How to Make a 3D Crab

You can claw your way to 3-D crab graphics with Microsoft Paint.

Whether you are a fan of the little scuttling sea creatures for their succulent meat, their ability to burrow under mounds of sand or pound other predators with their massive claws, crabs can be a quick and simple doodle project. But to really make your crab come alive, you can render it with a 3-D look using Microsoft Paint. Although Paint is a simple graphics drawing program, it offers the tools to shadow a crab just so, making it look as if it’s going to crab-walk its way right off your screen.

Instructions

1. Click "Start," "All Programs," "Accessories" and "Paint" to open Microsoft Paint.

2. Click to choose a main crab body color from the “Colors” section of the ribbon, such as traditional red or blue for stone crab. For additional colors, click the “Edit colors” button and choose from there. Click the “Color 2” button on the ribbon, then click the same color so both boxes show the same crab color.

3. Click the circle icon from the “Shapes” section. When the Fill menu next to it becomes enabled, click it and choose “Solid color.”

4. Position the cursor in the middle of the canvas. Press and hold down the left mouse button and drag down and to the right, making the circle longer than it is wide.

5. Click the “Brushes” button on the ribbon. Position the cursor near the top left of the crab’s body. Draw a half moon crescent shape, with the top point of the crescent angling to the right, with the curve toward the left. This is the crab’s left claw.

6. Position the cursor on the top right of the crab’s body. Draw a similar, mirror-image claw facing the other way. For stone crab claws, draw this claw much larger than the first, which is how these crabs get their names.

7. Draw three thin, spindly legs coming off each side of the bottom of the crab's body. For straight lines, press and hold down the "Shift" key and drag the cursor.

8. Click the black or dark gray-colored square on the ribbon. Click the “Color 2” button and click the color again.

9. Click the circle shape again. Press and hold down the “Shift” key, then drag the cursor slightly to draw a very small circle. Drag the circle down close to the top of the crab’s body, in between the claws, to form an eyeball. Repeat for a second eyeball. Click the line tool in the “Shapes” section, then draw a line from each eyeball to the body, forming the eye stalks.

10. Switch to the black paint color if it isn’t already showing in the “Color 1” box. Click the arrow below the “Brushes” button and choose “Airbrush.” Click the “Size” button’s arrow and choose the top/thinnest line, which will give you the most concentrated shadow for a 3-D look.

11. Move the cursor so it is directly next to the bottom of the crab’s body. Press and hold down the left mouse button and drag the cursor around the body and legs, adding a line of shadow. Add as much shadow as desired. Tracing the entire crab will make the whole crab look 3-D, whereas tracing just the bottom will make it look as if it is standing on something on the page.

12. Click the "Paint" button. Choose “Save As.” Type a name for the crab file. Click the “Save as type” menu and choose either “PNG” or “GIF,” which gives the crab a transparent background. Click “Save.”

Tips & Warnings

• If you make a mistake during the crab-creation process, press "Ctrl" and "Z" to undo the mistake and try again.

References

• Microsoft Windows: Using Paint