Create an empty image
To start working on a new, empty image in Pixelmator Pro, you first choose a size for the image. You can choose from one of the pre-made templates in the template chooser, create an empty image with a custom size, or create an image from the Clipboard.

Create an image from a template
- To open Pixelmator Pro, click the Pixelmator Pro icon in the Dock, Launchpad, or the Applications folder.
Do one of the following:
- In the Pixelmator Pro Welcome screen (shown below), click "Create an empty new document".
If the Welcome screen doesn't show up, choose Window > Welcome to Pixelmator Pro (from the Window menu at the top of the screen). You can also press Command ⌘ + Shift ⇧ + 1 on your keyboard.
- Choose File > New (from the File menu at the top of your screen).
- Control ⌃–click the Pixelmator Pro icon in the Dock and choose New.
In the template chooser, scroll to find the image size you need, then double-click the template to open it.
Click OK or press the Return ↵ key.
If you want, you can create a custom template and save it to My Templates in the template chooser.
To create a custom template:
- In Pixelmator Pro, choose File > New (from the File menu at the top of your screen).
- In the template chooser, enter your new template dimensions and click OK to create a new document.
- Choose File > Save as Template (from the File menu at the top of your screen), name your template, and click OK.
If you don’t want to keep the new template, Control ⌃-click it in the template chooser and choose Delete. You can’t delete templates that came with Pixelmator Pro.
Create an image with a custom size
- To open Pixelmator Pro, click the Pixelmator Pro icon in the Dock, Launchpad, or the Applications folder.
- Do one of the following:
- In the Pixelmator Pro Welcome screen, click Create an empty new document. If the Welcome screen doesn't show up, choose Window > Welcome to Pixelmator Pro (from the Window menu at the top of the screen.)
- Choose File > New (from the File menu at the top of your screen).
- Control ⌃–click the Pixelmator Pro icon in the Dock and choose New.
In the template chooser, click Show Details.
Choose the measurement units, resolution, and color depth from the pop-up menus.
- Enter the width, height, and resolution of the image.
- Click OK or press the Return ↵ key.
Create an image from the clipboard
To open Pixelmator Pro, click the Pixelmator Pro icon in the Dock, Launchpad, or the Applications folder.
Do one of the following:
- In the Pixelmator Pro Welcome screen, click Create an empty new document. If the Welcome screen doesn't show up, choose Window > Welcome to Pixelmator Pro (from the Window menu at the top of the screen.)
- Choose File > New (from the File menu at the top of your screen).
- Control ⌃–click the Pixelmator Pro icon in the Dock and choose New From Clipboard.

- In the template chooser, choose the Clipboard option.
Click OK or press the Return ↵ key.
The new image will be created using the image you have saved to the clipboard. The clipboard is a macOS feature that contains the last thing you copied on your Mac — if it’s an image, the clipboard option will appear in the template chooser. If it's text or something else, that option will not be shown.