How to Do Easy Abstract Art on Windows XP

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By thesquirrelymom
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It's so simple, a small child can do it.

This is a fun, easy way to look like you spent a lot of time creating a design in your paint program on Windows XP. I tried it on Windows Vista and it doesn't work on Vista. But with Windows XP and your paint program you can make fun designs really easily.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Computer with Windows XP

Step 1

Another example of this type of work.

Select your paint program and open it up. This is the paint program that comes with windows. It is located in accessories.
Step 2

This is the page before I will save it for the first time.

Make some basic shapes. I like to use the circles and squares to begin with and get the feel of it. You can also freehand draw some simple shapes, just make sure they are enclosed so you can use the paint bucket on them without coloring in the whole page.
Step 3

This picture has a variety of things I was working on, in different stages.

Go ahead and color your background a solid color, and color your shapes a different color.
Step 4

I just used the paint bucket and filled in the background. Notice how it leaves some of the previous color showing through.

Go to the file menu and select "save as". Name your picture and then save it as JPEG or JPG. The default will try to save it as 24-bit bitmap, but you don't want that, you have to do JPEG.
Step 5

As the page gets fuller, one drop of paint won't do the parts that have closed up. You just need to keep going to the different areas and adding the paint bucket to them.

After you have saved it, choose another color and fill the background in again. It should leave part of the previous background showing. Fill in your shapes as well with a color, then select the file menu and save it again. I like to just ad a number 1 to the name each time I save, then when I am totally finished with the picture, I delete the ones I don't like. Or you can just have it keep saving as the same name, but you will loose your work if you save it to something you don't like.
Step 6

This is the entire picture process, beginning in the top left corner and moving across like reading.

Keep repeating this process until you have the whole page filled in, or until you get it to the point that pleases you. People will think you spent hours creating your art work, but it wont take but 10 or 15 minutes unless you just want to work slower.
Step 7

Two that I took a step further.

Here are a couple of my pieces of "art" that I have taken a step further. I will write another article soon to show how to take all of this to the next step, but it would get way to long to do all in one article. When I ad it, I will put a link in the resource section.

Comments

perceptive said

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on 10/31/2009 I consider myself an illustrator. I once was awarded a full scholarship (graphic art/illustration course) using ONLY the (primitive) Paint program for pieces in my portfolio!! An artist is an artist ... and you are certainly an artist!! Fun article, thanks for sharing! (Looking forward to your next 'lesson'!! PS: I use Vista on one of my 'puters... I think saving it as a .BMP solves the 'filling in' problem - ?) 5*****

look4writing said

on 10/30/2009 Excellent Tip, I had no idea people took that program seriously. I will have to view it a again. great tip.
look4writing went looking for writing and rated some of your articles. 5* and R