VERY QUICK TRANSPARENT IMAGE TUTORIAL - photoshop

Select only what you DON'T want to be transparent, so a t-shirt for example.

Click select at the top of the screen.

Click "Save Selection".

DO NOT name your new selection.

Look in the channels tab (bottom right normally) and a new channel named "Alpha" will have been created, with a black and white image of your image.

Then Save the image as a TARGA or TGA (24/32 px)

Upload, making sure that the preview shows white and grey boxes were the image should be transparent. If it does not, or shows a white space, do not upload it - we don't want to waste L$10...

I have been waiting SO long for this!!

I’m sending your AVI $1000L just for taking that time to post this!

Thank you finally clarifying this procedure, you have no idea how this helped me!

Cheers!


-Big

You might want to change this to Targa (32 bits/pixel) since you wouldn't be saving to 24 if you had an alpha channel. Just so as not to confuse anyone.

For testing uploading and saving the $10 using the Beta grid is great. Then when you get it right, upload using the main grid.

- D

I tried doing this in photoshop CS3 and when I saved as a tga file, the transparency changed to white. Any idea what I might have done wrong?

Yaotl--
As noted above by Betty, you need to save the image as a Targa(tga) 32-bit image inorder to keep the Alpha Channel.

My guess is that you have saved your image as a 24-bit Targa (which will cause the effect you are seeing).

Whats even better, is that you don't need to do ANY of this if you have Photoshop 7.0

All versions below/above photoshop 7.0, for some crazy reason, make everything more difficult when it comes to saving transparent images. I have 7.0 and I never need to make alpha layers because it saves as transparent automatically.

Nope, I did save as 32-bit. I'm able to use paint.net to save correctly without problems though. Just can't figure out CS3 for this.

Do you have more than one Alpha channel? I believe that will do what you're describing as well if you left your background white.

Channels only has RGB, Red, Green, Blue, and Alpha 1.

hmmm... I've never had any problem saving targas with CS3. Do you have that targa plug-in that some people use with CS versions? I have never used it, but maybe that is causing problems?

Wait, how is this different from the content under the "Transparency and Alpha Channels: The Definitive Guide" sticky post at the top of this forum?

Mari

Must I quote myself again? Here's the excerpt regarding Photoshop 7 from the Transparency Guide at the top of the forum:

Photoshop 7.0 was Adobe’s one and only experiment with automated alpha channel creation for TGA. The experiment was a dismal failure, riddled with problems. Adobe quickly realized they had made a monumental mistake with 7.0, and they patched it with version 7.0.1, which got rid of the automation and the problems that went with it.

However, some people unfortunately are still under the impression that the automation is a time-saver, and they use that plug-in from 7.0 to alter the way other versions of Photoshop operate. In truth, people who use it are actually making things much harder on themselves without even realizing it. Let me explain.

First, and most importantly, the automation causes artifacts which are impossible to correct, the most common of which is the white halo mentioned above.

Second, images ceated with these automated (embedded) alphas are incompatible with most graphics applications, as opposed to real alpha channels, which have been a staple of the graphics inudustry for decades, and can be understood by nearly all graphics programs.

Third, it is not a significant time saver at all since making an alpha channel only takes a few seconds at most.

Fourth, for images with complicated transparency levels, like stained glass windows, for example, it actually makes the process take MUCH longer.

Fifth, and very importantly, it encourages destructive workflow habits. Since it’s entirely a WYSIWYG system, those who use it have a tendency to create transparency by erasing, which makes it very difficult to make changes later.

In short, alpha automation is bad news. Don’t use it.


Yes, everyoine REALLY should read that guide (no offense, MaxM; thanks for adding your knowledge into the mix). The guide contains no less than four step-by-step tutorials for Photoshop, so you can pick the method you like best, as well as a very in-depth FAQ section, explaining what channels are, how they work, and all the conceptual info you'll ever need. Among the FAQ's, by the way, are several that have been asked here in this thread. FAQ really does mean frequently asked questions, very frequently asked.

I apologize that the guide is now a little hard to read. It was nicely formatted when I first posted it, but since LL turned off bbCode a few weeks ago, it's a bit of a mess. Before the formatting was turned off, these transparency questions had all but stopped. Now they're mounting up again. I suspect it won't be long before every other thread is about transparency again, just like it used to be. LL, can we please fix the forums already? People are hurting.

Anyway, readers, just do your best to ignore the now visible code tags, and concentrate on the content.

I read the guide at the top and fixed my problem. It's a lot easier to do in paint.net, but the texture comes out cleaner in photoshop. Thanks!

I really should add paint.net to the tutorial list. It's such an often overlooked program, but it's pretty good.

Anyway, glad to hear your problem is solved. I think you'll find as you get more experience with Photoshop, it's actually easier than you think it is right now. The thing is, there are a million ways to do any one task in Photoshop, so pretty much anything can be done with as much simplicity or complexity as the user cares to add. The guide only covers 4 methods, and here MaxM has kindly added a fifth. As you use PS more and more, you'll find the workflow that you like best.

I folllowed the instructions to a T and when it came to saving the image to Targa, that was not an option in Save As. I save what I wanted to show and saved selection without naming it. I got an alpha channel with a black and white image. But couldn't save to targa. Sighs...will never get this transparency thing figured out...

Alice, make sure you're working in RGB mode at 8 bits per channel. If you're in any other mode, TGA won't be an option.

Image -> Mode -> RGB Color

Image -> Mode -> 8 Bits/Channel

I use both Corel Paint Shop Pro Xi and Adobe Photoshop CS2 and I am blind from looking for a descriptive tut for maing alpha channels.
Would some kind soul please send me or direct me to the tutorials for current versions.
Thanks.
Shalori