Need just a tiny image in a single, solid color — for a Safari background, as a design placeholder, a CSS tile, or a quick color swatch perhaps? You can turn to any of the powerful image editors, of course, or to an online tool, but you don’t have to: macOS comes with everything you need. Find out here how to create a small, single-color image with just Preview on a Mac ⤓.
First, Good Browns and Brown Goods
Let’s talk about the brown goods in your living room.
In the 1960s and ’70s, vendors began sorting household items into color‑coded categories. Dishwashers and fridges became “white goods” (because they were predominantly white), computers and printers “gray goods”, and consumer electronics “brown goods” — because hi-fi gear often came wrapped in brown and wood veneer.
With that bit of colorful history out of the way, let’s turn to something more hands-on: producing any color you like inside one of Apple’s aluminum goods using nothing but Preview.
How to Create a Small, Single‑Color Image on a Mac Using Just Preview
Time needed: 5 minutes
To create a new image that consists of just one single, solid color using nothing but macOS Preview on a Mac:
- Create a new blank image in Preview.
Here’s how: Select File | Take Screenshot | From Selection… from the menu in Preview, then take a screenshot of vaguely the right size of any part of the screen.
Start from a template: You can also start from a template to make a new, empty canvas of just the size you need in Preview. - Optional: Adjust the size to your needs and tasting.
Crop: Use a rectangular selection and select Tools | Crop to crop the image down to the right size.
Expand: You can also expand the canvas in Preview as needed. - Optional: Clear the canvas.
Here’s how: Press Command A to select the entire image, then press Backspace to delete.
- Select Tools | Annotate | Rectangle from the menu.
- Resize the rectangle so it covers the entire image.
How big: You can make the rectangle expand beyond the canvas on all sides.
- Choose the color you want to use for the image as the fill color.
Here’s how: Click Fill color in the markup toolbar, then select the color or use Show Colors… to get the full color picker.
- Export the image as a PNG file.
Here’s how: Select File | Export… from the menu, navigate to the the folder where you want to save the image and select PNG under Format:.
Small, square and salmon?
Tips help fuel these email and tech how-tos.
How to Create a Small, Single‑Color Image on a Mac Using Just Preview: FAQ
What size should I use for single-color background tiles?
To save space, try a 1×1 PNG image first. If you have to use JPEG, experiment with a larger image size and high quality to avoid compression artifacts.
Can I make a fully transparent image in Preview?
Yes.
To create a fully translucent PNG image in Preview:
- Create a new blank image in Preview; see above.
Just new: Do not add any items using the annotation toolbar to the image. - Choose Edit | Select All in the menu.
Preview keyboard shortcut: You can also press Command A, of course. - Now select Edit | Delete from the menu.
Preview items: If items added in Preview remain, do click them individually to select, then press Backspace to remove them. - Resize the canvas to the desired size; see above.
- Select File | Save from the menu
- Choose PNG for the Format:.
- Check Alpha.
Here’s why: PNG files save translucency as an alpha channel, so this combination lets you save a transparent file. - Navigate to the folder where you want to save the file.
- Enter the name you want to use for your transparent file under Save As:.
- Click Save.
(Tested with Preview 11 on macOS Tahoe 26; first published May 2026)