Turning off all layers in PS

ok i have a couple of questions for just drawing/assemblying a bikini or some other wear of the same type in Photoshop. I noticed that Robin and a couple of other people have told how to get the white "halo" to go away, but, I couldnt find anything that says "how" to make/assemble the clothing of that type. I saw the shirts one, but i would assume that would be a little different than trying to show some skin through?

so here is my questions:

1) first, about the "halo" problem, if you shut off all the layers, in PS, as stated in the first line of your instructions, wont you essentially shut off the black background to ? If that is so, how am i suppose to tell where the halo is to erase it? Keep in mind, this is roughly that same thing you can do in Corel, and if you shut off all the layers, except the working layer, you will have nothing but white behind it which would make it almost , if not , impossible to tell if there is a "halo" or not. Unless you make the background of the window area black?

2) Do you just make/draw/transfer your "bikini" right on top of the templates and then fit them to the template "bodies"? I would assume the straps must match the area crossing the back as the would the front? So i would assume if you make the templates transparent , you could actually stack the front and the back , and the straps would actually be overlaying on the shoulders and the rib cage?

3) This one is to just clarification for me. I assume after you have made your "bikini" , when you goto export it to a targa file, you just remove all the layers not used, including the templates themsleves, and only exporting the "bikini" layer and the alpha layer?

Just a couple of questions out of the bundles I have for the future....

thank you again

Rutain

Hi Rutain!

Making a bikini, or any other revealing clothing, isn't really different from making a shirt. You will have a different Alpha channel, but you would if you were making two different shirts with different sleeve lengths and different collar openings, too.

So, ummm, no. There's no difference in construction methods at all, although obviously there's a difference in design.

1.) The white "halo" doesn't exist until you save the file as a .tga for uploading to SL. At that point, if there is nothing below the transparent layers in your image, they get dropped onto a white background. Any pixels that are partially transparent in the Alpha, such as anti-aliased edge pixels, will be partially the color of the image, and partially the white from the background. Which is what makes the halo.

The fix, of course, is to avoid dropping the image onto white in the first place, which means that you need something in the layers that extends beyond the edges of the Alpha.

For clothing, I recommend extending your fabric out into the area that's going to be clipped by the Alpha for the seams that will match other fabric. For the seams at the neck and sleeves, or the bottom of the pants (and the waist, for dropped waist pants,) I recommend using a dark brown or black layer at the bottom of the stack, or a dark brown or black mask at the top (which is what I do.) That way you get a dark halo, which acts as a shadow against the skin of the avatar.

But you won't be seeing the halo in PS, and there is nothing for you to "erase."

(Ummm, Corel what? Painter? Draw? PhotoShop Pro? I wish people would stop using the name of the company instead of the name of the program! It's so confusing!)

2.) Yes, you draw/create your bikini in new layer(s) above or below the "template" layers. But you can't stack the front and back of the templates, or move them at all, because they aren't really templates; they are the UV Maps used by the Avatars.

Each point on the page corresponds to a point on the avatar. The "templates" are simply a graphical representation of that. If you move them, all you do is lose the representation. You don't change which point on the page will be placed at which point on the AV at all. Like a real map; changing the map doesn't affect the topography in the world.

You also can't stack the front and back, draw your straps, and then put them where the front and back should be, because they don't match. (Go ahead and test that, if you want.)

They aren't screen shots; the polys have been "unwrapped" to make the map. You need to match the straps to the corresponding lines on the map, (which show where the polygons are,) not to each other.

3.) Yes, if you have extended the edges of the "bikini" beyond the edges of the Alpha. (And don't let Chosen hear you say "Alpha layer." It's not a layer, it's a Channel. It must be in the Channel palette. If it's in the Layer Palette, it's not going to work.)

Hope this helps!

and yes, I am sorry for using the brand name intead of the actual product name...

also, this does clear up quite a bit..........thank you again...

now, just to wrestle with Daz Studio to figure out how to get a Avatar on there and try on the clothes....lol.....

I had tried to get all this "learning the basics" working in one weekend.... guess I need a little more time....

Thank you for all your help Robin
Rutain

Ummm, yeah. I'd allow more time, if I were you. Even if it is a long weekend.

So, do you want instructions on how to see the clothing on the AV in DAZ Studio?

If you do, you'll find them here. Of course, if you would rather figure it out for yourself, don't let me stop you! (jk)

(And thanks for saying DAZ Studio. As you'll see, not everyone does.) (Joke again. Okay, I'm officially punchy tonight.)

Great post Robin! Super kudos to you!

I will work on something this week , hopefully I can post a pic this week and let everyone see....