Learn How to Add Borders to an Image Using Microsoft Paint- Easy Guide

Learn How to Add Borders to an Image Using Microsoft Paint- Easy Guide.

Sometimes subtle changes to an image can make it look different. This is how adding a border to an image changes its appearance and separates it from the background. This helps when you plan to use this image on a website, professional brochures, or social media. The idea is not to let the image background overlap the real background of a website or social media. This article will be helpful guide for you.

There are many ways to add borders to an image, from free online tools to mobile apps. Windows users can take full advantage of native tools like Microsoft Paint to add borders to an image.

Adding Borders to an Image Using Microsoft Paint

An often overlooked tool in image editing is Microsoft Paint. However, the tool offers free and easy-to-use features. And adding a border to an image is quite simple. It works like this:

1. Using Shapes for Borders

This involves using shapes in Microsoft Paint to draw borders around the image.

Step 1: Press Windows key + S to launch Windows Search, type Paint in it and press Enter to launch the application.

Step 2: Click on the File tab in the upper left corner.

Step 3: Select the open menu.

Step 4: Browse for the image you want to import and click the Open button.

Step 5: After importing the image on the shapes tab select the rectangle. After selecting the rectangle mouse pointer should change appearance.

Step 6: On the right of the shapes tab click the outline tab and select the solid color.

Step 7: On the right of the Outline tab, click on the Size tab to choose a preferred thickness for your rectangle.

Step 8: Position of your mouse cursor on the top left corner of the imported image and draw a rectangle filling all the edges of the image and you should have a border.

2. Changing the border color

Normally, when you click on a shape in Microsoft Paint, the default outline color is black. However, if you prefer a different color, you will need to change the outline of the shape before drawing its border. You cannot change the border color once it has been drawn around the image and saved.

There are two ways to change the border color. You can use the default colors or create a distinct color using the steps below:

Option 1: default colors

Microsoft Paint provides a palette containing different shades of primary colors. You can easily select any color for your border using the following steps:

Step 1: Repeat steps 1-3 highlighted under the heading titled Using Shapes for Borders.

Step 2: On the Colors tab, there should be two tabs titled Color 1 and Color 2. Color 1 represents the outline color of a shape, while Color represents the shapes fill the color. In this case select color 1.

Step 3: Select your preferred color from the color palette and the fill in the Color 1 box should change.

Step 4: Draw your rectangle around the image and its border should have the selected color showing.

Option 2: Using the color picker

If the default colors in the palette are different from the ones you prefer to use, you can create your color using the following steps:

Step 1: Repeat steps 1 to 2 highlighted in Option 1 above.

Step 2: Click Edit colors located next to the color palette.

Step 3: In the fields for Red, Green and Blue, enter the color scheme numbers and select OK.

Step 4: Draw your rectangle around the image and its border should have the selected showing.

3. Using an image as a border

If solid colors don't work for your borders, you can also use images to provide texture or patterns for your borders. It works like this:

Step 1: Create a copy of the image to use as a border. This avoids spoiling the original image.

Step 2: Paste it with a new name to make it identifiable as a copy.

Step 3: Launch Paint.

Step 4: Stretch the Paint canvas to make sure it's big enough.

Step 5: Click the arrow below Paste and select Paste From.

Step 6: Select the image to paste and click Open.

Step 7: Once the image is imported into Paint, there should be dotted lines around it. Position the mouse cursor on the dotted line on the edge to get a resize arrow.

Step 8: Drag the image to cover the top of the Paint screen. The size should be the same as a typical border.

Step 9: Repeat steps 5 to 8 again, but this time place the image border on the left, right and bottom of the screen and you should have a complete border.

Side by side of an image

In addition to adding borders to an image, you can use Microsoft Paint for other things. This includes tiling images to add effects to images. The best way to discover the features of the Paint application is by constant use.