Graphics and Multimedia

Lessons

Primary 4 · Science and Elementary Technology

Graphics and Multimedia

4 lessons

Lesson 1 of 4

Starting Paint and Getting to Know Its Window

13 min

Let's begin

The teacher asks each pupil to make a birthday card for Umutoni. There are no crayons left in the box. "Use the laptops," says the teacher. "Open Paint, and you have every colour you could want!"

What is Paint?

Paint is a graphics program: software for drawing and colouring pictures on a computer. You can use it to make cards, posters, maps and diagrams, and to change pictures you already have.

Starting Paint

On a Sugar laptop: go to the Home view and click the Paint icon (it looks like a paintbrush). If you cannot see it, type "Paint" in the search box.
On a Windows computer: click Start, type "Paint" and press Enter.

The Paint window

In Sugar, the Paint window has a big white area and toolbars at the top.

The canvas is the big white area where you draw.
The Activity toolbar shows the name of your picture. The Journal keeps it under this name.
The Edit toolbar has Undo (take back your last step), Redo, Copy and Paste.
Tool properties let you change the colour, size and shape of your brush.
The tool buttons: brush, eraser, bucket (fill), colour picker, stamp and select.
The Shapes and Text toolbars let you add shapes and words.
The Image toolbar lets you add a picture from the Journal, and rotate or flip part of a picture.
The Stop button closes Paint. Your picture is kept in the Journal.

Paint on a Windows computer has the same kinds of tools, in one row at the top of the window.

Tip

Canvas in the middle, tools on top, Stop to close

And when you make a mistake, don't panic: Undo is your best friend.

✦

Try it yourself

Try each one first, then tap Show answer to check.

1

What is the big white area in Paint called?

Show answerHide answer

Answer: The canvas.

2

Gatete drew a line in the wrong place. Which button takes it back?

Show answerHide answer

Answer: Undo.

3

Where is your picture kept after you click Stop in Sugar?

Show answerHide answer

Answer: In the Journal.

4

Why is it a good idea to give your picture a name?

Show answerHide answer

Answer: So you can find it easily in the Journal later.

Quick check

What is Paint?

What you learned today

Paint is a graphics program for drawing and colouring pictures.
Start it from the Home view in Sugar (or the Start menu in Windows).
The window has a canvas, toolbars with tools, Undo, and a Stop button; your picture is kept in the Journal.

Sources and credits

Activities/Paint, by Sugar Labs wiki contributors, Sugar Labs, CC BY 4.0, adapted by Ganzaa.

The exercises (Try it yourself and the practice questions) are written by Ganzaa. Sugar and its Paint activity are free software from Sugar Labs.

1What is Paint?

2Starting Paint

3The Paint window

Try it yourself

What is Paint?

Starting Paint

The Paint window