When you take a funny photograph of your pet, you might want to add a cartoonish thought balloon above their head before texting the image to your friends. You do not need to purchase complex graphic design software or download ad-riddled meme-generator apps from the App Store. The default Preview application built into macOS includes an advanced vector shape tool that allows you to drop fully customizable speech bubbles and thought balloons directly onto any image file.
How to Access the Vector Shape Tools
To add a shape, you must activate Preview’s advanced markup interface.
- Double-click your image file (JPEG, PNG, or HEIC) to open it in Preview.
- Click the Markup Toolbar icon in the top right corner of the window (it resembles the tip of a pencil inside a circle).
- A new horizontal toolbar will appear. Look for the Shapes icon (a small square overlapping a circle) and click it.
- A drop-down menu will appear displaying various geometric options. At the very bottom of this menu, click the Speech Bubble icon.
A white cartoon speech bubble will instantly drop into the exact center of your photograph.
How to Customize and Position the Bubble
The bubble operates as a vector object, meaning you can endlessly resize and reshape it without losing image quality.
- Resizing: Click and drag any of the blue dots (handles) located on the outer edge of the bubble to make it larger or wider.
- Positioning the Tail: Look closely at the “tail” of the speech bubble (the part that points to the speaker’s mouth). There is a special Green dot located at the tip of the tail. Click and drag this green dot to independently stretch, rotate, and aim the tail directly at your subject’s mouth.
- Changing the Balloon Type: By default, Preview generates a standard, smooth speech bubble. If you want a bumpy, cloud-like “thought balloon” instead, you can change it instantly. While the bubble is selected, click the Shapes icon in the toolbar again and select the cloud shape.
Adding Text and Exporting
To put words inside the bubble, simply double-click directly in the center of the white shape. A blinking text cursor will appear, allowing you to type your joke. You can then use the Text Style icon (the italic A in the toolbar) to change the font to a thick, comic-book style marker font and increase the size until it fills the bubble perfectly.
Once you are finished, press Command + S to save the final composite image. Preview will instantly flatten the vector shapes and permanently merge them into your JPEG, ready to be emailed or texted.