Add an Outline Around a PNG
The white border that makes a cut-out look like a sticker. The outline traces the actual edge of your image's opaque pixels — not a rectangle around it — so it works on logos, cut-out subjects and any shape with transparency.
Drop transparent PNGs here
Multiple files allowed
How the outline is built
The image's alpha channel is filled with your outline colour to make a flat silhouette, and that silhouette is then stamped repeatedly around a circle of the radius you asked for. The union of all those offset copies is the shape grown outward by exactly that many pixels — a mathematical dilation — and the original image is drawn on top. The result follows every curve and notch of the real edge, with anti-aliasing preserved.
Because it grows outward, the canvas is expanded by the outline width on all four sides so nothing is clipped.
It needs a transparent source
This is the thing to check first if the result looks wrong. On an image with no transparency the silhouette is the entire rectangle, so you get a plain frame around the outside — which is what Border / frame does more directly. For the sticker effect the subject must already be cut out, with real transparency around it. Background removes a near-solid colour, and Transparency checker will tell you whether a file actually has an alpha channel at all.
Getting the look right
Sticker outlines are usually thicker than people expect — 8 to 20 px on a 1000 px image is the range that reads as intentional. Thinner than about 4 px and it looks like a rendering artefact rather than a design choice.
White is the classic choice because it separates the subject from any background. For a double outline, run the tool twice — white at 12 px, then black at 3 px on the result — which gives the outlined-sticker-with-a-keyline look. Adding Drop shadow afterwards completes the effect, and the shadow will correctly follow the new outlined silhouette.
One thing to know: very thin protrusions in the source — single-pixel antennae, wispy hair — get swallowed by the outline colour, because dilating by 8 px fills any gap narrower than 16 px. That's inherent to how outlining works, not a bug. Reduce the width if you're losing detail you need.
FAQ
Can the outline be semi-transparent?
Not directly — the colour picker is opaque. For a soft halo instead, use Drop shadow with zero offset, a light colour and some blur.
Why is the output larger than the input?
The canvas grows by the outline width on each side, otherwise the outline would be cut off at the edges. Follow with Auto-trim for the tightest bounds.
Can I put the outline inside the shape?
No — this dilates outward only. An inner stroke would eat into your artwork and needs a different approach.
Does a very wide outline get slow?
A little. The number of stamped copies scales with the width, so 80 px on a large image takes a moment. It stays well within reason.
Are corners rounded or sharp?
Rounded, because the dilation uses a circular kernel — the same result as a round line-join. Sharp mitred corners aren't available.
Part of: Turn a logo into a clean transparent PNG
Key the background out, then trim — trimming first leaves the halo you were trying to remove.
- 1 Background Key out the white, or swap it for transparency
- 2 Auto-trim Crop the now-empty border away
- 3 Feather edges Soften a hard-keyed edge so it composites cleanly
- 4 Add outline Add a contrasting outline if it will sit on photos
- 5 Transparency checker Confirm no near-white pixels survived
Part of: Turn a photo into poster art
Flatten the tone before you colour it. Posterising after a duotone gives you banded duotone, which is rarely what anyone wants.
- 1 Posterize Cut the tonal range to a handful of steps
- 2 Duotone Map the result onto two colours
- 3 Gradient map Or onto a whole gradient, for more than two
- 4 Halftone Add the print-dot texture
- 5 Add outline Outline it if it will sit on a coloured ground