While Microsoft Paint isn't as powerful as CorelDRAW, Procreate, or Photoshop, it has plenty of unexpected uses. Many people dismiss Paint as a simple doodling program, but if you dig a little deeper, you'll find that it can be used for much more than just basic drawing. From creating pixel art to resizing images and making glitch effects, here are some surprising and creative things you can do with MS Paint.

5 Pixel art and low-res sprites

Easily create retro art with pixel-precision

Creating pixel art is one of the best uses of MS Paint. Since it offers pixel-level precision, it's an excellent tool for making retro-style game sprites, icons, or even pixel landscapes. If you enjoy making game assets or experimenting with minimalistic art, Paint is a great starting point.

First, ensure you've got grids turned on by going to View > Gridlines. Select the Pencil icon and decrease its size to just a few pixels using the slider on the left. Select your color, zoom in, and start painting.

My sandglass timer looks a little wonky because I painted with four pixels at a time. But by setting the slider to just one pixel, you can manually place each pixel exactly where you want it — it will take some time to complete your art, but it's very satisfying once it all comes together.

4 Glitch effects

Emulate glitch effects using a few simple tricks

You don't need advanced tools like Photoshop to create a glitch effect, Paint can handle it with a bit of creativity. There are several ways you can emulate glitches in Paint, let's start with the easiest first.

1. Draw an image or shape, preferably using at least two different colors to create some contrast.
2. Select the Rectangle Selection tool from the top panel and draw a selection around your image.
3. Hold down Shift and start moving the selection around. It's a pretty classic Paint trick, but with some maneuvering you can create a cool glitch-style effect.

You can also create this effect manually:

1. Select the Freeform Selection tool at the top and draw random lines through your image.
2. Click on the selection and move it just a few pixels over. This will create a "glitch" in the image.

You can also manually create the blocks that give that glitchy effect:

1. Select the Rectangle Selection tool from the top panel.
2. Draw a box on your image and hit Delete to delete the selection. Repeat this with different selection shapes and sizes.
3. The empty spaces will default to white, but you can fill them in with the classic YCM (yellow, cyan, magenta) glitch colors using the Fill tool.

3 Seamless patterns

Patterns are very easy to create

Creating a pattern in MS Paint is dead simple as it only involves copying and pasting a design you've already created. Patterns can make for cool wallpapers on your devices, or you can even print them out to use as wrapping paper.

To create a pattern:

1. Draw any shape you want.
2. Select the Rectangle Selection tool and draw around your shape.
3. Hit Ctrl + C to copy the selection, then Ctrl + V to paste it.
4. Move the duplicate shape next to the first one — line it up however you want.
5. Select around both of them with the Rectangle tool, and copy and paste again.

Repeating these steps will make your pattern grow exponentially, making it easier as you go. You'll end up with an entire page filled with little copies of your original design.

2 Gradients

You don't need a dedicated gradient tool

One of the limitations of MS Paint is that it lacks a gradient tool, which can be frustrating if you want a smooth color transition. But you can fake a gradient using this simple trick.

1. Paint at least two colors onto your canvas. You can use any of the Brush tools, but I simply split my canvas in half with the Fill tool since it's quicker.
2. Select the Resize button in the top panel.
3. Uncheck the Maintain aspect ratio button (chain icon).
4. Change only one of the boxes to one or a few pixels and hit OK. Take note of the number the box originally displayed.
5. Select the Resize tool again, uncheck Maintain aspect ratio, and change that box back to its original number.

The shrinkage and enlargement of your design will cause the colors to mesh together, creating a seamless gradient effect that you can use as a background in your images.

1 Image resizer and converter

An all-in-one tool for image formatting

I mainly use MS Paint as an image resizer and converter — in fact, all the screenshots in this article were resized and converted with it. It's very convenient as I don't have to go looking for an online tool or download dedicated software to do the job. Here's how to easily resize and convert your images.

1. Right-click on your image and select Open with > Paint.
2. Once in the Paint editing window, you can either resize the image with the dedicated Resize tool or do it by hand. The Resize tool gives you the option to change the image size by Percentage or Pixels, and don't forget to check or uncheck the Maintain aspect ratio button as needed.
3. To manually resize your images, first go to View and tick Status bar so you can keep track of the pixel numbers at the bottom. Then, drag the little white dots around the image — press Ctrl and use your mouse wheel to zoom in and out if needed.
4. When you're happy with the size, go to File > Save as and select the format you want to save it in. This is how I convert all my PNG screenshots to JPG.

More than just a doodling app

Microsoft Paint may seem like a simple tool, but with a little creativity and tinkering, it can do more than expected. From pixel art to patterns and quick image conversions, its hidden potential is worth exploring. Sometimes, the simplest solution is the best.