How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen)

This wikiHow teaches you how to change the background for an image using one of your Windows computer's Paint programs. While the traditional MS Paint program won't allow you to create a transparent image, you can create a green screen...
Method 1 of 2:

Using Paint

  1. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 1How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 1
    Find the image for which you want to change the background. Go to the image that you want to use for this project. You can use any image, but keep in mind that a higher-resolution image will be easier to work with.
  2. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 2How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 2
    Right-click the image. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu.
  3. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 3How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 3
    Select Open with. It's near the middle of the drop-down menu. A pop-out window will appear.
  4. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 4How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 4
    Click Paint. This option is in the pop-out menu. Doing this will open your photo in Paint.
  5. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 5How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 5
    Select the drawing tool. Click the pencil-shaped icon in the "Tools" section of the Paint toolbar to do so.
  6. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 6How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 6
    Change the drawing tool's width. Click the Size drop-down box, then click the thickest line in the resulting drop-down menu.
  7. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 7How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 7
    Double-click the light green box. It's in the upper-right side of the Paint window.
  8. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 8How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 8
    Draw carefully around the part of the image you want to save. This will help create a boundary between the image for which you want to change the background and the section of the photo that you'll replace with a green screen.
    1. You can zoom in by clicking the + icon in the lower-right corner of the window.
  9. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 9How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 9
    Use the light green color to fill in the surrounding space. The best manner for doing this will vary depending on your image; for example, if the left side of your image is mostly background that you want to delete later, you can select the rectangle drawing icon, click Fill, click Solid color, and then click the Color 2 box and double-click the light-green option. You can then click and drag across the section you want to remove to block it out with a large green box.
    1. When you're done, you should have a green background surrounding your subject.
  10. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 10How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 10
    Save the image. Once you've added the green screen background to your image, save the image as a new file by doing the following:
    1. Click File.
    2. Select Save as.
    3. Click JPEG picture.
    4. Enter a file name, then click a save location (e.g., Desktop).
    5. Click Save.
  11. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 11How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 11
    Use a different program to replace the green screen. Unfortunately, MS Paint can't replace your green screen with a different image; you'll have to use your preferred photo manipulation option (e.g., Photoshop) or video editor to do this.
    1. Since the whole background is the same color, any green screen editing should leave you with only your initial subject on whatever background you select.
Method 2 of 2:

Using Paint 3D

  1. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 12How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 12
    Open Start
    How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 13How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 13
    . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
  2. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 14How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 14
    Open Paint 3D. Type paint 3d into Start, then click the Paint 3D option at the top of the Start window.
  3. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 15How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 15
    Click Open. It's in the middle of the Paint 3D window.
  4. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 16How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 16
    Click Browse files. This option is near the middle of the window. Doing so opens a new window.
  5. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 17How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 17
    Select a photo. Go to the location of the photo for which you want to replace the background, then click the photo once to select it.
  6. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 18How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 18
    Click Open. It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. Your image will be opened in Paint 3D.
  7. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 19How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 19
    Click the Canvas tab. This three-by-three grid icon is in the upper-right side of the Paint 3D window. Doing so opens a new column on the right side of the window.
  8. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 20How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 20
    Click the grey "Transparent canvas" switch
    How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 21How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 21
    . It's in the right-hand column. The switch will turn blue
    How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 22How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 22
    .
  9. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 23How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 23
    Click Magic Select. You'll find this tab near the left-hand side of the Paint 3D window.
  10. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 24How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 24
    Drag the edges of the canvas in to surround your subject. This will ensure that your final image requires as little editing as possible.
    1. Try to get the edges as close to the part of the image that you want to keep as possible without being inside of it.
  11. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 25How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 25
    Click Next. It's on the right side of the page.
  12. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 26How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 26
    Add or remove any sections you want to keep or delete. Anything that is both outlined in blue and fully colored (e.g., not greyed out) will be saved when you crop the photo. If parts of the section you want to save aren't included, or if parts that you don't want to save are included, you can add or remove sections by doing the following:
    1. Add — Click the Add icon at the top of the right-hand column, then draw an outline around the section of the image that you want to include.
    2. Remove — Click the Remove icon at the top of the right-hand column, then draw an outline around the section of the image that you want to remove.
  13. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 27How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 27
    Click Done. It's on the right side of the page.
  14. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 28How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 28
    Copy the selection to your clipboard. Press Ctrl+X to do so. You should see the selected portion of your image disappear from the Paint 3D window.
  15. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 29How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 29
    Click Menu. It's a folder-shaped icon in the top-left corner of the window.
  16. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 30How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 30
    Open your background image. Do the following:
    1. Click Open.
    2. Click Browse files.
    3. Click Don't save when prompted.
    4. Select the image you want to use as a background.
    5. Click Open.
  17. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 31How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 31
    Add the original image to the background. Once the background image opens, press Ctrl+V to paste the copied section of your original image onto the background.
    1. If necessary, you can resize the original image by clicking and dragging one of its corners inward or outward.
  18. How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 32How to Change an Image Background in MS Paint (Green Screen) Picture 32
    Save your image. To save your project as one image, do the following:
    1. Click the folder-shaped Menu icon in the top-left corner of the window.
    2. Click Save as.
    3. Click Image.
    4. Enter a name for your image, then click a save location (e.g., Desktop).
    5. Click Save.
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