How to cut out and make the background transparent in Photoshop? Make the entire image transparent. Blur the background
"Photoshop" is a multifunctional and very complex program. It is designed for professionals. Therefore, it is difficult to understand it. Without outside help it is almost impossible to do this. That is why we came up with special lessons on Photoshop. But they will not have the most important thing - the basics of working with tools. Because each lesson uses its own tools and settings. Our task is to master the basics. For example, such a simple action as simply making transparency in Photoshop may be an overwhelming task for a beginner. Therefore, we will analyze this particular moment.
Why is this necessary?
Transparency of an image in Photoshop may be required for the most various tasks. For example, you need to superimpose one image onto another and replace the background. There is no transparency here. Or you need to make a watermark. It should also be translucent. And in general, transparency is almost the most important component of any work in Photoshop. There are many uses for transparency. That is why it is worth learning how to use this interesting tool for creativity.
There are several ways to apply transparency in Photoshop. Some of them are indecently simple, and some will require some effort. But the result will exceed all expectations. Everyone wants to feel like a Photoshop god. And without studying the “materials” this is impossible. So learn the basics, gentlemen. And as a first lesson, let's learn how to work with transparency.
Making the entire image transparent
Everything is very simple here. It is much easier to apply transparency to an entire image than to a specific section of it. So, go to “File”, “Open” and open the image we need. Now in the list of layers we look at the layer called “Background”. Opposite it will be a lock icon. This means the layer is locked. To change any parameters of a layer, you need to unlock it by clicking on the lock icon. After this, you can perform various manipulations with the layer.
Now in the same layers window just above there are a number of sliders that adjust the transparency of the image. Using them, we set the transparency in Photoshop that we need. Layer transparency in Photoshop is a simple matter. And we will succeed translucent image no background. Instead of the background, black and white squares will appear through. This means that the picture has become transparent. But that's not all. Now the main thing is to save the image correctly. It's a whole story.
Saving the edited image
The fact is that the default one for images cannot work with transparent images. Therefore, you need to save the resulting image in No way without this. Go to “File”, “Save as...” and in the line for selecting the output file format, select PNG. Click "Save". That's all. But this is just the tip of the iceberg, since we looked at the easiest way to make transparency in Photoshop. Using the whole image as an example. But what if we need to make a watermark with some inscription? More on this below.
If you are planning further work with the resulting image in Photoshop, it is better to save the image in PSD format- standard for this editor. With this method, even individual layers are saved, which will greatly facilitate subsequent work with the image. But this format is absolutely not suitable for web publishing.
Creation on the image
Here, in principle, there is nothing complicated. The first thing you need to do is open a new image. Then we add new layer in the layers menu and go to the "Text" tool. Enter required text and transform it the way we need, using control elements. Then we begin to create transparency in Photoshop. Make sure that you have the text layer selected, and then adjust its transparency using the sliders we are already familiar with. Then again go to the layers menu and execute the “Flatten Layers” command. You need to save the result again in PNG format.
This way you can add more than just text as a watermark. You can use any image as a logo. Naturally, in this case there is no need to use the “Text” tool. It will be enough to drag the desired image onto a newly created layer and reduce it to required sizes. And then do everything according to the instructions.
Making the background of an image transparent
This task is no longer as simple as the previous ones. Here you will have to use combinations of many tools. In order to apply transparency in Photoshop to a specific area of the image, you must first create a new duplicate layer. Then you need to apply transparency to background image without affecting the new layer. After that, go to the toolbar and look for the Eraser tool. Turn on the duplicate layer and use an eraser to erase the entire background, except for the object that we want to leave intact. You should work with the eraser very carefully, because you can damage an image that should not be touched at all.
After the above-described manipulations have been performed, we flatten the layers and look at the result. If we are satisfied with it, then we save the image in PNG format. If not, then we cancel last action and continue working with layers until the result suits us. This work is very painstaking and requires concentration. Because one wrong move with the eraser and you’ll have to redo everything. Do you need it? We don't think so.
Conclusion
Thanks to this short tutorial, you learned how to use transparency in Photoshop. Now your work with this program will be more productive. And transparency is always needed. No matter what kind of editing process you're doing. The main thing is not to overdo it, because excessive transparency is not necessary. The image needs to be at least a little visible. In the same way you can save objects with transparent background in PSD format for later use in other projects. Using background or image transparency can be a great way to expand your creative horizons. So go for it, future gods of Photoshop. Train and you will be happy.
The result of what we will create.
Selection of an image area is an integral part of processing any photo. However, often what we need to highlight is not as specific as it might seem at first glance. In this tutorial we'll show you how to make a selection of a glass that includes transparent elements. Let's get started!
The picture used in this lesson.
Step 1: Selecting a Selection Tool
Selection is an integral part of the image editing process in Adobe Photoshop. The process of selecting parts of an image is not difficult, but sometimes transparent areas can complicate things. For these types of tasks, it is not enough to use the pen tool. To highlight areas with variable level transparency needs a tool or command that allows us to manipulate brightness information color channels images. We are not only interested in simply cutting out the background - we are more interested in creating a mask in which we can obtain information about the different brightness levels in order to determine this difficult level transparency. As a channel, we simply use a grayscale image. We can effectively use this channel to create a mask because the mask also uses grayscale to store transparency information (pure white=100% opacity; pure black=100% transparency).
Simple transparency Complex transparency
Step2. Use channels to highlight
One of the main benefits of accessing separate channels in Photoshop is the ability to make selections of an area. You can use individual channels to make different selections of an image area. If you want to select a specific object in an image, use color channels that create the most contrast around the edges of that object.
Step 3. Select the most contrasting channel
This original image. Although this is a CMYK image, the same method will work for an RGB image. The only difference will be in the channel panel. In an RGB image, instead of four color channels and one combination channel, there will be three color channels and one combination channel. Purpose this lesson is to remove the black part (background), but not to touch the glass, water, bubbles and reflection under the glass, so that we can place the glass on any background (plain or in a photo). In this tutorial we will use the command Image - External Channel (Image - Apply Image).
Step4. Apply Image Functions
The Apply Image command allows you to blend one image layer and channel with the layer and channel of the active image. But remember - in order for the names of the pictures to appear in the Apply Image dialog box (if you need to mix channels different images), the pixel sizes of the images must match. However, we will not use multiple images. We're going to mix a copy of the black channel with this same copy of the black channel. But the power of the External Channel (Apply Image) lies in the “Target Selection” (parameters at the bottom of the External Channel dialog box). Here you can set the blending mode or blending type you want to use during the blending in the External Channel (Apply Image).
Step 5. Select the most contrasting channel
Open the file in Photoshop. Then in the Channels panel, look through all the channels and find the channel with the best contrast. Finding a channel with good contrast is very important for good highlighting desired area images.
Step 6. Select the most contrasting channel
Here the best contrast between the glass and the background is near the black channel.
Step7. Duplicate the channel
Create a duplicate of the black channel by dragging it over the "create" icon new channel" (create new channel) at the bottom of the Channels panel. You can also click right click mouse over the black channel and select “duplicate channel”.
Step 8 Increase channel contrast using Apply Image
Then select a copy of the black channel and go to Image - External Channel (Image - Apply Image).
Step 9. Increase the Contrast of the Channel
First, mix once with Multiply to boost the black while converting any gray area from the background to black. Reduce the opacity to 50% to create an overlay that isn't too strong. We can also eliminate some of the white parts since they are not pure white.
Step 10: Multiply Blend Mode Concept
The Multiply blend mode takes the color information in each channel and multiplies the base color by the blend color. The resulting color is always darker. Multiplying any color by black will give black. Using the Multiply blending mode we eliminate all the gray parts from the background.
Step11. Increase the channel contrast
Next, do a double overlay with Overlay (Overlay) in order to increase the white. Now we can easily select the white area. Our goal here is to create an effective, fast and acceptable mask. This time in the overlay area we use 100% Opacity.
Step12. How the overlay blend mode works
An overlay with the Overlay option multiplies or intensifies colors, depending on the base color. The base color will not be replaced, but will be mixed with the blend color to reflect the lightness or darkness of the original color. White areas become lighter and black areas become darker. Using Overlay we will increase the strength of the white part, since we want to leave the white areas, but the final image is a mask of the black area.
Step13. Paint with a white and black brush to create an optimal image of the channel
You can still adjust the copy of the black channel using a brush and paint with white or black. Paint with white to leave areas of the image and paint with black to remove or hide areas. White means opacity and black means transparency within the channel.
Step14. Load the channel as a selection
Load a copy of the black channel as a selection using either Ctrl-click on the channel or the first button at the bottom of the channels panel, which loads the contents of the channel as a selection.
Step 15: Duplicate the background layer
Then go to the Layers panel and copy the background layer by dragging it to the “create new layer” button located at the bottom of the layers panel. You can also click right key mouse over the background layer and select “Duplicate Layer”.
Step 16. Create a mask with the image of the object
Then select a new layer (Background Copy) by left clicking the mouse. The selection is still active. Click on the mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to create a mask.
Step17. Create a colored background under the object
Now create a new one empty layer and fill it with red or blue. Check the quality of the mask. You will find that there are several gray areas within the mask.
Step18. Removing the gray area
There are two processes for removing this unwanted gray area. Although the first process described below will give you the best outcome, let's consider both options.
Step 19. Changing the Blend Mode
Process 1: Change the blend mode of the background layer copy to Lighten to remove the gray area.
Step20. Changing the blending mode
The Lighten blend mode examines the color information in each channel and replaces those pixels that are darker than the blend colors, while leaving those pixels lighter than the blend colors unchanged. This removes dark gray pixels.
Step21. Loading the selection
Process 2: Ctrl-click on the background copy mask thumbnail to load the mask as a selection. You can also load a selection from a copy of the black channel.
Step 22: Create a New Adjustment Layer
Then click on the “Create a new adjustment layer or fill layer” icon at the bottom of the “Layers” panel.
Step 23: Create a New Adjustment Layer
Select “Levels” from the drop-down list and create a new adjustment layer.
Step24. Convert the gray area to white
Then, in the Levels dialog, first drag the Midtone slider (middle) and then the Highlights slider (right), to the left to remove the "gray zone" (or rather, convert gray to white).
Step25. Finishing touches with a stamp
After applying the Lighten mode, if you look closely, you will see that there are several damaged parts in the white area. You can use the Clone Stamp Tool to fix these parts.
Step 26.
That's it. You can use the same technique to highlight complex objects with variable level of transparency. Below is shown how it was before and how it was after the work done.
End result
At the moment of user interaction? That is, it is somehow interesting to select a picture when you hover the mouse pointer over it.
Technical solutions There are plenty of these tasks and they are described in great detail. So I won’t reveal anything new, but I’ll simply share a simple piece of CSS code that I often use myself in different variations.
To create an attractive transparency effect, or if you prefer, a slight blur on hover images, we will use the wonderful opacity property from the CSS3 frame.
Showed two options for using the property at once. In the first case, transparency is turned on when you hover over the image, and in the second, the image is initially displayed with a slight blur and is sharpened when you hover over it.
It seems to me that you, like me, do not need to apply such an effect to all images en masse, so it’s enough to create separate class, in order not to be too clever, for example class.opacity , assign it the desired picture, and already in CSS experiment with different variations of the property of the same name.
You can limit yourself to just one opacity property by adjusting the transparency level in one direction or another, or you can add some illusion of a smooth transition using the universal transition property with certain values.
In relation to the first version of the example under consideration, I used the following values:
| . opacity ( - moz- transition: all 0. 4s; - webkit- transition: all 0. 4s; - ms- transition: all 0. 4s; - o- transition: all 0. 4s; transition: all 0. 4s; opacity : 1 ; filter: alpha(opacity= 100 ) ; opacity: hover ( opacity: 0.5 ; filter: alpha(opacity= 50 ) ; ) |
Opacity ( -moz-transition: all 0.4s; -webkit-transition: all 0.4s; -ms-transition: all 0.4s; -o-transition: all 0.4s; transition: all 0.4s; opacity:1; filter: alpha(opacity=100); .opacity:hover ( opacity:0.5; filter:alpha(opacity=50); )
It was not by chance that I prescribed filter:alpha, without this crutch IE8 will completely refuse to process transparency, so while a lot of people still use this under-browser, let’s not forget about the gadgets. The same is with the prefixes for the transition property for other browsers; there is no unified support for standards yet, which means for reliability we indicate specifically)))
In the second option, the opposite is true: the image is displayed with slight transparency by default, and when you hover over it, the sharpness is smoothly restored. This is achieved, as you probably already guessed, by simply rearranging the properties:
| . clarity ( opacity: 0.5 ; filter: alpha(opacity= 50 ) ; ) . clarity: hover ( - moz- transition: all 0. 4s; - webkit- transition: all 0. 4s; - ms- transition: all 0. 4s; - o- transition: all 0. 4s; transition: all 0. 4s ; opacity: 1 ; filter: alpha(opacity= 100 ) ; |
Clarity ( opacity:0.5; filter:alpha(opacity=50); ) .clarity:hover ( -moz-transition: all 0.4s; -webkit-transition: all 0.4s; -ms-transition: all 0.4s; -o -transition: all 0.4s; transition: all 0.4s; filter:alpha(opacity=100);
In the example, for the second option I wrote the class.clarity , as they say, the first one came to mind, don’t focus too much on this aspect, here you have enough imagination, whatever you call it, that’s what you’ll work with))).
That seems to be all. A simple set of properties, a small starting template for creating another wonderful effect using CSS3, I hope it will be useful to someone, and sometimes it’s a good idea to refresh your memory.
Best regards, Andrey.
Selecting objects is an important part of any photo editing workflow, but often, selecting is not as simple as it may seem. In this tutorial we'll show you how to make glass selections, including transparent elements. Let's get started!
The final result.
Lesson materials:
Step 1
Selections are an integral part of the image processing process in Photoshop. The process of creating a selection is simple, but not always. Sometimes transparent areas of objects can make them difficult to select and make them difficult to separate. For such cases normal method separating an object using a tool Feather (Pen Tool) is insufficient. To select objects with different levels transparency, we need a tool or command that will allow us to control the brightness of the information from the color channels of this image. Because we are not only interested in creating simple contour branches, rather more interesting is the creation of a mask where we can save various information about brightness in order to determine different levels transparency. Since the channel is a grayscale image, we can effectively use it to create a mask because the mask also uses grayscale to store transparency information (white = 100% opaque and pure black = 100% transparent).
Step 2
One of the main benefits of having access to individual channels in Photoshop is the ability to create selections. You can use individual channels to create different highlights in an image. When you want to highlight a specific area of an image, use color channels that provide the greatest contrast around the edges of that area.
Step 3
This is the original image of a glass of water. Although this is a CMYK image, the same process will work for an RGB image. The only difference will be in the palette Channels(Channels). Instead of four color channels and one composite like a CMYK image, an RGB image will have three color channels and one composite. The goal of this tutorial is to remove all the black areas of the image, but completely preserve the glass glass, water, bubbles and reflection below the glass. This way we can use the separated glass on any other background (solid color or photograph). In this tutorial we will use the command External channel(Apply Image), which is in the menu Image - External channel(Image > Apply Image).
Step 4
Team External channel(Apply Image) allows you to overlay a single image layer and channel with the layer and channel of the active image. But remember that Dimension The Pixel Dimensions of the images must match for the image names to appear in the External Channel dialog box.
But in our case we are not using two images. We mix a copy of the black channel with itself using the section options Target(Target) in the External Channel dialog box. Here you can also set the blending mode you want to use when blending.
Step 5
Open the file in Photoshop. Then in the panel Channels(Channels) Explore the channels and find a channel with good contrast. It is very important to create a selection, to find and determine the most contrasting channel.
Step 6
In the screenshot below you can see that the black channel shows a good contrast between the glass and the background.
Step 7
Copy the black channel by simply dragging it onto the icon at the bottom of the channels palette Create a new channel(Create new channel). You can also right-click on the black channel and select Create a duplicate channel(Duplicate channel).
Step 8
Then activate a copy of the black channel and go to the menu Image - External channel(Image > Apply Image).
Step 9
To begin, in the External Channel dialog box, set the blending mode Multiplication(Multiply). This will enhance the blacks and also transform any gray areas of the entire background into blacker ones. In section Target(Target) reduce Opacity(Opacity) to 50% to reduce blending. Otherwise we could eliminate some areas that are not pure white.
Step 10
Blend Mode Multiplication(Multiply) reads the color information in each channel and multiplies the base color by the blend color. As a result, using the multiply blending mode we always get more dark color. Any color in blend mode Multiplication(Multiply) in interaction with black color will always result in black color. Using blend mode Multiplication(Multiply), we remove any gray areas in the background.
Step11
Now use External channel(Apply Image) twice, changing the blending mode to Overlap(Overlay) to enhance the white. This time use Opacity(Opacity) 100%. Now we can easily select the white areas. The goal of this process is to create an effective, quick and acceptable mask.
Step 12
Blend Mode Overlap(Overlay) multiplies or lightens colors depending on the base color. The main color does not change, but is mixed taking into account brightness and darkness original color. White areas become brighter and black areas become darker. Using blend mode Overlap(Overlay) we enlarge and enhance the white areas, and mask the black ones.
Step 13
We can also adjust the copy of the black channel using the tool Brush(Brush), drawing in white or black. Using white, we preserve these areas; if black, then, on the contrary, we delete (mask). White means opaque areas in the channel, and black means transparent areas.
Step 14
Load a selection of a copy of the black channel by clicking on its thumbnail while holding down the Ctrl key, or click the first button at the bottom of the channels palette, which will perform the same action on the selection.
Step 15
Then go to the layers palette and duplicate the background layer by dragging it onto the corresponding icon at the bottom of the layers palette. You can also right click on background layer and select item Duplicate Layer(Duplicate Layer).
Step 16
Keep the background copy layer active and, without deselecting it, click on the mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette to add a layer mask.
Step 17
Create a new blank layer below the mask layer and fill it with red or blue. Let's check the quality of the mask. You can see that there are some gray areas within the mask.
Step 18
There are two methods for removing unwanted, gray areas. Although the first method described below will give best result, but still let's look at both.
Step 19
Let's consider the first method. Change the blending mode of the background copy layer to Replacement with light(Lighten), which will remove gray areas.
Step 20
Blend Mode Replacement with light(Lighten) reads the color information in each channel and pixels that are darker than the colors being mixed are replaced, but those that are lighter are not. As a result, dark, gray pixels are removed.
Step 21
Now let's look at the second method. Click on the layer mask thumbnail with a copy of the background while holding down the Ctrl key to load the mask selection. You can load the same selection from a copy of the black channel.
Step 22
Now click on the create new adjustment layers icon at the bottom of the layers palette.
Step 23
Select a new adjustment layer Levels(Levels).
Step 24
In the Levels settings dialog, drag the midtone marker first, and then drag the white highlight marker to remove the gray areas, or rather turn the gray into white.
Step 25
After applying blending mode Replacement with light(Lighten), if you look closely, you can see some damaged parts in the white areas. You can use the tool Stamp(Clone Stamp Too) and fix these areas.
Step 26
That's all science is. Now you can use these methods to separate objects with different opacity.
Below can view the Before and After versions.
By default, all new layers in Photoshop are created with 100% opacity. But the degree of transparency of the layer can be changed using the settings Opacity And Fill located at the top of the Layers palette.
Opacity(Opacity) is a setting with a 100% scale that allows you to change the degree of transparency of the entire layer, with all the applied effects. If the value is different from 100%, the underlying layer will be visible. A transparency level of 0% indicates a complete absence of visible images.
The transparency of the layer can be compared to tracing paper, which is applied to drawings in order to copy them.
Fill(Fill) is a 100% scaled setting that allows you to change the visibility of a layer without affecting its overlays.
What transparency looks like in Photoshop
Logically, transparency digital image is a lack of color saturation and density. If you imagine color as a film, then transparency is the intensity of light shining through it. But How to show translucency on a computer?
Photoshop introduced symbol transparency to the world computer graphics — chess background.
Now this convention has become a standard. Many programs and web services use checkerboard backgrounds when it comes to transparency. For example, Yandex.Images or Google Images show images with transparent elements on a checkerboard background.
3 ways to make an image layer transparent
First you need the necessary layer. The technique of selecting two or more using Ctrl keys or Shift .
Note
The background layer (with the lock icon) cannot be transparent. For him, these settings are inactive.
One more note
The layer thumbnail will not change, no matter what transparency value you set.
Method 1 Entering numbers
Enter the required transparency value in numbers from 0 to 100 in the special settings window on the palette. Since both settings have almost the same effect, you can use either of them, just remember what they are.
Method 2 Slider control
A little to the right of the numbers there is a button with a small arrow. If you click on it, a slider will appear. You need to move it with the mouse left or right to decrease or increase the transparency of the layer, respectively.
The number display will show the current value, and the image itself will change with the movement of your hand.
Method 3 Using the keyboard
For a number of Photoshop tools, it is possible to change the opacity of a layer using the keyboard. Select a tool, for example, or (there are also a number of other tools, you can find them by brute force).
Now press the numbers on your keyboard:
- The number 1 will change the opacity to 10%, 2 to 20%, 5 to 50% and so on;
- The number 0 means 100%;
- Dial 55 and you get 55%, 67 is 67% and so on
To use the same technique to change Fills, hold down the Shift key along with the numbers.
How to make a separate section of a layer transparent
To make not the entire layer transparent, but only it separate plot, it will take some effort. There is no tool as such for this purpose. However, depending on the problem, there are at least two solutions.
Both solutions are united by the initial, perhaps the most time-consuming work - creating a dedicated area. The logic of the action is simple - you need to select a fragment of the image with which further work will take place.
In your example, let's say you need to make gray transparent round background. To do this I will use the tool. On the settings panel you need to set the parameter Add to selection, and then click on all the desired areas until you select them all.
After the selected area has appeared, you can make this fragment transparent.
Method 1: Cut out the desired area of the image onto a new layer
First you need to make sure that any of the tools for creating a selected area is not active. For example Wand , which was used in the previous step.
Now you can right-click on the selection. will appear context menu. We are interested in the team Cut to new layer.
As a result, this fragment will be separated from the current image and moved to a new layer. And then you can do whatever you want with that new layer, including changing the transparency.
Method 2 Using an eraser
This method is suitable if you need to achieve not a uniform reduction in transparency, but a floating one, that is, make this effect stronger in some places and weaker in others.
Select , in the options bar set the value Opacity different from 100%. Then erase the areas of the image that are in the selected area. The tool will only affect those pixels that you have selected.
Change the value Opacity, if you need to achieve an uneven effect.
How to save an image with transparency
There are many, but only two of them support transparency - PNG and GIF.
GIF has a limitation - the pixel must either be transparent or not, there is no third option, that is, a transparency value, for example, 59% will no longer be supported. This format also has restrictions on the number of colors used - there can be no more than 256.
Therefore, the image must be saved in PNG format. Only it is devoid of all shortcomings and is capable of showing translucent pixels.
To create a PNG image in Photoshop, you need to run the command: File - Save As. A dialog box will appear in which you need to specify a location to save on your computer, and also select from the drop-down list File type — PNG(*.PNG).
If you notice an error in the text, select it and press Ctrl + Enter. Thank you!