How to Overlay One Image on Another in Paint

By Suvro Banerji

Updated September 28, 2017

Use Image Overlay to add an image on an existing image.
i Ciaran Griffin/Lifesize/Getty Images

Image overlay is a process where you put an image on top of another image. It is a standard feature for most photo editing software. However, with Paint, the process is a bit different. A basic photo editing application, Paint doesn't have a built-in Image Overlay feature. Instead, you will need to manually paste an image on top of another to perform this task. Note that you may require administrative rights to complete this task.

Launch Microsoft Paint from the Start menu or desktop shortcut.

Click the "File" tab and choose "Open." Browse to navigate to the first image that will you use for the image overlay. Click the image and hit "Open."

Click the "Select" tool (rectangle icon with dotted lines). Drag to draw a dotted-line frame around the part of the image that you will overlay on another image. Right-click and choose "Copy" from the context menu.

Navigate back to the "File" tab and choose "Open." Browse to navigate to the second image. Click the image and choose "Open."

Right-click anywhere on the image and choose "Paste" from the context menu. The previous image will appear on top of the second image. Use your mouse to move around the top image and place it on the desired location.

Click the "Save" button. Type a file name and choose "Save" to end the task.

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