Pixel art is a picture built from single colored squares, set down one by one. Placing single squares is easiest after zooming in. Paint has two ways to change the zoom: the Magnifier tool and the View > Zoom submenu. Once the picture is large on screen, the Pencil puts down exactly one pixel wherever you click.
Start with a small canvas for the sprite
A small picture fits on screen even when it is zoomed in a long way. Before you zoom, press Ctrl+E or choose Image > Attributes.... Make sure Pixels is selected under Units, type a small number in Width: and in Height:, and click Okay.
Zoom in and back out with the Magnifier
The Magnifier is tool number six in the tool box. It enlarges the whole picture at once; you can't drag it over one area to zoom only that part.
- Click the Magnifier button in the tool box.
- To use a level other than the default, pick 1x, 2x, 6x or 8x among the options beneath the tool box. The zoom changes at once, and Paint remembers that level for your next Magnifier click on the canvas.
- Click anywhere on the picture. If it was at 1x, it jumps to 4x, or to the level you last picked in the options.
- Paint then reselects whichever tool was active earlier, ready for drawing at the larger size. If you change your mind before clicking the picture, click the Magnifier button again to get your previous tool back.
- To return to 1x, choose the Magnifier again and click the picture once more. At any zoom above 1x, that click brings it back to normal size.
Jump between 100% and 400% from the View menu
The View > Zoom submenu offers two fixed sizes. Neither has a keyboard shortcut, so you pick them from the menu.
- Normal Size shows the picture at 100% (1x). It is greyed out when the picture is already at that size.
- Large Size shows the picture at 400% (4x). It is greyed out when the picture is already at 4x.
- Custom... and Show Thumbnail appear in the menu but are greyed out and can't be used.
- Opening a picture or starting a blank one with File > New puts the zoom back at 1x.
Work on a picture larger than the window
- When the enlarged picture no longer fits, scrollbars appear around the canvas area. Drag them to bring other parts of the picture into view.
- At any zoom, the pixel under the pointer is the one a click changes.
- The status bar shows the pointer's pixel position, which helps you find the exact pixel you want. If it is hidden, turn it on with View > Status Bar.
- Text and the selection frame are drawn larger or smaller as the zoom changes.
Get the Pencil and two colors ready
- Click the Pencil in the tool box. It draws a line 1 pixel wide, so one click colors one pixel.
- Zoom in with the Magnifier or with View > Zoom > Large Size.
- In the color box, left-click the one you want as your primary color.
- Right-click another swatch, which becomes the secondary color.
- Look at the pair of overlapping squares where the color box begins. The front square, top left, holds your primary choice and the back one holds the secondary. Clicking the pair trades them.
Place pixels one at a time
With the Pencil, a single click of the left mouse button fills one pixel with your primary choice, while a right-button click uses the secondary one instead. Placing pixels this way takes time. To line up a row or keep two shapes the same distance apart, watch the pointer position in the status bar as you move. To change a color you're using, click it twice quickly in the color box and adjust it in the color picker that opens. When a part repeats, mark it with the Select tool, then press Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V to get a copy you can drag into place without redrawing it.
Undo a misplaced pixel
A stray click is easy to fix. Press Ctrl+Z or choose Edit > Undo to take back the last change; you can keep going back as many steps as you need. If you undo one step too many, press F4 or choose Edit > Repeat to bring it back.
Look at the finished art without magnification
Choose View > View Bitmap (Ctrl+F) to fill the screen with the whole picture and nothing else around it, or set the zoom back to 1x from the View > Zoom submenu. When you want more room for the canvas while you work, View > Tool Box and View > Color Box hide those panels, and the same commands bring them back.