---
title: "How to: Paint an Area with a Radial Gradient"
ms.date: "03/30/2017"
dev_langs: 
  - "csharp"
  - "vb"
helpviewer_keywords: 
  - "brushes [WPF], painting with radial gradients"
  - "radial gradients [WPF], painting with"
  - "painting [WPF], with radial gradients"
ms.assetid: b5d0fc8a-8986-4796-b003-a75b41a48928
---
# How to: Paint an Area with a Radial Gradient
This example shows how to use the <xref:System.Windows.Media.RadialGradientBrush> class to paint an area with a radial gradient.  
  
## Example  
 The following example uses a <xref:System.Windows.Media.RadialGradientBrush> to paint a rectangle with a radial gradient that transitions from yellow to red to blue to lime green.  
  
 [!code-csharp[BrushesIntroduction_snip#SimpleRadialGradientExampleWholePage](~/samples/snippets/csharp/VS_Snippets_Wpf/BrushesIntroduction_snip/CSharp/RadialGradientBrushSnippet.cs#simpleradialgradientexamplewholepage)]
 [!code-vb[BrushesIntroduction_snip#SimpleRadialGradientExampleWholePage](~/samples/snippets/visualbasic/VS_Snippets_Wpf/BrushesIntroduction_snip/visualbasic/radialgradientbrushsnippet.vb#simpleradialgradientexamplewholepage)]
 [!code-xaml[BrushesIntroduction_snip#SimpleRadialGradientExampleWholePage](~/samples/snippets/xaml/VS_Snippets_Wpf/BrushesIntroduction_snip/XAML/RadialGradientBrushSnippet.xaml#simpleradialgradientexamplewholepage)]  
  
 The following illustration shows the gradient from the preceding example. The gradient's stops have been highlighted.  
  
 ![Gradient stops in a radial gradient](./media/wcpsdk-graphicsmm-4gradientstops-rg.png "wcpsdk_graphicsmm_4gradientstops_rg")  
  
> [!NOTE]
> The examples in this topic use the default coordinate system for setting control points. The default coordinate system is relative to a bounding box: 0 indicates 0 percent of the bounding box, and 1 indicates 100 percent of the bounding box. You can change this coordinate system by setting the <xref:System.Windows.Media.GradientBrush.MappingMode%2A> property to the value <xref:System.Windows.Media.BrushMappingMode.Absolute>. An absolute coordinate system is not relative to a bounding box. Values are interpreted directly in local space.  
  
 For additional <xref:System.Windows.Media.RadialGradientBrush> examples, see the [Brushes Sample](https://github.com/Microsoft/WPF-Samples/tree/master/Graphics/Brushes). For more information about gradients and other types of brushes, see [Painting with Solid Colors and Gradients Overview](painting-with-solid-colors-and-gradients-overview.md).