RealWorld Paint help index

RealWorld Paint is a freeware image/photo/animation editor. It can be used to create or edit computer images or animations, convert images to animations and back. RealWorld Paint can also be used for photo retouching.

Note: other RealWorld applications are capable of editing image just like RW Paint. All information available in this section is directly applicable to RealWorld Icon Editor, RealWorld Cursor Editor and RealWorld Photos.

Getting started

If you have installed RealWorld Paint on your computer, you can start it by double-clicking the RealWorld Paint icon on your desktop or from the Windows start menu. If you are using the portable version, double-click the RWPaint(.exe) file after you have unzipped the archive.

Creating new images and animations

Clicking on the File->New menu command or switching to the Create tab in an empty window displays a list of available wizards:

• New raster image - activate this icon to create a new empty image. Width, height and background color of the create image can be specified in the right column.
• Image from clipboard - creates image from content of clipboard. If you find an image on the web, right-click on it in Firefox and select "Copy image", then use the "Image from clipboard" wizard.
• Capture desktop - the application window hides for a moment and the desktop without the Paint.COM window is captured and opened in the editor.

Opening files

RealWorld Paint is by default able to open (and save) images and animations in the following formats:

• .bmp - Windows bitmap.
• .jpg - JPEG photograph.
• .png - PNG image.
• .gif - GIF image or animation
• .webp - WebP photograph.
• .jp2/.jpc - JPEG2000 image.
• .psd - Photoshop image with layers are some layer styles.
• .xcf - GIMP image with layers
• .pdn - Paint.net image with layers.
• .rli - RealWorld image or animation with layers and styles. This is the native format of RealWorld applications. RLI specification.

Additional formats may be available if plug-ins are installed.

To open an image, click on the Open tab in an empty window or click on the Open command in the File menu. Alternatively, drag and drop an image from a file manage on the RealWorld Paint window. If you frequently open image with RealWorld Paint, consider associating selected file types with RealWorld Paint and open image by simply double-clicking them in Windows Explorer.

Using drawing tools

Paint offers several drawing tools and fill styles. Drawing tools may use the active color or fill style to fill interior of shapes.

• Drawing tools - overview of available tools.
• Drawing modes - tools are affected by current modes.
• Fill styles - ways of filling drawn shapes.

Tutorials

• Creating a simple blue button with glassy look
• Adding reflections and shadows to images
• How to make scripted noise generator

Core concepts

Reading the following sections will help you understand how things work inside the RealWorld Designer framework. It is recommended for users wanting to customize the look and functionality of the application and for plug-in developers.

• Window Layout - this corner-stone of the application controls the content of the entire window and the main menu.
• View State - communication medium between individual parts of the application. A need-to-know topic for people wanting to customize the user interface and functionality.
• Localized Strings - how use text in multiple languages in items configurable by the end users.
• Scripting - introduction to creation of scripted filters or other operations.
• Plug-ins - technical information for plug-in developers.
• Stateless GUI - RealWorld application use strictly stateless user interface methods. Learn why and what are the consequences.

Getting more help

The crucial pieces of information are available directly in RWPaint's user interface:

• Read the tooltips and/or descriptions in application status bar (the line at the bottom of each window) to learn about individual menu commands or dialog controls.
• Click the lightbulb toolbar button or the "What now?" menu command to display list of frequently used actions.
• Search this web using the search box in the upper right corner.
• Ask a question on a public discussion board

Recent comments

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GSnet registered user on October 21st

Seem to have a problem with saving original image size as GIF. Saving as PNG works fine.

IE: Creating a new image file size 18x18 pixels.

Save as PNG: 18x18
Save as GIF 18x11 <- ?

Vlasta site administrator on October 21st

could you send me the problematic png and gif to info@rw-designer.com ?

GSnet registered user on October 21st

Sent.

Vlasta site administrator on October 21st

In case anyone else cares about this problem, the resolution is that the GIF is fine, but Windows Explorer (at least in Win7) does not display its size correctly.

Tom registered user on October 24th

How do I remove part of an image and still save the background?
Thank you,
Tom

Vlasta site administrator on October 24th

check out this tutorial

MateraL registered user on November 3rd

Hi. I took a photo and cut the people from the background because I wanted to edit the people separately from the background. When I pasted it onto the background again it worked well because the people went over the original photo. Then I saved the files and closed the paint. Now the background for the people I cut out is black instead of transparent. I can't paste them onto a photo anymore because the black covers everything. Please help!

Vlasta site administrator on November 3rd

Have you perhaps saved the files as .JPG ? If yes, then you describe is very probable. JPG does not support transparency. If you want to keep layers and transparency, you should save files in the internal file format .RLI or in another format that supports them.

MateraL registered user on November 3rd

I saved it as JPG. Ugh! Thank you for your help. Now I know for next time.

Anonymous on November 16th

how do i draw an animation?

Anonymous

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