Transparency in PSP7..

I tried to follow the tutorial, but it left me standed once it started talking about the Mask. I can use the mask just fine, but it gives no Load/Save option to mark it as alpha.. And it doesn't upload transparent.. Does anyone else use PSP7? I have the newer version but it looks really terrible so I don't use it anymore.

If you've got a newer version, I'd say use it. Yes, they changed the interface, which takes a little getting used to, but they also made tons of major improvements. The latest couple of versions of PSP have been really impressive. Depending on which version you've got, you'll probably want to turn off windows you're not going to use, like that silly Learning Center and Organizer in X2 (and XI, I think), and rearrange the workspace to be a bit more sensible. Once you've corrected for the fact that the default layout is abysmal, you'll find that the program itself is great.

Anyway, if you've got your heart set on using version 7, it should work just fine. Even if it doesn't directly say "save mask to alpha channel", there should at the very least be a "save mask" command. When you hit that, it should save the mask as a channel. You just need to make sure there are no other extra channels in the image first, or else the transparency won't work in SL. To do that, the command should be Image -> Delete Alpha Channel -> Delete All Alpha Channels (or something similar, depending on the version). Only after you're certain there are no existing alpha channels should you save your own.

I'm pretty sure pshop 7.0 had an unintuitive change in handling TGA alpha channel files.

There was a quickly released patch which can be found at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=1544

Hrmm.. I got the whole image transparent, and now I can't get the mask to go transparent again.. Lol.

Lemme start with a fresh image and try again =p

It's still showing the black background as black.. Will have to fuss with it another day.

Ok, I still don't get it.. I'll pay someone, whatever it takes, just to learn this.

I use the mask, delete the mask.. It gives me a blackbackground..

You have to save it to a channel before you delete it.

I did.. Delete, and it shows a black background..

My steps:

Paste my logo into a new Image.
Create the mask by
-- Making a new raster layer
-- Mask - Show all (which makes a new mask)
Then I add in the black for full transparancy, just all over since it's just practice
Save as Alpha channel
Delete the Mask (Mask - Delete)..
Save as tga
Upload

.. Image preview shows a black background, so I close the whole image and try again ..

Then repeat all the above steps until patience runs out =x I don't think I'm missing anything.. I've also deleted the raster layer the Mask is on.. Both times it doesn't work..

I use psp 9.01 and this is what I do to get transparent textures

1. You have your transparent/alpha texture/picture, DO NOT flattern it.

2. Go up to MENU at top, select LAYERS, then FROM IMAGE.

3. Make sure SOURCE OPACITY is checked. and select OK.

4. Go up to LAYERS again and select LOAD/SAVE MASK, then to SAVE MASK TO ALPHA CHANNEL, click SAVE.

5. Save the picture as a TGA. then upload it to SL.

That always works for me.

It's a long time since I used PSP 7 but I remember there was a bug that meant it did not handle transparency. Go to File>Preferences>File Format Preferences on the Menu Bar. There is a tab called PNG, and there are two options:

Load and save transparency to/from layer transparency.
Load and save transparency to/from alpha channel.

I can't remember which setting it needed to make sure it handled transparency properly, so if it's not working now with the setting you have, change it and see if that works instead. If not you may need a newer version of PSP.

Ooo.. Thank you both so much! I will be trying each of those soon as I can!

the mask gets saved to alpha channel, then deleted (and you probably don't want to merge the mask you delete). at least that's the method when saving to tga.

I can't remember if PSP7 has the specific png option that Ryah mentions, but assuming it does you'd want the to/from alpha channel.... just remember that the transparency from the mask won't be visible while you're working on it IIRC (but you can always recreate the mask from the alpha for viewing... you might be able to enable it through 'view transparency' can't remember what menu it's under, mine are all tweaked on that version, I like 7 for fast simple work)... If I remember I'll check it all at home later

Blah =x

Ok.. I can't get this to work again.. Someone had messaged me on SL when I had this post and told me a really quick way to get it transparent but I can't remember who (other than she works for Luna, I believe) and I can't remember how to do it! =x It's just like Papillon's but I can't get that one to work either.. LOL.

I just hope she reads this again..

Can't find any good glass textures so am trying to make some.. I know how to make the image transparent, but it dulls out all the glass textures too..

Malina - i'm new at building/texturing and not in world as I write this. but I'm pretty sure that when i upload and see the image that pops up there is black in that 'snapshot' where i painted around my design say. but when the texture is applied to an object the black areas are actually transparent. That is, it does not appear transparent in the pop up window. have you tried applying the texture to something to see what it looks like ?

Actually.. I went to go find that and stumbled upon, by far, the easiest method!!

Check this out:

~ Paste an image onto a transparent background.
~ Delete out whichever parts you want fully transparent
~ Create a new mask - to Source Opacity
~ Save to Alpha Channel
~ Delete said mask
~ Save as TGA & Upload!

.. I noticed this because I always use transparent backgrounds, and had only filled in part of the image with black.. But the whole thing came up transparent so I tried again without filling in any black.. and POOF!

Now to see if semi-transparent is this easy.. Lol. I shoulda tried this sooner!

Edited:

To do semi-transparent.. Just color in the spots you want Semi-transparent with the desired color!

It's shades/tint of black. 100% black = completely transparent, 50% black = 50% transparency. 70 to 80% is good for transparent glass with a texture on it. However these tints are applied on the 'alpha channel'. So for example if you have 512 x 512 with a flat green colour applied to a layer with say a applied (filter) repeat texture on it, having a flat tint of 70-80% black on the 'alpha channel' will give you a interesting glass panel.