1. Open the Apparatus file.
  2. Make a copy of the beaker and paste it at the end.
  3. Move the measuring jar to the end after the beaker.

In this activity, you will zoom the pictures and also add labels to the pictures.

  1. Open the Apparatus file.
    1. Zoom the picture and see how it looks.
    2. Restore the picture to its original size.
    3. Add the label Scientific Apparatus to the picture.
    4. Save the file.
  2. Open the Flower file.
    1. Move the picture to another position in the file.
    2. Create a copy of the figure and paste it at a different position.
    3. Fill the figures with the colors of your choice.
    4. Add the label My Flower.
    5. Save the picture as My Flower.
    6. Print the picture.
  3. Open the Instrument file.
    1. Move the instrument to another position in the file.
    2. Create a copy of the instrument and paste it at a different location in the file.
    3. Fill the instrument with the color brown.
    4. Add the label My Instrument.
    5. Save the picture as My Instrument.
    6. Print the picture.

Check Your Learning

  1. How many times can you paste a picture you have copied?
  2. When you cut a picture, what happens to the picture?
  3. What are the various sizes to which you can magnify a picture?

Test Your Knowledge

  1. Which one of the following statements is true about the Repeat command?
    1. The Repeat command can be used only when the Select tool has been used previously.
    2. The Repeat command is used to undo a previous action.
    3. The Repeat command is used to redo an action that was previously undone.
  2. Stefan is creating a picture of a town. He first draws a house. He wants to make multiple copies of this house and place them in random locations on the drawing area. He copies the house and pastes it once. He tries to move the house to the right corner of the picture but he is not able to do this. What is the most likely cause of the problem?
    1. He clicked outside the selection box immediately after pasting the picture.
    2. He pasted the selection out of the drawing area.
    3. He did not select the picture properly before copying it.
  3. Cherie draws a parallelogram. She does not like the way she has drawn it and wants to recreate the picture. She uses the Undo command to erase the lines already drawn. However, she is not able to undo the first line that she has drawn. What could be the reason for this?
    1. She saved the picture after drawing the first line and hence, she cannot undo it.
    2. You can undo only the previous three actions and the drawing of the first line is the previous fourth action.
    3. You cannot erase the lines by using Undo after the picture is completed.
  4. You want to add a title to a picture you created in Paint. Identify the correct order of steps to add a title.
    1. Click the Text tool in the toolbox.
    2. Type the title in the box.
    3. Click the location in the drawing area where you want to add the title.
    4. Click outside the box.
  5. Who am I? List the appropriate tool after its description.
    1. I can be used to draw a cricket ball.
    2. I can be used to draw a blackboard.
    3. I can be used to draw a trapezium.
    4. I can be used to draw an arc.
    5. I can be used to take a closer look at the minute details of the picture.

Lesson Objective Checklist

Skills AcquiredYesNo
I can draw shapes by using different tools.
I can undo and repeat actions.
I can copy and move pictures.
I can zoom pictures.
I can add labels to pictures.

Terms to Remember

  • Font refers to the style of type in which text is displayed.
  • Font size refers to the size of characters in your text.
  • The repeat command allows you to restore a previous action that you have cancelled using the undo command.
  • The undo command in Paint allows you to cancel up to three recent changes made to your drawing.
  • The zoom command lets you magnify an area of a picture for a closer view or view the picture's overall design.

Did You Know?

Microsoft Paint can teach children about shapes and colors. Students in the middle school level will find Microsoft Paint useful for creating charts on the various topics covered in class. Students can also use Paint for educational projects, school projects, announcements on debates and seminars, panel discussions, and news bulletins. The possibilities are endless!