How to Keep a Reference Image on Top While Drawing

To keep a reference image on top while you draw on Windows, open it in any image viewer and press Win+Ctrl+T with Microsoft PowerToys installed: Always On Top pins that window above your drawing app until you press the shortcut again. For several references at once, use PureRef, a free-form board that can stay on top of other windows, or ShareX's Pin to screen. Krita and Clip Studio Paint also have built-in reference panels, which keep the image inside the app you're painting in.

Option 1: PowerToys Always On Top

Always On Top works with any window, so you can keep using the image viewer you already have.

1. Install Microsoft PowerToys and check that Always On Top is turned on in PowerToys Settings.
2. Open the reference in Photos, Paint or a browser, and resize the window to fit beside your canvas.
3. Click the viewer window, then press Win+Ctrl+T. PowerToys can draw a colored border around the pinned window so you can tell which one it is.
4. Switch to your drawing app. The reference stays visible above it.
5. Press Win+Ctrl+T again with the viewer active, or close it, to unpin.

In PowerToys Settings you can change the shortcut, the border's color, opacity and thickness, and add a right-click title bar option. Turn on Do not activate when Game Mode is on if you don't want it to work while gaming.

Microsoft notes that Always On Top can't guarantee the pinned window stays above other windows that are also set to stay on top. If two tools fight over the top spot, see fixing always-on-top apps that fight each other.

Option 2: PureRef for a wall of references

PureRef is a reference and mood board viewer for Windows, Mac and Linux. You can add images from your computer, paste them, or drag them straight from a browser, arrange them freely, and set PureRef to stay on top of your workspace. It suits figure drawing, environment work and anything where you glance between several references.

PureRef or a clipboard shelf for mood boards compares it with other ways of collecting references.

Option 3: ShareX Pin to screen

If you use ShareX for screenshots, Pin to screen floats an image above other windows without a separate viewer.

1. In ShareX, select Tools > Pin to screen.
2. Choose Select region to pin part of the screen, From clipboard to pin a copied image, or Select image to pin a file.
3. Resize and reposition the pinned image. ShareX's settings let you set the starting scale (20% to 500%) and opacity (10% to 100%), and keep Always on top switched on.
4. Right-click the image, or use the close button on its hover toolbar, to remove it.

From clipboard is handy for a quick reference: copy an image in your browser, pin it, and it stays on screen even after you copy something else. Each pin is a separate window holding one image, so for a large set PureRef is easier to manage.

Option 4: Use your drawing app's reference panel

A built-in panel keeps the reference in the same window as your canvas, which works well on a single monitor or a pen display. If you work on a tablet without a keyboard, copy and paste with a Surface Pen shows how to reach the clipboard.

Krita

Krita's Reference Images Tool lets you load images as references and move them around freely on the canvas. Use Add Reference Image to load a file, or Paste as Reference Image to add an image straight from the clipboard. Each reference has a storage option: Embed to *.kra saves it inside the Krita file, while Link to external file loads it from disk each time, which suits large or frequently changing images and only works for images loaded from a local file.

Clip Studio Paint

Open the Sub View palette from Window > Sub View, then select Import or drag an image file onto the palette. Turn on Switch to eyedropper automatically to pick colors from the reference by tapping it. The Sub View palette isn't available in Clip Studio Paint DEBUT.

Photoshop

Open the reference as its own document and arrange the two documents side by side, or place it into your file (File > Place Embedded) on a separate layer that you hide when it's not needed. Keep the reference on its own layer so you never paint into it.

Option 5: A second monitor or a split screen

With a second display, put the reference viewer on it and keep your canvas full size on the main screen. On one monitor, press Windows logo key + Left arrow or Right arrow to snap the viewer to one side and your drawing app to the other. Splitting costs canvas space, so it's best for a single reference.

If your drawing app runs in full screen mode, a pinned or floating reference may be hidden behind it. Switch the app to a maximized window, or move the reference to another display.

Getting the reference image in the first place

Save references as files rather than relying on the clipboard. In a browser, use Save image as; for anything on screen, snip it with Win+Shift+S with Snipping Tool's automatic save turned on. A copied image is replaced as soon as you copy a color code or a line of notes, and Windows clipboard history skips images over 4 MB. Keeping references in one folder also means the next session starts with everything in place.

Picking colors from a reference

Use your drawing app's own eyedropper when the reference is inside the app, such as Clip Studio's Sub View or a Krita reference. For a reference in another window, PowerToys Color Picker (Win+Shift+C) samples any pixel on screen and copies the hex value. How to get a color code from a screenshot covers sampling accurately.

FAQ

What's the shortcut to keep a window on top in Windows 11?

Windows has no built-in shortcut for it. With PowerToys installed, Win+Ctrl+T toggles Always On Top for the active window.

Can the reference image be semi-transparent?

ShareX's Pin to screen supports opacity from 10% to 100%. PowerToys Always On Top's opacity setting applies to the highlight border, not the window itself.

Does Blender have reference images?

Yes, though it works differently from 2D apps. How to keep reference images beside Blender covers 3D apps.

Can clipboard history work as a reference panel?

Not practically. The Win+V panel closes when you click elsewhere and shows only small thumbnails, so it can't stay beside your canvas. Use one of the options above.

Related reading

• How to Add Reference Images in Blender (and Keep Them)
• PureRef on Windows: When a Clipboard Shelf Is Enough
• How to Build a Mood Board From Copied Images
• Two Always-on-Top Windows Fighting? How to Fix It

Sources

• PowerToys Always On Top (Microsoft Learn) — Win+Ctrl+T, border settings, Game Mode option and compatibility notes.
• PureRef — always on top, paste and browser drag, supported platforms.
• ShareX Pin to screen — sources, scale and opacity ranges, Always on top, closing.
• Reference Images Tool (Krita Manual) — Add Reference Image, Paste as Reference Image, embedding in the .kra file and Link to external file.
• Import reference images (Clip Studio Paint manual) — Sub View palette, Import, eyedropper option, not in DEBUT.
• Color Picker utility in PowerToys (Microsoft Learn) — Win+Shift+C.
• Using the clipboard (Microsoft Support) — 4 MB per-item history limit.

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