How to Make a Photo Look Snowy in Paint.NET

Simulate a snowy scene in Paint.NET for Windows

Lit Candle With Christmas Decoration On Fake Snow Against Glittering Wall

Jasmin Awad / Getty Images

by Ian Pullen
Experienced graphic designer and web developer with a strong interest in free and open-source graphics software.
Updated September 09, 2019

Paint.NET is a free image editor capable of producing many of the same effects you can create with Photoshop. For example, you can make it look like its snowing in any photo.

Instructions in this article apply to version 4.2 of the Paint.NET image editing software for Windows, not to be confused with the website of the same name.

How to Add Snow to a Photo in Paint.NET

As odd as it may seem, you first need to create a new layer and fill it with solid black to produce the effect of snow. You'll then combine the fake snow with the background layer to give an impression of the final effect:

  1. Go to File > Open and select the image you wish to edit.

    Go to File > Open and select the image you wish to edit.

  2. Go to Layers > Add New Layer.

    Go to Layers > Add New Layer.

  3. Set the Primary color in the colors palette to black, then go to Tools > Paint Bucket.

    Set the Primary color in the colors palette to black, then go to Tools > Paint Bucket.

  4. Click on the image to fill the new layer with solid black.

    Click on the image to fill the new layer with solid black.

  5. Go to Effects > Noise > Add Noise.

    Go to Effects > Noise > Add Noise.

  6. Set the Intensity slider to about 70, set the Color Saturation slider to 0, and move the Coverage slider all the way to 100. You can experiment with these settings to get different effects. When you've applied your settings, select OK.

    Set the Intensity slider to about 70, set the Color Saturation slider to 0, and move the Coverage slider all the way to 100.

  7. Go to Layers > Layer Properties.

    Go to Layers > Layer Properties.

  8. Select the Blending Mode drop-down menu and select Screen, then select OK.

    Select the Blending Mode drop-down menu and select Screen, then select OK.

  9. Go to Effects > Blurs > Gaussian Blur.

    Go to Effects > Blurs > Gaussian Blur.

  10. Set the Radius slider to 1 and click OK.

    Set the Radius slider to 1 and click OK.

  11. For denser snow, go to Layers > Duplicate Layer.

    Alternatively, you can produce a more random result by repeating the previous steps to add another layer of fake snow.

    For denser snow,. go to Layers > Duplicate Layer.

  12. You can also combine different fake snow layers with different levels of opacity by changing the settings in the Layer Properties dialog, which can help to give more natural results.

    You can also combine different fake snow layers with different levels of opacity

  13. Go to File > Save As to save the edited image.

    Go to File > Save As to save the edited image.