Drawing Application in Python Tkinter

Introduction

In this article, we will design and construct a basic Drawing Application in Python Tkinter GUI, where we can simply draw something on the canvas using a pencil and erase it with an eraser, as well as the ability to change the thickness of a pencil and eraser. We may also modify the canvas’s background color and save a specific drawing on our local computer. So let’s get started and create this amazing drawing application in Python. You can find the complete source code here.

Before Starting coding, check this video to know what we are going to make:

Steps for creating Paint or Drawing Application in Python Tkinter

Step 1: Create a Python file with .py extension and import all the necessary libraries

from tkinter import *
from tkinter.ttk import Scale
from tkinter import colorchooser,filedialog,messagebox
import PIL.ImageGrab as ImageGrab

Tkinter is a Python package for creating graphical user interfaces. It’s simple to use and comes packaged with Python. We can use GUI applications to visualize our data. PIL.ImageGrab package is used to save the image file on our local computer.

Before importing all the packages it is required to install them in our working directories. For this particular project, we need to install Tkinter and pillow packages. You can install these packages using the pip command in your terminal.

Command to install Tkinter :

pip install tk

Command to install pillow:

pip install pillow

This command will begin downloading and installing Tkinter-related packages. Once completed, a notification indicating successful installation will display.

Step 2: Defining a Class and Creating a Tkinter Window GUI

class Draw():
    def __init__(self,root):
        self.root =root
        self.root.title("Copy Assignment Painter")
        self.root.geometry("810x530")
        self.root.configure(background="white")
        self.root.resizable(0,0)

Now we will create a class having the class name Draw() and define __init__. After that, we can call Tkinter Constructor but for this particular application, we have called root as a constructor.

• self.root.title : To define the title of our GUI Application.
• self.root.geometry : To define the size of the Window.
• self.root.resizable(0,0) : By using this property we cannot increase or decrease the size of the root window.

if __name__ =="__main__":
    root = Tk()
    p= Draw(root)
    root.mainloop()

• root.mainloop() is used for holding the GUI of our Application.

Step 3: Creating Widgets for our Tkinter Window

1. Code for the color Panel(on left side of drawing application in tkinter):

# Pick a color for drawing from color pannel
        self.pick_color = LabelFrame(self.root,text='Colors',font =('arial',15),bd=5,relief=RIDGE,bg="white")
        self.pick_color.place(x=0,y=40,width=90,height=185)

        colors = ['blue','red','green', 'orange','violet','black','yellow','purple','pink','gold','brown','indigo']
        i=j=0
        for color in colors:
            Button(self.pick_color,bg=color,bd=2,relief=RIDGE,width=3,command=lambda col=color:self.select_color(col)).grid(row=i,column=j)
            i+=1
            if i==6:
                i=0
                j=1

We have initialized pick_color as our LabelFrame and placed it on the root. After that, we can define various attributes such as text, color, background color, height, width, ridge, and many more according to our requirements.

We can define the colors required for painting using Lists. For each and every color palette we will create a button using a for loop where (i = row and j= column).  

When the user clicks on the color button then it will execute the following command: command=lambda col=color:self.select_color(col).

2. Code for Eraser, Reset, Background Color, and Save buttons(left side options in drawing app in Python):

# Erase Button and its properties  
        self.eraser_btn= Button(self.root,text="Eraser",bd=4,bg='white',command=self.eraser,width=9,relief=RIDGE)
        self.eraser_btn.place(x=0,y=197)
 
# Reset Button to clear the entire screen
        self.clear_screen= Button(self.root,text="Clear Screen",bd=4,bg='white',command= lambda : self.background.delete('all'),width=9,relief=RIDGE)
        self.clear_screen.place(x=0,y=227)
 
# Save Button for saving the image in local computer
        self.save_btn= Button(self.root,text="ScreenShot",bd=4,bg='white',command=self.save_drawing,width=9,relief=RIDGE)
        self.save_btn.place(x=0,y=257)
 
# Background Button for choosing color of the Canvas
        self.bg_btn= Button(self.root,text="Background",bd=4,bg='white',command=self.canvas_color,width=9,relief=RIDGE)
        self.bg_btn.place(x=0,y=287)

When a user clicks on the buttons then the following functions will be called.

• self.eraser_btn : command=self.eraser
• self.clear_screen : command= lambda : self.background.delete(‘all’)
• self.save_btn : command=self.save_drawing
• self.bg_btn : command=self.canvas_color

3. Code for creating a Scale for Pen(Pointer) and Eraser:

        self.pointer_frame= LabelFrame(self.root,text='size',bd=5,bg='white',font=('arial',15,'bold'),relief=RIDGE)
        self.pointer_frame.place(x=0,y=320,height=200,width=70)
 
        self.pointer_size =Scale(self.pointer_frame,orient=VERTICAL,from_ =48 , to =0, length=168)
        self.pointer_size.set(1)
        self.pointer_size.grid(row=0,column=1,padx=15)

For this application we are using ttk scale bar so we need to import this from Tkinter using the following command:

from tkinter.ttk import Scale

After that, we initialize pointer_size to Scale and place it on pointer_frame. Here we need to define orient = VERTICAL as by default the orientation is horizontal. The default value is set to 1 using self.pointer_size.set(1) command.

4. Code for Creating the Canvas:

#Defining a background color for the Canvas
        self.background = Canvas(self.root,bg='white',bd=5,relief=GROOVE,height=470,width=680)
        self.background.place(x=80,y=40)
 
 
#Bind the background Canvas with mouse click
        self.background.bind("<B1-Motion>",self.paint)

Here, self.background has been set to Canvas and placed on self.root. Then a canvas would be made, but we couldn’t draw anything on it. Therefore, in order to achieve that goal, the following code must be used: self.background.bind(“B1-Motion>”,self.paint).

Step 4: Defining Functions for GUI Drawing Application Program

1. Function for Drawing the lines on Canvas:

def paint(self,event):      
        x1,y1 = (event.x-2), (event.y-2)  
        x2,y2 = (event.x+2), (event.y+2)  

Here is where the paint function that is invoked during binding is defined.

Four variables are declared and designated as x1, y1, x2, and y2 in this function, defining the starting point and ending position of the mouse movement.

2. Function for choosing the color of pointer:

def select_color(self,col):
        self.pointer = col

The pointer’s default color is black, but once the select_color function is defined and the self.pointer is initialized to the col, the default color is changed to the chosen color.

3. Function for defining the eraser:

def eraser(self):
        self.pointer= self.erase

4. Function for choosing the background color of the Canvas:

def canvas_color(self):
        color=colorchooser.askcolor()
        self.background.configure(background=color[1])
        self.erase= color[1]

Now for choosing the background color of Canvas we need to import using

from tkinter import colorchooser command

• color=colorchooser.askcolor():  This code will open up a dialog box for choosing a wide range of colors for the background of Canvas.

• self.background.configure(background=color[1]) : This code will change the background color of Canvas from default color to chosen color.

• self.erase= color[1]:  This code will change the color of the eraser from the default color to chosen color.

5. Function for saving the image file in Local Computer:

def save_drawing(self):
        try:
            # self.background update()
            file_ss =filedialog.asksaveasfilename(defaultextension='jpg')
            print(file_ss)
            x=self.root.winfo_rootx() + self.background.winfo_x()
            print(x, self.background.winfo_x())
            y=self.root.winfo_rooty() + self.background.winfo_y()
            print(y)
 
            x1= x + self.background.winfo_width()
            print(x1)
            y1= y + self.background.winfo_height()
            print(y1)
            ImageGrab.grab().crop((x , y, x1, y1)).save(file_ss)
            messagebox.showinfo('Screenshot Successfully Saved as' + str(file_ss))
 
        except:
            print("Error in saving the screenshot")

Now to save the image file we need to import using the following commands:

from tkinter import filedialog,messagebox

import PIL.ImageGrab as ImageGrab

• filedialog.asksaveasfilename(defaultextension=’jpg’) :  This code will keep the default extension of the file as .jpg format for saving.

• self.root.winfo_rootx() + self.background.winfo_x(): This code will return the info root window with respect to the x-axis.

• self.root.winfo_rooty() + self.background.winfo_y(): This code will return the info root window with respect to the y-axis.

• x + self.background.winfo_width(): This code will return the width of the window.

• y + self.background.winfo_height():  This code will return the height of the window.

• ImageGrab.grab().crop((x , y, x1, y1)).save(file_ss): This code will save the image file to the local computer.

Complete Source code for Paint or Drawing Application in Python Tkinter

# Drawing Application Using Python

#importing all the necessary Libraries

from tkinter import *
from tkinter.ttk import Scale
from tkinter import colorchooser,filedialog,messagebox
import PIL.ImageGrab as ImageGrab


#Defining Class and constructor of the Program
class Draw():
    def __init__(self,root):

#Defining title and Size of the Tkinter Window GUI
        self.root =root
        self.root.title("Copy Assignment Painter")
#         self.root.geometry("810x530")
        self.root.configure(background="white")
#         self.root.resizable(0,0)
 
#variables for pointer and Eraser   
        self.pointer= "black"
        self.erase="white"

#Widgets for Tkinter Window
    
# Configure the alignment , font size and color of the text
        text=Text(root)
        text.tag_configure("tag_name", justify='center', font=('arial',25),background='#292826',foreground='orange')

# Insert a Text
        text.insert("1.0", "Drawing Application in Python")

# Add the tag for following given text
        text.tag_add("tag_name", "1.0", "end")
        text.pack()
        
# Pick a color for drawing from color pannel
        self.pick_color = LabelFrame(self.root,text='Colors',font =('arial',15),bd=5,relief=RIDGE,bg="white")
        self.pick_color.place(x=0,y=40,width=90,height=185)

        colors = ['blue','red','green', 'orange','violet','black','yellow','purple','pink','gold','brown','indigo']
        i=j=0
        for color in colors:
            Button(self.pick_color,bg=color,bd=2,relief=RIDGE,width=3,command=lambda col=color:self.select_color(col)).grid(row=i,column=j)
            i+=1
            if i==6:
                i=0
                j=1

 # Erase Button and its properties   
        self.eraser_btn= Button(self.root,text="Eraser",bd=4,bg='white',command=self.eraser,width=9,relief=RIDGE)
        self.eraser_btn.place(x=0,y=197)

# Reset Button to clear the entire screen 
        self.clear_screen= Button(self.root,text="Clear Screen",bd=4,bg='white',command= lambda : self.background.delete('all'),width=9,relief=RIDGE)
        self.clear_screen.place(x=0,y=227)

# Save Button for saving the image in local computer
        self.save_btn= Button(self.root,text="ScreenShot",bd=4,bg='white',command=self.save_drawing,width=9,relief=RIDGE)
        self.save_btn.place(x=0,y=257)

# Background Button for choosing color of the Canvas
        self.bg_btn= Button(self.root,text="Background",bd=4,bg='white',command=self.canvas_color,width=9,relief=RIDGE)
        self.bg_btn.place(x=0,y=287)


#Creating a Scale for pointer and eraser size
        self.pointer_frame= LabelFrame(self.root,text='size',bd=5,bg='white',font=('arial',15,'bold'),relief=RIDGE)
        self.pointer_frame.place(x=0,y=320,height=200,width=70)

        self.pointer_size =Scale(self.pointer_frame,orient=VERTICAL,from_ =48 , to =0, length=168)
        self.pointer_size.set(1)
        self.pointer_size.grid(row=0,column=1,padx=15)


#Defining a background color for the Canvas 
        self.background = Canvas(self.root,bg='white',bd=5,relief=GROOVE,height=470,width=680)
        self.background.place(x=80,y=40)


#Bind the background Canvas with mouse click
        self.background.bind("<B1-Motion>",self.paint) 


# Functions are defined here

# Paint Function for Drawing the lines on Canvas
    def paint(self,event):       
        x1,y1 = (event.x-2), (event.y-2)  
        x2,y2 = (event.x+2), (event.y+2)  

        self.background.create_oval(x1,y1,x2,y2,fill=self.pointer,outline=self.pointer,width=self.pointer_size.get())

# Function for choosing the color of pointer  
    def select_color(self,col):
        self.pointer = col

# Function for defining the eraser
    def eraser(self):
        self.pointer= self.erase

# Function for choosing the background color of the Canvas    
    def canvas_color(self):
        color=colorchooser.askcolor()
        self.background.configure(background=color[1])
        self.erase= color[1]

# Function for saving the image file in Local Computer
    def save_drawing(self):
        try:
            # self.background update()
            file_ss =filedialog.asksaveasfilename(defaultextension='jpg')
            #print(file_ss)
            x=self.root.winfo_rootx() + self.background.winfo_x()
            #print(x, self.background.winfo_x())
            y=self.root.winfo_rooty() + self.background.winfo_y()
            #print(y)

            x1= x + self.background.winfo_width() 
            #print(x1)
            y1= y + self.background.winfo_height()
            #print(y1)
            ImageGrab.grab().crop((x , y, x1, y1)).save(file_ss)
            messagebox.showinfo('Screenshot Successfully Saved as' + str(file_ss))

        except:
            print("Error in saving the screenshot")

if __name__ =="__main__":
    root = Tk()
    p= Draw(root)
    root.mainloop()

Output:

Conclusion

We used Tkinter to build a fantastic paint or drawing application in Python with a very user-friendly graphical user interface. Therefore, you can start here if you’re a beginner and wish to learn about or develop a project in Python. You can now make your own applications using this project.  Share this with your friends and coworkers. You are free to run your code right away to check how it functions.

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