HOW TO: Colour an Image With Paint.Net

Recently, I was asked how to use Paint.Net to colour images, such as colouring pages and digi-stamps. While the addition of certain plugins will give the image many different looks, such as adding a glass look or a textured look to your finished design, the colouring part is relatively easy!

Below is an image of a colouring page that I downloaded from the internet. With a digi-stamp, you would purchase these from a store.

Once you upload your image to PDN, decide what colours you are going to use in order to colour your page, or use the colour wheel if you want more primary colours. I've decided that I want to go with the colour palette below.

The very first thing you want to do is utilize your magic wand to rid yourself of any excess white in the areas which you want to colour. If you do not know how to use your magic wand, try this tutorial HERE.

Depending on your design, it may take longer (as with a colouring page) or you may not have to do this step (digi-stamps). Either way, you should have an image that looks like this:

The black and white checkered background is there to prove you no longer have any colour attached to that area and that area is now prepped for your chosen colours.

Add your chosen colour to each area where you want them to be. To do this, use your colour picker to select the desired colour from your palette then use the paint bucket to "dump" the colour into the area. You'll do this for each area you have.

Now I have something that looks like this:

You can leave it as is, erase the excess white from the design and use it to decorate your page.

However, if you want to add texture or other features, like glass or bevel, there are additional steps to take and they are so easy to do.

Duplicate your design. Take your magic wand and click the area you want to use a plugin on (mine is the peace symbol itself).

Use your magic wand to click inside of the image, then go to Edit > Invert Selection > then hit delete on your computer.

Once you complete the chosen area, merge all of your layers together and apply your chosen plugin. (I am showing you the part I used Penta Jeans on and the part I did not above) Do this until you have your design complete!

Please know that, depending on your design, adding plugins can take time since we are constantly duplicating and deleting.

Here's my final design: