Tux Paint Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Tux Paint

Screenshot of the drawing canvas
Developer(s)	Bill Kendrick, et al.
Initial release	June 16, 2002; 23 years ago (2002-06-16)

Stable release	0.9.33 / 18 July 2024
Preview release	Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Written in	C
Operating system	Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, Haiku, OpenBSD
Type	Raster graphics editor
License	GPL-2.0-or-later

Tux Paint is a fun and free drawing program made especially for kids! It's an open-source program, which means anyone can use it and help make it better. It was started in 2002 by Bill Kendrick and lots of volunteers help keep it updated. Many people see Tux Paint as a great free choice instead of other drawing programs like Kid Pix.

How Tux Paint Started
Awesome Features for Kids
Images for kids
See also

How Tux Paint Started

Tux Paint was first made for computers using the Linux operating system. At that time, there weren't many good drawing programs for young children on Linux. It's written in a computer language called C and uses other free tools to work. Since then, it has become available on many different computer systems, including Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, Android phones and tablets, and more.

Over the years, Tux Paint has had many important updates:

June 16, 2002: The very first version was released, just two days after coding began! It had basic tools like brushes, stamps, lines, and an eraser.
June 30, 2002: The first "Magic Tools" were added, letting you do cool effects like blur or make things look negative.
July 31, 2002: It started supporting different languages.
October 12, 2004: A special tool called Tux Paint Config. was released to help parents and teachers set up the program.
October 21, 2006: A slideshow feature was added, along with animated and directional brushes.
December 20, 2020: You could now save your drawings and slideshows as animated GIFs.
June 4, 2022: This was a big update for its 20th birthday! It allowed users to pick any color they wanted, not just from a set palette.
April 2, 2023: Fifteen new "Magic Tools" were added, and the Stamp and Shapes tools got better.

Awesome Features for Kids

Drawing with the Paint tool in Tux Paint.

Tux Paint is different from other complex art programs like GIMP or Photoshop. It's made to be super easy for kids as young as 3 years old to use. The way it's set up is very simple, using clear icons, fun sounds, and helpful text messages to show you how everything works. The bright colors, cool sound effects, and its cartoon mascot (Tux, the penguin from Linux) make it exciting for kids to create art.

The main screen in Tux Paint is divided into five parts:

Toolbox: This is where you find all the different drawing tools and controls like undo, save, new, and print.
Canvas: This is your drawing area, where you create and change your pictures.
Color Palette: Here you can pick all the colors you want to use for your art.
Selector: This changes depending on the tool you're using. For example, if you're using the brush tool, you can pick different brush shapes here.
Information Area: This part gives you tips, instructions, and encouraging messages while you draw.

There's also a simple slideshow feature. You can show off your saved drawings like a basic flip-book animation or a slide presentation.

Basic Drawing Tools

Just like most drawing programs, Tux Paint has all the main tools you need. You'll find a paintbrush, an eraser, and tools to draw lines, shapes, and text. If you make a mistake, don't worry! Tux Paint lets you undo and redo many times, so you can easily fix things or try new ideas.

Saving and Printing Your Art

Tux Paint makes it super easy to save and open your artwork. You don't need to understand complicated computer files or folders. When you save a picture, you don't even have to give it a name! When you want to open a drawing you've saved before, you'll see a collection of small pictures (called thumbnails) of all your saved art.

Printing is also very simple. You usually just click print, and it works! Since version 0.9.25, you can also save your individual drawings or even your slideshows as animated GIF files.

Advanced Drawing Tools: The Magic!

A drawing made with a variety of Magic Tools.

Tux Paint has a special "Magic" tool that lets you add cool effects to your drawings. You can make parts of your picture blurry, fade them out, or even make them look like they were drawn with chalk on the sidewalk! These "Magic" tools are like mini-programs that plug into Tux Paint, making it easy to add new effects.

A space scene using Tux Paint Rubber Stamps.

There's also a huge collection of art and photos you can use! These are called "Rubber Stamps." You can pick a stamp and place it anywhere in your drawing. There are over 800 stamps, including animals, plants, objects, and more. They can be simple pictures or even detailed vector graphics.

Controls for Parents and Teachers

Tux Paint has special settings that parents and teachers can use. These settings let them turn features on or off, or change how the program works to best suit their children or students. For example, you can turn off sound effects or make the program always full-screen. There are also options to make Tux Paint easier for younger kids or those with disabilities, like showing all text in uppercase letters or making the mouse easier to use.

Many Languages and Accessibility

Tux Paint can be used in many different languages from all over the world. As of November 2021, it supports 130 languages! This means kids from different countries can use it easily. It also has features to help everyone use the program, like an on-screen keyboard for typing and options to control the mouse pointer with a keyboard or joystick. You can even make the sounds play in a way that's easier to hear for some users.