Original Post
[Art]Creating an Alpha Layer! (Transparency/Opacity)
Lately i have been seeing people having problems with transparent backgrounds and whatnot. People in #support asking how to do it, and finding no real answer. Its hard to explain over IRC, so now you have this.
Follow the steps below to become a pro at transparency.
What is an Alpha-Layer?
An Alpha-Layer is transparency. In your GIMP client it shows as a dark/light gray checkerboard pattern. Once you upload the image on the web, that checkerboard pattern will no longer show. You will see the background of the webpage (or on this forum, your post background). This is useful for eliminating that ugly white background and making the image fit in nicely on the webpage. Lets get started!
What is opacity?
Opacity is not transparency, but translucency. It creates the element of being able to see through your image on to the background image or whatever else is behind the image, on the webpage. You can change your opacity percentage on a scale of 1-100. 100% means no transparency, 0% means complete transparency. You are able to change this easily using the layer toolbox. Now lets get started.
and
Step 1: Opening the layer toolbox.
While this isn’t a requirement, I find it quite necessary. It shows you all of your layers in a small box. Once I learned how to open up the layer toolbox, I learned about .gif editing, and it just made it easier for me to edit a single-layer image. Anyway, it goes like this: GIMP -> Windows -> Dockable Dialogs -> Layers. Meanwhile, this can all be found in your toolbox. Feel free to play around with any of the other ones in the image, but they are not necessary for this and I personally do not use them.
Step 2: Using your layer toolbox.
Now that we have the layer toolbox you can start to use it efficiently. You have the opacity percentage, the layer mode, the layer list and scroll bar, shortcuts on the bottom, and your right-click menu. The right click menu will be used to add an alpha-layer, but the shortcuts on the bottom are very useful too! They allow you to delete/duplicate/create/move your layers, and all in just one click. Now on to the right-click menu; There are a ton of options to explore here, but I’m just going to show you the Alpha-layer tool, as that is what this tutorial is about.
and
Step 3: Interacting with your Alpha-Layer.
Now you have a fully functional Alpha-Layer! But what do you do with it? Well, there are a number of things. You can make a fully transparent layer as a background, or you can make it an image with parts that are transparent. Or you can add opacity to certain parts (or the entire thing). Use the Eraser tool and you will see the gray checkerboard pattern I was talking about earlier. That is the transparency. Change the opacity on the eraser tool to create opacity. Now have fun! See the image below for an example of an image I worked on.
Follow the steps below to become a pro at transparency.
What is an Alpha-Layer?
An Alpha-Layer is transparency. In your GIMP client it shows as a dark/light gray checkerboard pattern. Once you upload the image on the web, that checkerboard pattern will no longer show. You will see the background of the webpage (or on this forum, your post background). This is useful for eliminating that ugly white background and making the image fit in nicely on the webpage. Lets get started!
What is opacity?
Opacity is not transparency, but translucency. It creates the element of being able to see through your image on to the background image or whatever else is behind the image, on the webpage. You can change your opacity percentage on a scale of 1-100. 100% means no transparency, 0% means complete transparency. You are able to change this easily using the layer toolbox. Now lets get started.
and
Step 1: Opening the layer toolbox.
While this isn’t a requirement, I find it quite necessary. It shows you all of your layers in a small box. Once I learned how to open up the layer toolbox, I learned about .gif editing, and it just made it easier for me to edit a single-layer image. Anyway, it goes like this: GIMP -> Windows -> Dockable Dialogs -> Layers. Meanwhile, this can all be found in your toolbox. Feel free to play around with any of the other ones in the image, but they are not necessary for this and I personally do not use them.
Step 2: Using your layer toolbox.
Now that we have the layer toolbox you can start to use it efficiently. You have the opacity percentage, the layer mode, the layer list and scroll bar, shortcuts on the bottom, and your right-click menu. The right click menu will be used to add an alpha-layer, but the shortcuts on the bottom are very useful too! They allow you to delete/duplicate/create/move your layers, and all in just one click. Now on to the right-click menu; There are a ton of options to explore here, but I’m just going to show you the Alpha-layer tool, as that is what this tutorial is about.
and
Step 3: Interacting with your Alpha-Layer.
Now you have a fully functional Alpha-Layer! But what do you do with it? Well, there are a number of things. You can make a fully transparent layer as a background, or you can make it an image with parts that are transparent. Or you can add opacity to certain parts (or the entire thing). Use the Eraser tool and you will see the gray checkerboard pattern I was talking about earlier. That is the transparency. Change the opacity on the eraser tool to create opacity. Now have fun! See the image below for an example of an image I worked on.
