Microsoft is discontinuing MS Paint.

[Filler]

News article here

Seems like one of the most commonly used programs to make pixel art is being killed off by them. I honestly think Microsoft is doing the wrong choice here, as it'll mess up many pixel artists who don't know what GIMP or other programs are.

[Goemar]

Paint 3D (which still has a 2D mode) will no doubt replace it BUT if you read the Microsoft update itself - it means the program is not in active development (as in no updates are coming) and may, may, be removed in the future.

[miyabi95_]

i'm sure there are many of alternatives that are in some ways better than Paint. especially free apps like GIMP and fireaplaca.

it was always fun to doodle in paint back in the day, but in my experience i've always preferred the more advanced apps like photoshop and whatnot.

[puggsoy]

Can't say I think this is a bad decision. Many people use MS Paint for pixel art but that's largely because they started with it and got comfortable. These are pretty much the only people that this change will impact negatively.

I honestly think it's better for pixel artists to use more specialized programs. Now I can't say for sure (I don't do it myself), but it's like if someone got really comfortable with writing code in Notepad. Sure, you're used to it and it's already installed, but using a proper code editor is just better in a myriad of ways. The correlation isn't quite 1:1, but my point stands.

Besides, people can still use it if they insist on it. Later versions of Windows won't have it but there's nothing to stop you from getting it from previous versions, there are downloads online.

[Kosheh]

Good fricken riddance. Paint was for geeks anyway and a lot of the stuff to come out of it was lousy. I hope the Microsoft police come to my house and seize it like drugs and run off with Paint.exe, they'd actually be doing me a favor



Good thing GraphicsGale, a program literally made for pixelartists, is now free

[iyenal]

Good news, they can invest more money on stealing Windows users personal data.
There are Microsoft Expression Design 4 as alternative, another thing discontinued.

[DioShiba]

Good fricken riddance. Paint was for geeks anyway and a lot of the stuff to come out of it was lousy. I hope the Microsoft police come to my house and seize it like drugs and run off with Paint.exe, they'd actually be doing me a favor

Good thing GraphicsGale, a program literally made for pixelartists, is now free

This.

I mean yeah Paint was a decent basic program but it didn't offer much. And honestly Graphics Gale is really the best program you can get into if you want to make pixel art.

I mean hell if you used Adobe Photoshop and are familiar with how that works learning Graphics Gale is a breeze.

[Gussprint]

So I had a bit of a wind-out in regards to this and people goin' all "lol good riddance paint wuz never good for anitheeng"... in spite of it allowing ya to make some pretty damn good jitt if you knew your pixelwork.
It got lost due to general laziness/realization that it's a waste of time better employed elsewhere, so instead have some good news for those who are legit sad 'bout this.

Instead of being retired, MS Paint will be available on the Windows Store for free.

So much for it being dead. So yeah, all of ya home users who're gettin' hit by this and want it back? You know where to look now.



...But seriously folks. I don't churn sprites out for peeps to call me obsolete simply because I don't use Photoshop to do it.

[DioShiba]

...But seriously folks. I don't churn sprites out for peeps to call me obsolete simply because I don't use Photoshop to do it.

Honestly that's fair, Photoshop isn't even required for pixel art anyways.

Besides if you have that program the only luxury you can even get out of it for pixel art is that, you can at least change the resolution by using the save for web feature more accurately. Other than that making pixel art in that program is really not necessary.

[Gors]

using photoshop or mspaint to make sprites is like writing a book with a typewriter or a computer app. Both are possible, but the computer will be more comfortable to use.

Paint is capable of making sprites indeed, I used it quite a lot. But honestly sticking with it is literally denying progress. Do yourself a favor and practive Graphicsgale. It's free, it's lightweight, it's like paint, but better. There's nothing to lose.

[FinestHour]

It's kind of sad to see MS Paint go.

[Goemar]

using photoshop or mspaint to make sprites is like writing a book with a typewriter or a computer app. Both are possible, but the computer will be more comfortable to use.

Paint is capable of making sprites indeed, I used it quite a lot. But honestly sticking with it is literally denying progress. Do yourself a favor and practive Graphicsgale. It's free, it's lightweight, it's like paint, but better. There's nothing to lose.

Have you seen how 'A Song of Ice and Fire' is written? Brilliance uses whatever it wants.


Also - I use Paint to arrange sprite sheets, so would be a shame if it did go...

[Gors]

This is not an argument, as this story would be good even if they wrote it in locally grown and handmade papyrus sheets. Did they do it though? I hope not.

Using an older hardware to justify the quality of a piece is retarded, because if that's the case, you can sell your computer and communicate only with handwritten letters. Hell, ditch that too and just communicate with gutural sounds.

I really see no sense wanting to evolve other than human commodism - it's just easier not to learn anything new and keep using old things. Such as C64 apps to callibrate mecanics, or sticking with imperial measure systems when the whole world uses meter, liter, celcius and kelvin (this one, also based off of celcius) to display measurable data. But believe me, it'll be easier for you to get the hang of more capable apps in the long run.

tl;dr - using difficult hardware to make something is nothing more than extra skill that ultimately does not influence the final product in any way.

[Goemar]

Think you've missed what I meant.

If someone is really good at using Paint, they should use Paint if that's what they feel comfortable with. If they want to.

Game of Thrones guy uses some weird almost command prompt looking pre-Word processor. And you know, if he just used like Word or anything else - that book series would probably be finished and it would be the same result. But he won't. And with the end result being as good as it is, no one is going to change how he does it.

Basically: if your work is good use whatever you want. If you want to learn a new program go for it, if not - then don't.

I just don't like the whole 'You use Paint? That's stupid!' attitude. Judge on the end result, not what was used to get there...

[TomGuycott]

I've actually hated paint a lot for the last two computers I've had. It had updates that made it somewhat counterintuitive to the stuff I wanted to do with it. Weird things I can't even fully describe because I stopped using it a while back.