• What's Like Paint For Mac
• Whats Paint For Macbook Pro
• Mac Paint Pot Colors
• What Is The Best Paint For Machinery

Access Your Mac's Hidden Paint Program In Preview. You may also like. Preview is awesome for a number of reasons, and writer Dave Winer points out that it also makes a great paint program. Pixelmator is also an amazing drawing program which not only does what Paint can (and then some) but it can even do some of things Photoshop can too. It costs a few dollars but it’s very good value for money. Below is a full overview of the best Paint for Mac alternatives with some tips on which to use and which to avoid.

One thing I use constantly when writing posts is MS Paint to edit screenshots and sometimes featured images. Since I decided to do everything on my MacBook for this blog I needed to find an equivalent of Paint on Mac. And I think I was able to do it.

In short, there are following options available for Paint on Mac:

• Install Paint app on Mac on top of Wine based platform
• Use Preview to edit images and photos
• Use Paint alternatives such as Paintbrush or Pixelmator
• Use online apps such as JSPaint

Installing MS Paint on Mac with Wine

In my article about Notepad on Mac, I described how to install Notepad++ on Mac with the help of Winebottler. The Winebottler also has an option for MSPaint 2010 install, but no matter what I did the installation was failing on multiple MacBooks I used. Still determined to find a way to run native Windows app on Mac I found another Wine based platform: PlayOnMac.

If you curious the way Wine works is by translating API calls from Windows programs to the operating system from Windows to macOS. This is not an emulator, in fact, the name Wine is an acronym that stands for “Wine Is Not Emulator”. This means that only a small subset of Windows calls was translated and it requires quite a bit of work in order to run Windows applications on Wine.

That’s why users instead of copying programs directly from Windows to Wine need some kind of packaging tool where other people did all this work for you. In the case of Paint such tool is PlayOnMac.

Installing PlayOnMac

To install PlayOnMac download the image from the link.

After download double click on DMG file to unpack the app. If you are curious about DMG files, what they are and how safe to install them check my article on this topic.

Now drag and drop the PlayOnMac icon to the Applications folder.

Depending on your settings your Mac may warn that developer is not approved, so you need to do additional things to allow it. Open System Preferences, go to System and Privacy and under General tab click on “Open Anyway” button.

Once PlayOnMac starts, click on the plus icon with the label “Install a program” and in the popup window click on Graphics icon. In the list of programs select Microsoft Paint and click on Install button. Follow wizard instructions and click Next several times.

This will start a process of downloading and installing Paint app. If you don’t have Wine platform already installed then PlayOnMac will ask if you want to install Wine and Gecko. Just click Install button to install them.

After installation is finished a new Microsoft Paint shortcut will appear on the Desktop and you will be able to run Paint on Mac any time.

This approach has pros and cons. Pro is that you can run other Windows programs besides Paint. The main purpose of PlayOnMac was to port some Windows games to Linux and Mac. So check out the tool and see if they have your favorite game ported.

What's Like Paint For Mac

The downside of this approach is that the version of Paint is pretty old. Paint in Windows 10 is a much nicer tool and unfortunately, it is not available at this time.

Also, while Wine is not an emulator and not a virtual machine it still takes some space and ported programs are not native macOS apps.

Use Preview to edit images and photos

If you looking for a native macOS app then definitely check Preview, a built-in macOS program. It has a lot of features that Paint offers and I will show you how you can use for some simple operations. After all, people use Paint for simple image editing. People who edit images professionally use Photoshop or GIMP instead.

Annotate screenshots with Preview

One of the main uses of Paint is to add some annotation for screenshots or photos. By the way, if you are looking for PrintScreen button or snipping tool, i.e. if you don’t know how to make screenshots on Mac check my article: How to Take Screenshots on Mac : 27 Tricks and Tips.

This is how I edited the previous screenshot in Preview.

Before doing anything in Preview remember a simple key combination: Command-Z. If you did something wrong you can always undo it with Command-Z, so don’t be afraid of experimenting, you can always undo anything.

First I double clicked on the image file. By default, .png files (file format for screenshots) associated with Preview so double-clicking on png file will start Preview.

I made sure that both Toolbar and Markup Toolbar are visible by going to View menu and clicking on Show Toolbar and Show Markup Toolbar options.

To make red rectangles around Install Program and Install buttons I had to do some preparations:

1. Click on Border Color icon in the toolbar to select red
2. Click on Shape Style to choose a thicker line
3. Click on Fill Color and then click on Show Colors to bring up the Color dialog and change the Opacity all the way down to 0% so that rectangle in the next step does not hide the underlying image.
4. Click on Shapes and then on rectangle icon.

Preview will add a red rectangle shape to the image. Now you need to move it to a proper place and adjust the size. You do it by hovering the cursor over the rectangle lines and once the cursor changes you can move and resize the element.

Click somewhere on the picture to deactivate the element. The cool thing about Preview is that all the elements you are adding on the image you change later before saving the file. With MS Paint once the element is not active it becomes a part of the image so you can’t come back and change it.

To add some text to the image click on the Text icon. Preview will add a sample text shape which you can move and resize just like any shape. If you need to change the font style and size of the text shape click on Text Style icon in the toolbar.

Sometimes, you may need to add arrows to connect parts of the image together. Use arrow shape from Shapes section, it is very flexible, you can rotate and resize arrows anyway you like it. Alternatively, use Bubble Speech element.

Cropping images in Preview

Preview creates very large files to keep the quality of images as high as possible. Unfortunately, the internet still is not fast enough in some areas and people who read your articles would appreciate if you keep the images as small as possible.

The first thing we will do is crop the image so we can remove the parts we don’t need.

Click on Selection Tools which looks like a rectangle with dotted border and down arrow on the right and select Rectangular Selection.

Click at the top left corner of the image you want to cut and then drag the bottom right to cover the part of the image you need.

Now you have two options:

• You can click on Crop button that appears after selection. In this case, the part of the image outside of the selection will be removed and you will have only the selected part left. With this option, the selection will replace the original image.
• You can copy the selection to the clipboard with Command-C key combination and then in the menu go to File -> New from Clipboard. This will open a new Preview window with the selected part of the image, so you can save it in another file without changing the original.

Combining multiple images in one

For each blog post, I always create a featured image. Since I can’t always find the perfect image online I often combine multiple images to create something interesting. For this blog I decided to combine an image I found on Pixabay with the screenshot of Paint app inside.

I started with the original image and opened it in Preview window.

In another Preview, I opened the second image: a screenshot of Paint. Using Selection tools I made a rectangular selection and copied it to the clipboard.

Then I switched to the original image and pasted the selection by using Command-V key combination. Then I adjusted the size and position of the selected image inside the iMac screen and saved the file.

Resizing images in Preview

For featured images, I need the ones with the specific dimensions: 833 by 450 pixels. The original image dimensions were 1280 by 1043. To resize the image I clicked on Adjust Size option in Tools menu. I wanted to keep the picture proportional so resized it to 552 by 450 pixels.

Then I switched back to screenshot pic and adjusted its size to 833 by 450 (non-proportional). Then selected everything with Command-A and deleted the entire image with Delete button. Now I had a clean canvas with the correct size (833×450) to which I copied the 552×450 picture.

The result you can see at the top of the blog post.

Whats Paint For Macbook Pro

Converting to JPEG

All screenshots on Mac are saved in PNG format which is too big for the internet. I prefer to save all images in JPEG which makes smaller files by compressing and slightly reducing the quality.

To save the picture in another format open it in Preview and select the Export option in the File menu.

Choose JPEG, other formats are not better than PNG. Don’t use JPEG-2000 because it’s not supported by most browsers.

There will be a slider which allows you to choose the quality of the JPEG: higher the quality larger the file. When you move the slider Preview will tell how big the file will be, so choose what works best for you.

Drawing in Preview

Preview has tools to draw pictures besides the predefined set of shapes. But here is a problem: if you start the program by itself there is no option to create a new file. But I found a workaround:

I use Command-Shift-3 keys to make a screenshot and while the thumbnail floats I click on it to open it in Preview. Then I select all with Command-A and Delete. Then I resize the picture and on the clean canvas I can draw.

In the toolbar, there are two pencil-like icons: Sketch and Draw. The difference between is that with Sketch has ability autocorrect the lines you draw so shapes look nicer than when you use Draw option.

Paint alternatives

Paintbrush

If you search on forums the application most mentioned as an alternative to Paint is Paintbrush. You can download the app from sourceforge.io, just google for “paintbrush app”.

Installation is very simple. Download the zip file to your Mac, unpack it. Double click on Paintbrush app to start it. In the beginning, it will ask you whether you want to copy it to the Applications folder. That’s it.

It’s a very simple app, the only problem with it that it’s not being maintained for a long time. The last entry in their blog “We are not dead yet” appeared nine years ago.

Anyway, this could be a good alternative, especially to equally old Paint on PlayOnMac platform.

Pixelmator Pro

Another tool is Pixelmator Pro. This one is much more sophisticated and it is not free. You can download it from the Apple Store for $39.99 or try it first for free and see if you like it.

The number of features packed in the app is huge. So, after playing with it for a little I don’t feel it’s a replacement for Paint because it requires me to learn a new tool which was not needed with Paint.

Online tools

JSPaint

I found a neat online clone of old Paint at jspaint.com. It’s a free web-based tool built entirely in JavaScript and you can run it in the browser without needing to install anything.

Conclusion

I presented several ways to run Paint and its alternatives on Mac or online. If all you need is old Paint app then PlayOnMac, Paintbrush or JSPaint options is all you need. Pixelmator could be a viable approach as long as you don’t mind to invest some money and time to learn the new tool.

Preview could also be a good choice if all you need is to annotate images or photos. The annotation part of Preview is probably the best, otherwise, it’s really a pain to edit in Preview.

Unfortunately, if you are looking for MS Paint which is a part of Windows 10 I wasn’t find anything close to it.

So, after several days of research and trials, I ended up with setting up a remote desktop connection from my MacBook to my Windows 10 PC and use it only for editing images.

We spend so much of our working lives on our computers that it’s easy to forget that they can be an artistic outlet as well. But you don't have to be a master illustrator or shell out hundreds of dollars for drawing software just to enjoy some creative recreation. Setapp offers a range of creative apps that turn your Mac into your own private studio, no brushes required.

Drawing software for Mac

Get a best creative apps for keeping your Mac in shape. Best drawing tools in one pack, give it a go!

How to draw on a Mac

Whatever your skill level, drawing a little bit every day has clear psychological benefits. And what better way to get into the habit than to start sketching, doodling, and even painting right on your computer?

Step 1: Choose drawing software and tools

Of course, part of the fun of the digital world is that it can make so many colors, textures, and effects available. You’ll want something that gives you access to this wide range of options without being too complicated.

Tayasui Sketches is a great drawing app for the Mac. It packs a ton of functionality into a minimal interface, letting you focus on your creativity, not on the buttons. Plus, the background and brushes all give the sense of drawing on real paper, not a blank digital canvas. You can start drawing using your mouse, or attach any standard tablet for the flexibility that a stylus or Apple Pencil provide.

Basic drawing tools to start

The best drawing app can give you a freedom to express your ideas as digital art. It provides a number of tooltip options for its paintbrush tool that mimic the effect of real paintbrushes. Simply select the brush, pencil, or marker type you’d like to use, choose your color, and start painting.

The tooltips mimic the physical qualities of different media; markers offer a thick, opaque line while watercolors are semi-transparent on the page, bleeding and fading to different intensities for a looser look. As you work with the Tayasui Sketches, you’ll get a sense of each medium’s opacity and learn how to incorporate them into your unique style.

Building up a drawing

Choose the app that allows to create an unlimited number of layers to draw on. This lets you lay down foundation sketches before you come in with a paintbrush or marker. You can also experiment with different washes and overlays on top of your drawing without fear of ruining it. With layers, you can try out various styles and versions of the same painting, or even delete underlying layers for an interesting effect.

Watching your creative in progress

If you’d like to improve your painting and drawing, or show others how to achieve the same effect, you can record your process to review later or share online. Nobody becomes a master overnight, but by referring back to paintings you’re proud of or soliciting advice from other artists on your technique, you’ll know where to focus your effort. Plus, you’ll have the whole record of your improvement in one place.

Step 2: Painting tips to draw faster

Once you’ve gotten comfortable with drawing and painting, you can use a number of apps to push your work to the next level.

Image color picker

How do you select an exact color to match? The fastest way is to use a color picker. It allows to click on the image to get the color of a pixel.

Sip lets you add any color you encounter on the web to a set of endlessly customizable palettes. It seamlessly integrates with paintbrush apps for the Mac, including Tayasui Sketches, so you can use colors you sample in your own work. Color picker lets you zoom in and out to select exactly the right source shade, plus its built-in color editor lets you adjust your selected shades as needed.

Retouching tools

As strong as your painting skills might be, everyone can benefit from a little post-production help. That’s where CameraBag Pro comes in. This robust image editor is set up with beginners in mind. Even if you’re not a PhotoShop pro, you can sharpen, blur, and make small corrections with ease. You might also find that the app’s extensive collection of filters add another layer of complexity to your work.

Step 3: Organize your art

Mac Paint Pot Colors

Keeping track of your work can be a challenge, especially when you’re producing variations on the same image. The image managing app Emulsion lets you examine, annotate, and organize pictures in folders and cataloging your image library using multi-level tags from a single window. You’ll be able to set up automatic tags for different projects, zoom in to the pixel level with its loupe function, and export your work in any image format. Plus, this organizer lets you size, crop, and share your art with ease, integrating seamlessly with dropbox and other cloud hosting services.

Between its flagship drawing and painting tool and its suite of helpful image enhancers and organizers, Setapp can help both beginners and experts get over MS Paint once and for all. Make sure you get the right tool (and the right tooltip) for the job.

What Is The Best Paint For Machinery

Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.

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