One last question on transparency (from me anyway)

Hi,

I am having problems with washed out colors after creating my alpha channel and uploading the 32bit tga into SL.

I found the relevant section of the Robin Wood tutorial that deals with correcting this problem, but there seems to be a step or two missing from his explanation.

http://www.robinwood.com/Catalog/Technical/SL-Tuts/SLPages/WhiteHalo2.html

I installed the Flaming Pear filters, but when I loaded my tga with Alpha channel, then run the Solidify B filter, as the tutorial says, I get an error box that says:

'This filter cannot operate on the image's background. Use it on a layer with transparent regions'.

I have tried selecting only the composite image, each RGB channel in turn, just the Alpha channel, and then tried the layer, and they all produce the same error message.

What am I doing wrong?

Solidify works by extruding color into any empty parts of a layer. To use it, you must have a layer activated, not a channel. The layer must be a normal layer, not a background layer. To turn a background layer into a normal layer, double-click its name in the Layers palette.

I'm a little confused by your description of the problem you're trying to solve, though. "Washed out colors" doesn't sound like haloing. Also, if you're still talking about the same kind of imagery you talked about in your other thread, there wouldn't be a halo with that. Halos only happen when there are empty parts of the canvas. What exactly did you mean?

Hi Chosen,

The problem is one of washed-out colors (not haloes). The only reason I mentioned haloes is because that is the section in Robin Wood's tutorial that deals with washed-out colors, as he lumps the two problems under the same cause, quote:- 'Halos and washed out colors happen because when Photoshop creates the Targa file, it flattens it first.'

In the solution part of his tutorial he does not mention layers at all, he says: 'So, once you have your Alpha channel made, drop the selection, and run the filter.'

In your reply you mention that 'To use it, you must have a layer activated, not a channel.' 'A layer' implies that there is more than one to choose from, but when I click on the Layer tab I see only one layer there. I must admit that I do not know how to tell if a layer is a normal layer or a background layer.

This is starting to get a bit beyond me now

Vi

Hmm. It's been a while since I've looked at Robin's tutorials. When I get a little time, I'll head over and take a look at what she meant by that. (Yes, Robin is a she, by the way ) Here's my best guess for now.

If you've got part or all of your canvas translucent in your working document, then when the image is flattened for TGA output, the colors would end up lightening (which could be described as fading or washing out). This is because the flattening happens against an assumed white background. Think of it kind of like what would happen if you were to color a big spot with a red dry-erase maker on an acetate transparency (the kind used for overhead projectors). If you put a white piece of paper underneath the transparency, the spot would look pink, not red, since dry-erase ink is translucent. If you want the spot to be red no matter what is underneath it, you'd need to use a pigment that is opaque, like acrylic paint.

The Solidify filter will take any part of the canvas that is less than 100% opaque, and turn it fully opaque. In essence, it replaces that dry-erase ink with opaque paint, and then spreads the pant around the edges to cover the whole canvas. After that, the assumed background doesn't matter. The colors are already opaque. You can't see the paper through the acetate, so the paper has no effect.

A better solution is prevention; just don't work with anything less than full opacity to begin with. But depending on your particular work-flow, that might not always be an option. Cleaning up in post with Solidify is a fine remedy in that case.


The way to tell is much simpler than you're probably thinking right now. If it's a background layer, its name will be Background, and it will be printed in italics. If it's a normal layer, its name can be anything (including Background, if you really want), and it will be printed normally (Roman).

Also, for a background layer, all the options at the top of the Layers palette (the blending mode menu, the opacity & fill sliders, and the lock buttons) will be grayed out. For normal layers, the options at the top will be usable (although some options will gray out optionally if you click on any of the lock buttons, since that's one of the things locking is for).

Background layers are always 100% opaque, by the way, which is why you can't use Solidify on them.



Oh, one more thing that could interfere with Solidify. I realize I could have been a little more clear when I said to make sure you've got a layer active, not a channel. What I should have said was make sure all three color channels are active (highlighted in the palette), not just one or two. This will happen by default if you do anything on a layer, which is why I worded it how I did before. But that wasn't really a full explanation, so I apologize for any confusion.

Solidify can only work by affecting all colors at once, since it's designed for use on layers, not on individual channels. The wording of the error message is a little incomplete in this regard. I guess the author(s) didn't figure someone might try to use the thing on a channel. That does make sense, since individual channels can't really be described as "solid" or "not solid", but still, it was a little shortsighted of them not to cover all possible bases in the error message.

Hi Chosen,

Yes, indeed, that is the problem. There is only one layer, its name is Background (in italics, as you said).

So how do I use the Solidify filter if it needs a layer, but Background will not do?

Vi

you can duplicate the background and make it a layer, do your thing to that and then flatten it back down when your done. you can actually unlock the background and make it active too, if we're talking about PS3.

The solidify filter only works on transparent layers, and so does not work on background layers.

Also, it will not work if you convert the background layer to a normal layer because there will still be no transparency in that layer, basically the damage is already done.

The only way I know of to fix it is to open the Photoshop file you created the TGA from if you still have it, merge visible and then apply the solidify filter to the 'merged' layer or touch it up manually.

Yes, indeed. The Solidify filters work by bleeding pixels from opaque regions into adjacent transparent ones. They are designed as one way to get rid of the dreaded "white halo" problem that is discussed at least once a month in this forum. Since the OP has been working solely on a background layer -- by definition, a layer with no transparency -- the Solidify filters will not have had any effect at all. There can't be any "damage" to fix. Sounds to me like this is a red herring.

Two things to try: (1) Check to be sure that any layers with color on them aren't unintentionally set to less than 100% opacity, and that the mode hasn't been reset to something odd like Overlay. (2) Add a new layer below everything and fill it with black, or at least the darkest color in the layers above.

Rolig, by "the damage is already done", I meant the meaning "abandon all hope" in the context of opening a TGA and attempting to use the solidify filter alone to reduce or eliminate a washed-out look. I certainly didn't mean any actual damage could be inflicted on an innocent TGA.

Sorry if I confused anyone or if it was misinterpreted.

LOL. Gotta love our language.