Topic: How do I do 50% transparency?

[JonLeung]

This may be a really dumb question but I am struggling with this and would like an answer ASAP.



Let's say I have an image of some kind of background.  I have a second image of the same dimensions, but with something like water or lava or something placed where I would like them if the two images were combined.  I'd like these things in the second image to appear half-transparent.



What's the easiest way to do that?



I tried using GIMP, loading up both images.  Then I'd "select by color" on the background color of the second image and then invert the selection (so that I won't be copying/pasting the black or white or magic fuchsia) and then I paste into the first image.



This gives me an opaque layer of the things I want transparent.  Now then I go to the transparency settings and I just want it to be 50%.  But instead it gives me a bunch of sliders, one for each RGB value, and then there's some other sliders for hue or saturation and one other thing.  I just want this half-transparent, and at the moment all this looks needlessly complicated...



I know I sound like a moron but I'm sure there's some really simple way, through GIMP or otherwise, and I'd like someone to point out what that is.



Thanks in advance...

[TerraEsperZ]

The only method I know is using Paint Shop Pro 8, and it basically comes down to creating a layer with 50% transparency and pasting the transparent element in it.



However, depending on the way the game handles its transparency, the result might look more or less like the real thing.



For example, right now, Aria Of Sorrow is killing me because I'm totally unable to reproduce its effects. I've been mostly cheating my way through so far since most of it consists of a single colour for the transparent medium (like water), so I just had to capture the background with the underwater palette and paste that where needed, but now I'm in a part with lots of animated waterfalls (8 cycling colours!) over very non-repeating backgrounds. Needless to say, I'm barely averaging a room like that a night, if I'm lucky. GBA-style Alpha Blending sucks.



I would suggest asking Revned, since whatever method he used to reproduce the waterfall in Symphony Of The Night gave a result almost indistinguishable from the real thing.





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Current projects: Bucky O'Hare (NES), Metal Storm (NES), Clock Tower (SNES), Ristar-The Shooting Star (Gen), Sonic The Hedgehog (Gen), Sonic CD (Sega CD), Mega Man Zero (GBA), Battletoads (NES)

[Peardian]

I don't use GIMP, so I don't know anything about it, but for when I do my effects, I use Fireworks. Fireworks has options for not only setting the alpha level of things, but for advanced mixing methods, such as the ones the GBA uses (not exactly the same but close enough). Before I had Fireworks, I used Jasc, an animation program, by simply doing a fade transition between the two images and picking one in the middle. However, this can only be used to imitate normal alpha blending.



I don't know if any of that helps, though. <_<;

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YTT (36%) - WL4 (72%) - PM (41%) - YI (13%) - SMRPG (93%)

[Revned]

I use Photoshop, which provides lots of blending options for layers and even lets you directly edit the alpha channel. 50% transparency is as easy as pressing '5' on the keyboard. There are lots of different algorithms to do it, though, and none of them is "correct". My SotN waterfall is hardly perfect, but it gives a similar effecy.



I would imagine Paint Shop can do it, you're just missing it. I know some command-line tools as well, but they're a little hard to figure out.

[LDK]

There is also web based image editor: http://www.sumopaint.com/web/

GUI looks very similar to Photoshop, layer transparency can be set at bottom right corner, palette: layers, setting: opacity

[JonLeung]

Dealing with transparency - and layers, even - is something I really should've learned a lot earlier.



Turns out I had Photoshop installed in my computer from who knows how long ago, and Revned's suggestion worked out really well.  Thanks, Revned!



The grid thing in Photoshop looks handy...maybe I should learn to specifically use Photoshop.  I don't know why I continue to use an ancient Paint Shop Pro.  Like, really ancient.

[Maxim]

PSP7 is best. Photoshop is confusing. And the grid is extremely useful.

[snesmaster]

I use Photoshop for all of my maps, however I also had classes in Photoshop at college and used it were I used to work.  It's a great program when you know how to use it, however it takes a while to learn everything you can do with it.

[snesmaster]

One other kewl feature of Photoshop is the ability to select a color and either replace it with another color or delete that color.  So when you have multiple layers for SNES games you can delete transparent parts of the foreground to show the background layers behind them.  I have not used Paint Shop Pro, so I don't know if that can do that or not?

[Revned]

snesmaster Said:

One other kewl feature of Photoshop is the ability to select a color and either replace it with another color or delete that color.  So when you have multiple layers for SNES games you can delete transparent parts of the foreground to show the background layers behind them.  I have not used Paint Shop Pro, so I don't know if that can do that or not?

The magic wand tool is way quicker.