Create an Icon in Paint

Do you love to use Paint? Have you always wondered how to create an Icon but have never been able to figure out how? wikiHow is here to help! All you will need is a computer, some patience, and a dash of creativity.

Steps

  1. Launch Paint from the All Programs | Accessories menu.
  2. Start with a known good ICON image.
    • The Windows SYSTEM Icons are ALL located at: <Main Drive Letter>:\WINDOWS\system32\SHELL32.dll;
    • The BAD news is that you cannot easily access them inside of the Dynamic Link Library (DLL).
  3. Open the ICON with PAINT.exe (Yes, it'll open OK). It will appear as an itty-bitty picture in the upper left.
  4. To make the image larger to work with, click the Magnifier tool and select the level 8 magnification setting.
    • It still won't be "large", but it's manageable this way.
  5. Press [Ctrl] G to add gridlines. Yes, you could try to do something without them, but you'll be sorry.
  6. Use the tools and colors to create your itty-bitty icon.
  7. Press [Ctrl]S to save the file with these specifications:
    • File name MUST have a .ICO at the end
    • The "file type" MUST say "24 Bit Bitmap".
    • Paint will save it as an ".ico" file
      • If you did it right, an itty-bitty picture will be there for you to see. If it's not there, Windows didn't like your creation and will not read it in later steps.
      • IF WINDOWS DIDN'T LIKE YOUR WORK, YOU CANNOT PROCEED.
  8. Go Back over your work & Fix it NOW.
    • FYI: The standard BLUE background on our machines is:
  9. Hue=141; Sat=115; Lum=105; Red=58; Green=110; Blue=165
  10. We'll assume that you've verified that Windows WILL allow you to use the new file, so go on.
  11. Right click on a rarely-used desktop ICON and select "Properties" at the bottom.
  12. It will open a new window; go to the "Shortcut" tab.
  13. Select "Change Icon" underneath all the boxes.
  14. It will assume that you want to select one of the Microsoft Icons & will take you there.
    • DRIVE Letter:\WINDOWS\system32\SHELL32.dll
      • >>> That IS NOT where you want to be. <<< DON'T choose from THEIR list !
  15. Click "Browse", and go to where your newly created & stored ICON is waiting.
  16. Pick your file; It must clearly display the ".ico" extension or it won't work.
  17. The program will try to install it for you.
  18. If it worked OK, close any open Windows and you are done!
  19. If it complains, go back over your steps.



Tips

  • One final observation: There is no clear way to get rid of the Blue arrow in a white box at the lower left of your new picture. This tells you that the icon is a shortcut and it is being pasted there by Windows.

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