Graphics editor: drawing

A graphics editor is a program for creating and editing pictures, for example Paint. Its window has a white area to draw on, a toolbar and a colour palette. We draw not with a pencil and paints but with the mouse.

The main tools are: the Pencil, which draws a thin freehand line; the Brush, which leaves a thicker mark; the Fill tool, which colours a closed area; and the Eraser, which rubs out what you do not need. There are also ready-made shapes such as a straight line, a rectangle and an oval. You can choose the line thickness and colour.

A simple picture, such as a house, is built from three basic shapes: a square for the wall, a triangle for the roof and a rectangle for the door. Once the shapes are drawn, colouring them brings the picture to life. If you make a mistake, Ctrl+Z undoes the last action.

A finished picture can be saved as a file. The most common formats are PNG and JPEG, which are good for printing and for inserting into a document. Give the file a clear name and save it in your own folder.

Key takeaways

• In a graphics editor you draw with the mouse and tools.
• The main tools are the pencil, brush, fill, eraser and shapes.
• A complex picture can be built from simple shapes.
• A picture is saved in PNG or JPEG format.