Creating a centre square design in Paint

The following steps will help you to create a centre square design in Paint.

Select and save an image tile
Create the centre square

Select and save an image tile

This section describes how to create a 200 x 200 pixel image from a larger scanned or digital photograph. This image square or tile will be used as the basis for a centre square design.

Before you begin, decide which photograph of your site you want to use. You may need to view several images before deciding on one you think is suitable. When choosing an image, consider:

contrast
colour
interesting shapes and patterns
image quality
what the image tells about your site.

Once you have selected an image, complete the following steps.

1 Open a new Paint document and set it to 200 x 200 pixels

Open the program Paint (a new blank document will open). If Paint is already open, go to ‘New’ on the File menu to create a new document.
Go to the Image menu and open the Attributes dialogue box.
Set the canvas area to 200 pixels wide and 200 pixels high and click ‘OK’.

2 Paste the image you have chosen into the document

Select the entire document: choose ‘Select All’ on the Edit menu
Choose ‘Paste From’ on the Edit menu. The ‘Paste From’ dialogue box opens.
Locate the image of your site that you what to use.
Select it and then click on ‘Open’. Wait for the image to appear in the document window.
The whole image is selected but only the area that fits in the 200 x 200 pixel window area is visible. The rest of the image is hidden from view.

3 Display the area of the image you want to use

Hold down the mouse and drag anywhere within the area of the selected, inserted image to display hidden areas in the document square.
Do not click outside the selection area until you are satisfied with the area of the image that is visible. As soon as the image is deselected it is cropped to the area that is visible.

4 Save the file

Select ‘Save as’ on the File menu.
In the next dialogue box:
1. Name your file ‘tile’.
2. Set the file type to ‘jpg’.
3. Make sure you know where you are saving the file.
4. Click on the ‘Save’ button to complete the save.

Create the centre square

This section explains how to use the ‘tile’ to create a centre square design. You will insert the tile into a new document four times. You will modify three of these tiles by flipping them vertically and/or horizontally as appropriate.

When the tile is pasted into the document you are able to work with it independent of the file’s other content because the tile is selected. Once it is deselected, it merges with the rest of the image (including any white background areas). Always check the tile is positioned and modified correctly before deselecting it. Use the ‘Undo’ command on the Edit menu to undo mistakes.

1 Create the first segment of the pattern

Create a new document.
Open the Attributes dialogue box on the Image menu.
Set the dimensions to 400 pixels wide and 400 pixels high and click ‘OK’.
Choose ‘Paste From’ on the Edit menu, then locate and select the ‘tile’ file that you just created.
Click on ‘Paste’ to insert the file into the current document.
Drag the tile into the top left corner of the window. Do not click outside the tile area or you will lose the selection.
Check that you have aligned the segment accurately in the corner. If you move it too far, the image will begin to disappear from view.
Save your document with an appropriate name and in an appropriate location.

2 Create the second segment

Choose ‘Paste From’ on the Edit menu and select the ‘tile’ file that you created.
Click on ‘Paste’ to insert the file into the current document.
Drag the tile into the top right corner of the image (opposite the first segment). Carefully place it in the corner of the window.
With the tile still selected, open the Flip/Rotate dialogue box on the Image menu.
Select ‘Flip horizontal’ and click on the OK button to carry out the action.
Check that the tile segment is still aligned correctly in the corner. If not, adjust or move it.
Save your document.

3 Create the third segment

Choose ‘Paste From’ on the Edit menu and select the ‘tile’ file that you created.
Click on ‘Paste’ to insert the file into the current document.
Drag the tile into the bottom left-hand corner (under the first segment you inserted).
With the tile still selected, open the Flip/Rotate dialogue box on the Image menu.
Select ‘Flip vertical’ and click on the OK button to carry out the action.
Check that the tile segment is still aligned correctly in the corner. If not, adjust or move it.
Save your document.

4 Create the final segment

Choose ‘Paste From’ on the Edit menu and select the ‘tile’ file that you created.
Click on ‘Paste’ to insert the file into the current document.
Drag the tile into the bottom right-hand corner (diagonally opposite the first segment you inserted).
With the tile still selected, open the Flip/Rotate dialogue box on the Image menu.
Select ‘Flip horizontal’ and click on the OK button to carry out the action.
Open the Flip/Rotate dialogue box again and this time choose ‘Flip vertical’. Click on the OK button to carry out the action.
Check that the tile segment is still aligned correctly in the corner. If not, adjust or move it.
Save your document.

5 Review your design

Look at the design that you have created.

Do the segments align properly?
Do they mirror each other?
How would the design change if the original image is placed in a different segment (and the others were flipped to mirror it)?
Are you satisfied with the design you have created?

Make any revisions that you think would improve your design by repeating the steps of this guide.