I made a tattoo on photoshop, Yet I dont know how to make the back ground transparent. (Help!)

[Peewee Musytari]

if you use tga format you need to include an alpha channel when you save it. Its much easier to save as a PNG file.

[Peewee Musytari]

if you use tga format you need to include an alpha channel when you save it. Its much easier to save as a PNG file.

[Peggy Paperdoll]

In order for transparency to show you must save your final texture for upload at 32 bit to include the alpha channel...no matter what format you save it to.  I cannot give you instructions on how to do it exactly in Photoshop since I don't know that program.  In GIMP it's as simple as choosing your layer and from the menu clicking "add alpha channel".  Once you've done that, removing the background.  On "save" make sure you preserve the alpha channel.

[Peewee Musytari]

Thats why I suggested saving as a PNG, no messing about with that format, just save as.

If you save as a TGA in PS it depends on which version of PS you have, some are fairly straightforward, others you have to manually add the alpha channel before saving as a 32bit tga.

[Peggy Paperdoll]

First order of business is understanding what an alpha channel is if you are dealing with transparency.  No matter what the format, an alpha channel must be present to define any transparency.  No matter what imaging software program you use, you must understand channels (including the alpha channel) if you are dealing with transparency.

 

A good place to start if you aren't sure or vague about an alpha channel is here:

http://forums-archive.secondlife.com/109/32/80851/1.html

 

It's from the old texturing tips from about 4 years ago..........alpha channels haven't changed since then.

[Catwise Yoshikawa]

Just save as png, it's easier :smileywink:

[MaverickJustice Diavolo]

I save to .tga format all the time. It's not difficult at all. Just "Save As...", tga type and title it of course. It will then ask if you want to save as several different bit/pixel settings, (16, 24, or 32). 24 bit is non alpha. 36 bit for transparancy textures. So just "Save As..." then select 32 bits/pixel when prompted, and that's it! Good Luck with your tatts! :smileywink:

[Peewee Musytari]

I agree it is that simple on some versions of PS, unfortunately its not true for all of them. Some you have to load an alpha selection and create a new channel for it before you save or you end up with white transparency. Its not massively complicated but if someone does have a PS version like that it is far easier to just "save as" png.

[Rolig Loon]

There's nothing about TGA or PNG that makes one inherently easier to use than the other.  It's just a matter of what you are used to. You can get the same results with either format.  IMO, it's smart to learn how to work with both of them.  There are times when you will find it easier to manage transparency if you know how to handle an alpha channel (for example, if you have a many-layered image that has a graded transparency across only part of it).  A good place to learn is here.