Second Life Forums Archive - Alpha frustration with template!

Galena Qi

Registered User

Join date: 9 Sep 2006

Posts: 249

12-21-2006 10:25

Trying to get the Robin Soujouner Wood T-Shirt tutorial to work, and I must be missing a step. I'm using PS-6. Please help - this is driving me crazy!

Using the template as provided, I make the following layers visible (listed bottom to top in the layers palette): Texture, Color layer (Mode = multiply), Design, Highlights. Alpha channel is present and looks correct. I save file as a 32-bit TGA.

Result seen in SL clothing previewer - Color layer (violet) is applied to entire upper body. No transparency on arms/neck.

If I also turn on the Cover Halo layer, OR put a black layer on the bottom of the stack, I get a short-sleeve t-shirt of the assigned color, but with black arms/neck.

Help, please?

Chosen Few

Alpha Channel Slave

Join date: 16 Jan 2004

Posts: 7,496

12-21-2006 13:06

There are three common possible reasons for what you're experiencing:

1. You don't have an alpha channel in place. If the template you're using came with a sample alpha on a layer, make sure you copy it to an actual channel.

OR

2. You've got more than one alpha channel. Transparency in SL can only come from TGA files with four channels (one each for red, green, blue, and alpha). If you've got more than one alpha channel present at the time of TGA export, the transparency will fail. You can have as many as you want in your PSD for all kinds of purposes, but make sure that when it comes time to save to TGA that you've removed all the others except for the one you want to represent transparency.

OR

3. You made your alpha channel incorrectly. Make sure the alpha channel is black on the parts of the image you want to be transparent, and white in the areas you want opaque.

If it's not one of those three things, I'm not sure what else to tell you without looking at the file.

_____________________

.

Land now available for rent in Indigo. Low rates. Quiet, low-lag mainland sim with good neighbors. IM me in-world if you're interested.

Galena Qi

Registered User

Join date: 9 Sep 2006

Posts: 249

12-21-2006 15:18

From: Chosen Few

There are three common possible reasons for what you're experiencing:

1. You don't have an alpha channel in place. If the template you're using came with a sample alpha on a layer, make sure you copy it to an actual channel.

--- There is an alpha channel for the t-shirt already in place in the template

OR

2. You've got more than one alpha channel. Transparency in SL can only come from TGA files with four channels (one each for red, green, blue, and alpha). If you've got more than one alpha channel present at the time of TGA export, the transparency will fail. You can have as many as you want in your PSD for all kinds of purposes, but make sure that when it comes time to save to TGA that you've removed all the others except for the one you want to represent transparency.

---Only one alpha channel is present in the Channels palette.

3. You made your alpha channel incorrectly. Make sure the alpha channel is black on the parts of the image you want to be transparent, and white in the areas you want opaque.

---I didn't make the alpha channel - I used the one already in the template. However, I tried making a new one and still had the same problem.

If it's not one of those three things, I'm not sure what else to tell you without looking at the file.

--http://www.robinwood.com/Catalog/Technical/SL-Tuts/SLPages/RSWTShirtLong1.html

I know that hundreds of people must have used this template successfully! I think the problem is in how I'm applying the color layer - the alpha transparency works fine if I don't use that layer. For some reason the Multiply blend is applying color to the transparent parts of the underlying layer as well as to the white texture parts of the image.

Thanks for your help - I'm sure you are very tired of answering the same questions every time!

Chosen Few

Alpha Channel Slave

Join date: 16 Jan 2004

Posts: 7,496

12-21-2006 18:09

Hmm, that's weird. Once your alpha channel is in place, which it already is in Robin's PSD file, there shouldn't be any way anything you do on a layer could affect the channel. You might want to discard the one you've got, and make a new one though, just to be safe. If the black is not really black, but some level of gray, then you won't be getting full transparency.

If the multiplication is the problem, it sounds like it's probably a bug in your Photoshop. Try working around it by coloring your image a different way. I'd recommend using an adjustment layer. Here's how (I think all this was the same in PS6, but if any of it differs, try Googling for "Photoshop 6 adjustment layer tutorial, and see what you find):

On the Layers Palette, click on the name of the Texture layer to make it the active layer. This way, when you add the adjustment layer, it will appear above the Texture layer in the stack, and below everything else. Adjustment layers affect everything below them, just so you know (and they do it completely non-destructively, which is nice).
Go Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> Hue/Saturation. In the "New Layer" dialog that pops up, give your new layer a name if you want. By default, it will be called "Hue/Saturation 1", but you can call it anything you want. Go with default settings for everything (Color: none, Mode: normal, Opacity: 100%). Click OK.
You'll now have a new adjustment layer sitting directly above your "Texture" layer, and you should see that the Hue/Saturation dialog has popped up for you. Drag the Hue slider to change the coloring of the adjustment layer, and you'll see it appearing to change the color of everything below it, in this case the "Texture" layer.

So you know, Hue will change the tone of the color, Saturation will change the amount of color applied, and Lightness will change the blackness/whiteness. Drag the sliders around until you're satisfied with the coloring, and the click OK.

You should now have a color effect on your "Texture" layer that couldn't possibly affect the alpha channel, but since your PS seems to be maybe a little wonky, double check that the alpha channel hasn't changed, just to be sure. Make sure the black is really black, the white is really white, etc.

Export to 32-bit TGA, and you should be good to go. Hope that helped.

You should now have a brand new alpha channel

_____________________

.

Land now available for rent in Indigo. Low rates. Quiet, low-lag mainland sim with good neighbors. IM me in-world if you're interested.

Galena Qi

Registered User

Join date: 9 Sep 2006

Posts: 249

It worked!

12-21-2006 18:39

Your suggestion worked! Thank you!

Alpha frustration with template!
Galena Qi Registered User Join date: 9 Sep 2006 Posts: 249	12-21-2006 10:25 Trying to get the Robin Soujouner Wood T-Shirt tutorial to work, and I must be missing a step. I'm using PS-6. Please help - this is driving me crazy! Using the template as provided, I make the following layers visible (listed bottom to top in the layers palette): Texture, Color layer (Mode = multiply), Design, Highlights. Alpha channel is present and looks correct. I save file as a 32-bit TGA. Result seen in SL clothing previewer - Color layer (violet) is applied to entire upper body. No transparency on arms/neck. If I also turn on the Cover Halo layer, OR put a black layer on the bottom of the stack, I get a short-sleeve t-shirt of the assigned color, but with black arms/neck. Help, please?
Chosen Few Alpha Channel Slave Join date: 16 Jan 2004 Posts: 7,496	12-21-2006 13:06 There are three common possible reasons for what you're experiencing: 1. You don't have an alpha channel in place. If the template you're using came with a sample alpha on a layer, make sure you copy it to an actual channel. OR 2. You've got more than one alpha channel. Transparency in SL can only come from TGA files with four channels (one each for red, green, blue, and alpha). If you've got more than one alpha channel present at the time of TGA export, the transparency will fail. You can have as many as you want in your PSD for all kinds of purposes, but make sure that when it comes time to save to TGA that you've removed all the others except for the one you want to represent transparency. OR 3. You made your alpha channel incorrectly. Make sure the alpha channel is black on the parts of the image you want to be transparent, and white in the areas you want opaque. If it's not one of those three things, I'm not sure what else to tell you without looking at the file. _____________________ . Land now available for rent in Indigo. Low rates. Quiet, low-lag mainland sim with good neighbors. IM me in-world if you're interested.
Galena Qi Registered User Join date: 9 Sep 2006 Posts: 249	12-21-2006 15:18 From: Chosen Few There are three common possible reasons for what you're experiencing: 1. You don't have an alpha channel in place. If the template you're using came with a sample alpha on a layer, make sure you copy it to an actual channel. --- There is an alpha channel for the t-shirt already in place in the template OR 2. You've got more than one alpha channel. Transparency in SL can only come from TGA files with four channels (one each for red, green, blue, and alpha). If you've got more than one alpha channel present at the time of TGA export, the transparency will fail. You can have as many as you want in your PSD for all kinds of purposes, but make sure that when it comes time to save to TGA that you've removed all the others except for the one you want to represent transparency. ---Only one alpha channel is present in the Channels palette. 3. You made your alpha channel incorrectly. Make sure the alpha channel is black on the parts of the image you want to be transparent, and white in the areas you want opaque. ---I didn't make the alpha channel - I used the one already in the template. However, I tried making a new one and still had the same problem. If it's not one of those three things, I'm not sure what else to tell you without looking at the file. --http://www.robinwood.com/Catalog/Technical/SL-Tuts/SLPages/RSWTShirtLong1.html I know that hundreds of people must have used this template successfully! I think the problem is in how I'm applying the color layer - the alpha transparency works fine if I don't use that layer. For some reason the Multiply blend is applying color to the transparent parts of the underlying layer as well as to the white texture parts of the image. Thanks for your help - I'm sure you are very tired of answering the same questions every time!
Chosen Few Alpha Channel Slave Join date: 16 Jan 2004 Posts: 7,496	12-21-2006 18:09 Hmm, that's weird. Once your alpha channel is in place, which it already is in Robin's PSD file, there shouldn't be any way anything you do on a layer could affect the channel. You might want to discard the one you've got, and make a new one though, just to be safe. If the black is not really black, but some level of gray, then you won't be getting full transparency. If the multiplication is the problem, it sounds like it's probably a bug in your Photoshop. Try working around it by coloring your image a different way. I'd recommend using an adjustment layer. Here's how (I think all this was the same in PS6, but if any of it differs, try Googling for "Photoshop 6 adjustment layer tutorial, and see what you find): On the Layers Palette, click on the name of the Texture layer to make it the active layer. This way, when you add the adjustment layer, it will appear above the Texture layer in the stack, and below everything else. Adjustment layers affect everything below them, just so you know (and they do it completely non-destructively, which is nice). Go Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> Hue/Saturation. In the "New Layer" dialog that pops up, give your new layer a name if you want. By default, it will be called "Hue/Saturation 1", but you can call it anything you want. Go with default settings for everything (Color: none, Mode: normal, Opacity: 100%). Click OK. You'll now have a new adjustment layer sitting directly above your "Texture" layer, and you should see that the Hue/Saturation dialog has popped up for you. Drag the Hue slider to change the coloring of the adjustment layer, and you'll see it appearing to change the color of everything below it, in this case the "Texture" layer. So you know, Hue will change the tone of the color, Saturation will change the amount of color applied, and Lightness will change the blackness/whiteness. Drag the sliders around until you're satisfied with the coloring, and the click OK. You should now have a color effect on your "Texture" layer that couldn't possibly affect the alpha channel, but since your PS seems to be maybe a little wonky, double check that the alpha channel hasn't changed, just to be sure. Make sure the black is really black, the white is really white, etc. Export to 32-bit TGA, and you should be good to go. Hope that helped. You should now have a brand new alpha channel _____________________ . Land now available for rent in Indigo. Low rates. Quiet, low-lag mainland sim with good neighbors. IM me in-world if you're interested.
Galena Qi Registered User Join date: 9 Sep 2006 Posts: 249	It worked! 12-21-2006 18:39 Your suggestion worked! Thank you!

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Alpha frustration with template!