Help with PaintShop Pro 9

Is there any help for making transparencies with PaintShop Pro version 9??

I have looked and looked, tried several tutorials for the older versions, both here and through Google, but nothing works.

I never used PSP (any version) before, so am looking for a step by step newbie instructions for version 9.

Thanks!

Once again, here's my standard tutorial on how to make alpha channels, preceded by an explanation of what they are and what they do.

Color Space & Channels
Images designed to be shown on a color screen are comprised three colors (red, green, & blue). The relative brightness of each of these primary colors in each pixel determines each pixel's actual color. For example, a pixel comprised of equal values of red and blue without any green would appear to be purple.

When taken seperately, the individual values for red, green, or blue are represented by a grayscale image called a channel. In an individual channel, white represents the maximum possible concentration of color and black represents the absense of color. Shades of gray represent amounts of color that are less than the maximum. The darker the gray, the lesser the concentration of color. The lighter the gray, the more color is present. So, to go back to the example of combining red and blue values to make a splotch of purple, the splotch would appear white in the Red Channel, white in the Blue Channel, and black in the Green Channel, the reason being that the splotch contains the maximum possible values of red and blue, but no green.

Channels & Transparency (Alpha Channels)
Images that have transparency have the same three primary color channels and also have a fourth channel, called Alpha, which represents opacity. In the alpha channel, white represents comlete opacity and black represents the absense of opacity (transparency). Shades of gray represent semi-transparency. The darker the gray, the more transparent. The lighter the gray, the more opaque.

So, for example, if you are making a bikini top for your avatar, the alpha channel would be white in the shape of the bikini top, and black everywhere else. The white part makes the bikini top 100% opaque so that you won't be able to see through it when it's on the av, and the black part makes the rest of the image invisible so that there appears to be nothing on the av's arms, stomach, etc.

Creating Your Alpha Channel
Okay, now for the how-to's. I should preface this by saying my PSP skills are pretty weak compared to my Photoshop skills, but I think I can talk you through it. Just keep in mind it's been a while since I've used PSP, so this is nowhere near as detailed as my Photoshop tutorial on the same subject. This was written for PSP 8, not 9, but I think it's the same in both. If any of this is inacurate, hopefully someone else will correct me. I think everything it's all good though.

1. In Photoshop you would be able to manipulate the alpha channel directly, but in PSP you have to use a tool called a mask to serve as a proxy for what will in the end become the alpha channel. To start, go to the Mask menu and select New Mask -> Show All. The new mask will be all white (no transparency yet).

2. Go to Masks -> Edit Mask. Now you'll have a grayscale palette window so you can paint the mask varying shades of gray.

3. As I said earlier, paint the areas you want to be invisible black, paint the areas you want semi-transparent gray, and leave the areas you want completely opaque white.

4. When you're finished, go to Mask -> Save to Alpha Channel, and then delete the mask (DELETE it, do not merge it). If you need to edit the alpha later, go Mask -> Load From Alpha Channel.

5. Save your file as a 32 bit TGA and you should be all set.

sorry but been there done that ... it doesn't help in version 9

Hey Lil, try this link: http://www.sluniverse.com/kb/article.aspx?id=10190

Well, I downloaded the trial of PSP 10. I wasn't able to find one for PSP 9. It seems the menus have changed a bit since last I used the program, but I was able to quickly determine the right steps simply by going to the help files. I'll outline it here as it is for PSP 10. If this doesn't work, look up alpha channels in help and also look up masks.

1. There is no longer a seperate Mask menu. Mask creation is now under the Layers menu. Go Layers -> New Mask Layer -> Show All. A new layer group will be created, at the top of which will be your new mask layer. Make sure all other layers are in the group and below the mask.

2. On the Layers Palette, select the mask layer and make sure the little Mask Overlay Toggle button at the top is turned off. The Mask Overlay Toggle is directly to the right of the Link Toggle. It looks like a tiny picture of a theater mask. When it's off it's gray; when it's on it's red. Just so you know, turning it on can be useful so you can exactly what is happening with the mask itself, but you'll have a more WYSIWYG feel with it turned off.

3. At this point, your mask will be all white (no transparency yet). On the mask layer, start painting the areas you want to be invisible black, and you'll see the checkerboard show through in those areas. Any areas you want semi-transparent, paint gray. The darker the gray, the more transparent; the lighter the gray, the more opaque. The areas you want completely opaque just leave white.

4. When you're finished, go to Layers -> Load/Save Mask -> Save Mask To Alpha Channel, and then delete the mask (DELETE it, do not merge it) by right clicking on it in the Layers Palette and selecting Delete. If you need to edit the alpha later, go Layers -> Load/Save Mask -> Load Mask From Alpha Channel.

5. Save your file as a TGA and you should be all set. It seems there's no option to choose bit depth at the time of save. If an alpha channel is present, the file is automatically saves as 32 bit. If not, it's automatically saved as 24 bit.


Please let me know if this works for you with PSP 9. If it does, I will add it to my list of tutorials for both PSP 9 and PSP 10. I'm actually very glad this thread came up. I had a feeling things might have changed since I wrote that PSP 8 tutorial, but I didn't check until now.