Microsoft Paint is one of the wonders of the Microsoft operating system and a piece of bundled software that’s been around since the very first version ofWindows in 1985.
A while back, news appeared to spread that Microsoft waskilling off MS Paintin an update toWindows 10. Then, after a mild internet uproar, we learnt that the company wasn’t ending support for Paint after all, just moving it to the Windows Store - probably in an effort to encourage people to start using the company’sPaint 3D appinstead.
To pay homage to one of the most basic, but possibly most used bits of free creative software ever to grace a computer, we’ve scoured the web to find a selection of fantastic images themselves created to pay tribute to something - great album art.
Relish in the glory that is MS Paint artwork!
Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
An excellent tribute to the album that shot Iron Maiden to heavy metal fame.
Here we see heavy metal legends Iron Maiden having the MS Paint treatment with the group’s debut album artwork being faithfully recreated with surprising accuracy.
Cyndi Lauper - shes so unusual
Another classically endearing homage to an award-winning debut album.
Another classically endearing homage to an award-winning debut album - this one, was rather appropriately released on music label “Portrait” and captures a young Cyndi Lauper strutting her funky stuff.
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
This iconic image of David Bowie sees him with a lightning bolt painted across his face and is regarded as one of his most well-known images.
This iconic image of music legend David Bowie sees him with a lightning bolt painted across his face and is regarded as one of his most well-known images of him throughout the world.
The album itself also appeared on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time and was held in high regards by critics when it was originally released in 1973.
2Pac - All Eyez on me
“All Eyez on Me” was the fourth and final studio album by Tupac Shakur (aka 2Pac) released before his death in 1996.
An award-winning album that sold half a million copies in the first week of release, topping multiple charts. Here we see it faithfully recreated in its full glory thanks to MS Paint.
Morrissey - You are quarry
2004 studio album by Morrissey sees him wielding a Tommy gun and was released by the appropriately named record label “Attack”.
Here, the MS Paint recreation even shows the singer’s stubble and furrowed brow. We’re impressed by the attention to detail, if nothing else.
Nirvana - Nevermind
The iconic baby swimming, apparently enthralled by money on a fishing line can be seen wonderfully recreated here in MS Paint.
Grunge rock band Nirvana surprised the world and disproved the critics with the successful release of its second album Nevermind which saw surprise success and was later ranked high on various lists of the greatest albums of all time.
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Our MS Paint artist faithfully, if messily, recreated the image here as a tribute to the band and its art.
This album cover by Pink Floyd shows the dramatic refraction of light through a prism which some have pointed out is incorrect, but is nevertheless iconic and inspiring.
Jimi Hendrix Experience - you are experienced
Widely regarded as one of the greatest debut albums in the history of rock music, “You are experienced” was the first album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest debut albums in the history of rock music, “You are experienced” was the first album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience originally released in 1967.
This tribute to the album cover is based on the alternative cover later released in America which boasted far brighter and bolder colours than the original.
KISS - Dynasty
The MS Paint version is somewhat scarier than the original, but just as colourful and easily recognisable.
The seventh studio album of American rock band Kiss, saw all four members of the band captured in their iconic face paints and was actually a collage of photos taken during a session.
Velvet Underground and Nico
Andy Warhol’s pop-art was often so simple that this tribute created in MS Paint could easily be mistaken for the real thing.
The album cover for Velvet Underground’s “The Velvet Underground & Nico” is distinct as it features an Andy Warhol print of a banana. The original releases included a sticker telling listeners to “peel slowly and see” where the skin of the banana could be removed to reveal a skin-coloured banana underneath.
