Lo, Microsoft’s Paint application, a timeless icon of digital creation, hath graced Windows for an age, yet on the fair macOS, a direct equivalent doth not abide. But fear not, for within the realm of Apple doth dwell built-in applications that can perform many a task akin to Paint. And shouldst thou require a more potent image editor, third-party solutions do await thee.
Behold, Apple’s Preview, a noble alternative unto Paint on the Mac, though its prowess may not match the full extent of Paint’s abilities. Forsooth, Preview doth lack a blank canvas for thee to create new artwork from nought, but rather doth offer tools for annotating and highlighting photos and other files, ensconced in simplicity rather than the grandeur of new masterpieces.
Read on, O gentle reader, to uncover the hidden paint features concealed within thy Mac. We shall delve into the usage of built-in tools, and if, perchance, thou seeketh something simpler, we shall guide thee to one-for-one Paint replacements thou canst download posthaste.
Noble reader, take note: the visual aids presented below are drawn from MacOS Big Sur. Though the functions remain unchanged, the presentation doth differ slightly. ‘Tis our custom to employ MacOS in Dark Mode for this presentation.
Finding the hidden tools in Preview
Lend an ear, dear reader, and hark! Use thy Finder to seek out the image thou wishest to edit within Preview.
Step 1: Should the image solely reside within the Photos app, right-click upon yon photo, choose Edit With from the pop-up menu, and then select Preview.
Step 2: With the Preview app unfurled, seek out the Markup button, resembling a pen’s tip ensconced within a circle. Behold, ’tis situated to the left of the search field. ‘Tis this button that unveils the Markup Toolbar, as shown below.
[Image of Markup Toolbar]
Step 3: If thy desire be to swiftly draw upon thy image, heed the Pencil icon and commence thy work. Changes be saved as they unfold, thus, shouldst thou wish to preserve the original image, consider forging a copy afore embarking on thy edits.
Cursor tools
The other tools be fairly self-explanatory to those well-versed in the arts of image manipulation. Yet, a brief elucidation of each tool shalt follow, commencing from the left.
Step 1: The Selection Tools, foremost on the left, determine the cursor’s mode, offering four distinct options. Herein lies the power to select a portion of the image for movement or alteration. The standard rectangle allows for area selection, along with an elliptical selection tool and two lasso tools that cling to shapes as thy hand selects an area.
[Image of rectangular selection]
Step 2: Next, the Instant Alpha tool doth permit thee to magically select an entire region akin to the color chosen from a click upon an area of the image.
Step 3: The Sketch tool affordeth thee the freedom to draw in a freehand manner. Shouldst thy desire only be to swiftly draw upon thy existing image, lo, Sketch doth serve thee well. Yon Preview shall even smooth thy sketch automatically.
Forsooth, shouldst thou attempt to trace a circle freehand, the application shall, with nimble artistry, smooth the curve. A rough circle doth swiftly transform into a smooth form, as revealed below. Should the correction displease thee, an option to erase it shall appear in the bottom-left corner.
[Image of smoothed sketch]
Step 5: Know that Sketch doth differ from Draw in that it doth automatically correct lines unless thou choose otherwise. Draw, meanwhile, doth not engage in such embellishment. Furthermore, Sketch doth not register varying line widths, whilst Draw, empowered by a Force Touch trackpad, doth capture stroke widths of various facets.
Excerpt source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-use-preview-on-mac-for-markup-tools/
