About
Paint (sometimes called Microsoft Paint or MS Paint) is a graphics painting program developed by Microsoft. It has been included in all versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system from version 1.0 (as Paintbrush).[1] Its simplicity of usage and the lack of advanced image manipulation features made the art created on the program distinct due to its amateurishness and lack of detail. Due to its popularity, Paint has been the vehicle for the creation of numerous memes.
Deprecation and Resuscitation
On July 24th, 2017, Microsoft announced that MS Paint would be “deprecated,” meaning “not in active development and might be removed in future releases," in the upcoming Windows 10 Update.[2] To many, this signaled that Microsoft was killing off MS Paint.[3][4] Several threads in subreddits mourned the news by creating subreddit-themed images in MS Paint.[6][7][8] Several popular posts on /r/dankmemes that day referenced the death of MS Paint, many of which were made in tribute (examples shown below).
However, the outpouring of support for MS Paint led Microsoft to clarify the following day that MS Paint would now be available in the Windows Store.[5]
Related Memes
Rage Faces
Rage Faces are the main components of a series of amateur-made comics, known as Rage Comics. The faces, portraying different different emotions and situations, have been, for the most part, created with minimal attention to detail and thus must have been drawn in MS Paint or related software.
Stoner Comics
Similar to rage comics, Stoner Comics is a series of amateur-made comics, but instead of portraying various situations and occurrences, they portray drug-related stories.
MS Paint Relationship Comics
MS Paint Relationship Comics is a series of simply drawn comics, originating from 4chan, which portray relationship situations, often ending badly.
MS Paint Desktop Icons
MS Paint Desktop Icons is an image fad originating from 4chan where users post MS Paint-drawn images of known desktop icons, such as Adobe Reader or Internet Explorer. The meme itself has evolved to include logos such as My Little Pony.
Search Interest
External References
[2]Microsoft – Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
[3]The Guardian – Microsoft Paint to be killed off after 32 years
[4]Slate – An Obituary for Microsoft Paint
[5]The Verge – Microsoft Paint isn’t dead yet, will live in the Windows Store for free
[6]/r/Squared Circle – In honor of MS PAINT being killed by Microsoft, let’s have one last paint challenge. DRAW your best wwe 2017 moment so far!
[7]/r/Soccer – With the news that Microsoft is killing MS paint after 32 years, Sum up your team’s past 32 years using MS paint.
[8]/r/NBA– With the news that Microsoft is killing MS paint after 32 years, Sum up your team’s past 32 years using MS paint.