How to Use Layers and Other New Paint Features in Windows 11

The Paint app in Windows 11 looks different from the version that shipped with older Windows releases. Its toolbar was simplified, with drop-down menus for brushes, line size and rotation, and the look was brought in line with the rest of Windows 11. Since then Microsoft has added tools Paint never had before: layers, real transparency, a background remover that works in one click, an opacity setting for strokes, editable project files and a group of AI tools. Below is what each one does and how to use it, step by step.

Get the newest version of the Paint app

These tools arrive with the latest Windows 11 updates, so keep the system up to date before you look for them. When Layers or Remove background doesn't show up on the toolbar, the Paint app on that PC probably needs an update. Image Creator and Cocreator ask you to sign in with a Microsoft account, and Microsoft notes that its AI tools may reach some devices and countries later than others.

Remove the background from a picture

Background removal finds the main subject of a photo and clears everything around it in a single click.

1. Open the picture in Paint, either with File > Open or by right-clicking the file in File Explorer and choosing Open with > Paint.
2. On the toolbar, select Remove background.
3. Give Paint a moment to pick out the subject. The area it took away turns into a gray-and-white checkerboard, and the subject stays in place.
4. If too much or too little was removed, press Ctrl+Z to undo the removal.
5. To keep the empty area see-through, save the result as a PNG file with File > Save as > PNG picture, and give it a new name.

Stack parts of an image on separate layers

Layers let you keep different parts of a picture apart, such as a background, a subject and some text, so you can change one of them without touching the others. A layer that sits higher in the list shows in front of the ones below it.

1. Open or create a picture, then select the Layers button on the toolbar. A panel opens next to the canvas with your current picture as the first layer.
2. To start a new layer, select the + button in the panel. The new layer appears on top of the others and becomes the one you're working on.
3. Draw, paste or type on the selected layer. Only that layer changes.
4. To change which part shows in front, drag a layer's thumbnail higher or lower in the panel.
5. When some layers no longer need to stay apart, use the merge option in the Layers panel. Once the merged picture is saved, the layers can't be pulled apart again.

Place a cutout over a new background

Background removal and layers work well together: the cleared area around a cutout is transparent, so a layer placed underneath shows through it.

1. Open the picture you want as the background, then select Layers and add a new layer with the + button.
2. In a second Paint window, open the cutout you saved as a PNG.
3. Press Ctrl+A to select all of it, then Ctrl+C to copy it.
4. Switch back to the first window and make sure the new layer is selected in the Layers panel.
5. Press Ctrl+V to paste the cutout, then drag it to where you want it and click outside the selection.

Work with transparent areas

Paint now keeps transparent areas instead of filling them with white. The checkerboard is only an on-screen marker for empty areas. A saved PNG does not contain it. Paint can open PNG files that already have transparency and save them again without losing it. When you use the Eraser and the image has only one layer, the erased pixels become transparent. With more than one layer, erasing on the top layer uncovers whatever is on the layer below it.

Make Pencil and Brush strokes see-through

Microsoft announced an opacity slider in Paint version 11.2508.361.0, so strokes can be partly transparent instead of solid. The update rolled out to Windows Insiders first, so your copy of Paint may not have it yet. The same version also lets you save a picture as an editable Paint project file and pick it up again later.

1. Select the Pencil or Brush tool on the toolbar.
2. Look for the opacity slider, which sits to the left of the canvas.
3. Move it to the opacity you want; a lower value lets more of the picture show through each stroke.
4. You can also adjust the size slider to change the stroke width.

Generate an image from a written prompt with Image Creator

Image Creator uses AI to turn a written description into a picture you can then edit with the rest of Paint's tools. You need to be signed in with a Microsoft account to use it.

1. Open Image Creator in Paint.
2. Type a prompt that describes the picture you want.
3. Pick a style for the result.
4. Create the image and keep working on it on the canvas.

Turn a rough sketch into art with Cocreator

Cocreator takes a drawing you make on the canvas and a short description, and redraws them in an art style you choose. It only runs on a Copilot+ PC, and you have to sign in with your Microsoft account.

1. Select the Copilot icon on the toolbar, then choose Cocreator from the menu.
2. In the Type what you'd like to create box, describe the picture, for example a lighthouse on a rocky coast.
3. Draw on the canvas with the mouse or a stylus, using any tools and colors.
4. Watch the side pane, which updates with new artwork based on your words and your sketch while you draw.
5. Move the Creativity slider: lower keeps the result close to your drawing, higher gives the AI more freedom.
6. Choose an art style, such as watercolor or oil painting, from the Style menu.
7. Select Try again for another version, or Apply to put the artwork on the canvas, where you can keep editing or save it.