Re: [Gimp-user] How to make transparency gradiate?

2013-05-04 Thread Richard Gitschlag

Date: Sat, 4 May 2013 22:04:41 +0200
From: ofn...@laposte.net
To: gimp-user-list@gnome.org
Subject: Re: [Gimp-user] How to make transparency gradiate?


  

  
  
On 05/04/2013 03:54 PM, Richard
  Gitschlag wrote:



  

  


  You can also achieve the same result using paint tools.




1 - Eyedrop the background color.

2 - Switch to the Paintbrush and the "color erase" blending
mode.  Color erase is also a color-to-alpha transition.

3 - Start painting the background.

  



Hmm... this begs the question: what is the difference between
"Colors/Color-to-alpha" and the bucket-fill tool in color-erase
mode?

  


___


For starters, Color to Alpha is a plugin, color erase is part of the program 
core.

Color erase can be used "on the fly" with any drawing tool, and it can benefit 
from all the tool's options (such as brush hardness and mouse/tablet dynamics). 
 Combine it with the "Behind" blending mode (its exact opposite) it's almost 
like having a different Eraser tool.

To cite some of my personal experience, when I create a traditional color 
pencil drawing, I typically want to clean up the background paper.  Not the 
paper grain (it mostly washes out anyway and is not an issue), but things like 
stray pencil flecks and so on.  I also wanted to be able to digitally tint the 
background (say, by gradient), so I needed to erase the background.  The 
problem is you can't use the eraser to do this - you have a flat layer with RGB 
values gradiating from color RGB to white background so you can't just erase 
out the alpha channel (leaving the RGB values otherwise unchanged); you need a 
Color to Alpha transition.

So, for a while what I did was I copied the layer, performed a Color to Alpha 
transition (relative to white) on the lower copy, then used the Eraser on the 
upper copy.  But once I wrapped my head around what the "color erase" blending 
mode actually IS, I realized that was a much more efficient way of doing the 
same thing.  I didn't have to duplicate the layer; I could just paint over it 
in "Color Erase" mode; any mistakes I can just paint over again in "Behind" 
mode.  The only downside is not having a way to easily toggle between these two 
modes.

-- Stratadrake
strata_ran...@hotmail.com

Numbers may not lie, but neither do they tell the whole truth.


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Re: [Gimp-user] How to make transparency gradiate?

2013-05-04 Thread Ofnuts

On 05/04/2013 10:06 PM, Tom Williams wrote:

On 05/04/2013 01:04 PM, Ofnuts wrote:

On 05/04/2013 03:54 PM, Richard Gitschlag wrote:



You can also achieve the same result using paint tools.

1 - Eyedrop the background color.
2 - Switch to the Paintbrush and the "color erase" blending mode.  
Color erase is also a color-to-alpha transition.

3 - Start painting the background.


Hmm... this begs the question: what is the difference between 
"Colors/Color-to-alpha" and the bucket-fill tool in color-erase mode?




I believe "Colors/Color-to-alpha" will remove the color from the 
entire image, not just from a selection.


Nope, C2A applies to the selection only... (hence the method expounded 
by Tobias Lunte above, which I use and evangelize a lot)
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Re: [Gimp-user] How to make transparency gradiate?

2013-05-04 Thread Tom Williams
On 05/04/2013 01:06 PM, Tom Williams wrote:
> On 05/04/2013 01:04 PM, Ofnuts wrote:
>> On 05/04/2013 03:54 PM, Richard Gitschlag wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> You can also achieve the same result using paint tools.
>>>
>>> 1 - Eyedrop the background color.
>>> 2 - Switch to the Paintbrush and the "color erase" blending mode. 
>>> Color erase is also a color-to-alpha transition.
>>> 3 - Start painting the background.
>>
>> Hmm... this begs the question: what is the difference between
>> "Colors/Color-to-alpha" and the bucket-fill tool in color-erase mode?
>>
>
> I believe "Colors/Color-to-alpha" will remove the color from the
> entire image, not just from a selection.
>
> Peace...
>
> Tom
>

Here's a link to the documentation on "Color to Alpha":

http://docs.gimp.org/2.8/en/plug-in-colortoalpha.html

Peace...

Tom

-- 
/When we dance, you have a way with me,
Stay with me... Sway with me.../
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Re: [Gimp-user] How to make transparency gradiate?

2013-05-04 Thread Tom Williams
On 05/04/2013 01:04 PM, Ofnuts wrote:
> On 05/04/2013 03:54 PM, Richard Gitschlag wrote:
>>
>>
>> You can also achieve the same result using paint tools.
>>
>> 1 - Eyedrop the background color.
>> 2 - Switch to the Paintbrush and the "color erase" blending mode. 
>> Color erase is also a color-to-alpha transition.
>> 3 - Start painting the background.
>
> Hmm... this begs the question: what is the difference between
> "Colors/Color-to-alpha" and the bucket-fill tool in color-erase mode?
>

I believe "Colors/Color-to-alpha" will remove the color from the entire
image, not just from a selection.

Peace...

Tom

-- 
/When we dance, you have a way with me,
Stay with me... Sway with me.../
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Re: [Gimp-user] How to make transparency gradiate?

2013-05-04 Thread Ofnuts

On 05/04/2013 03:54 PM, Richard Gitschlag wrote:



You can also achieve the same result using paint tools.

1 - Eyedrop the background color.
2 - Switch to the Paintbrush and the "color erase" blending mode.  
Color erase is also a color-to-alpha transition.

3 - Start painting the background.


Hmm... this begs the question: what is the difference between 
"Colors/Color-to-alpha" and the bucket-fill tool in color-erase mode?
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Re: [Gimp-user] How to make transparency gradiate?

2013-05-04 Thread Steve Kinney
On 05/04/2013 09:54 AM, Richard Gitschlag wrote:

> You can also achieve the same result using paint tools.
> 
> 1 - Eyedrop the background color.
> 2 - Switch to the Paintbrush and the "color erase" blending mode. 
> Color erase is also a color-to-alpha transition.
> 3 - Start painting the background.
> 
> Note that with any color-to-alpha transition you may wind up with
> "residual" alpha values (very low transparency) in areas.  If you
> need to clean these up you can do so with the eraser tool or with a
> Levels/Curves adjustment (shadow end specifically) on the alpha channel.

Speaking of color-to-alpha, there's a one-step tool for that:
Colors > Color to Alpha

It even has its own eyedropper to pick the color you want made
transparent, if you click on the "from color" bar.

>From all the stuff presented here we see that 1) There is always
more than one way to do anything in the GIMP, and 2) Between all
these ways, just about every possible situation is covered.

Don't get me started on "Select your foreground image with the Lasso
tool, refine your selection with the Quick Mask, invert the
selection, delete, and make a new drop shadow" procedure.  Too much
typing.

:o)

Steve



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Re: [Gimp-user] How to make transparency gradiate?

2013-05-04 Thread Richard Gitschlag

Date: Fri, 3 May 2013 12:48:15 -0500
From: kpurt...@imirus.com
To: tobias.lu...@hfg-gmuend.de; gimp-user-list@gnome.org
Subject: Re: [Gimp-user] How to make transparency gradiate?

Tobias, that's a sweet trick. Thanks!   Tobias Lunte 
 wrote:


  

  
  
Am 03.05.2013 18:55, schrieb Keith Purtell:


  A client has supplied a logo for Web display (PNG).
The logo background is white and needs to become transparent.
I've done this in GIMP no problem with simple graphics. However
this one features design elements that cast a pale gray shadow
onto the white background. Not sure how to make the transparent
background play nice with the shadow area?  

  


If it helps, the background color where this logo will be
  displayed is pale gray with a bit of blue tint.
  

 
  

  

  



Use the fuzzy select tool (magic wand) to select the background.
Then go to "select -> grow" and grow by 2 or 3 px to make sure
all the antialised edges are within the selection, but make sure
that no white part of the logo itself is selected. Now you can
simply use "colours -> Colour to alpha" (change the colour in the
tools menu to white if necessary) and it will perfectly extract the
white from your background.



bw,

Tobias Lunte//Tobl

  




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You can also achieve the same result using paint tools.

1 - Eyedrop the background color.
2 - Switch to the Paintbrush and the "color erase" blending mode.  Color erase 
is also a color-to-alpha transition.
3 - Start painting the background.

Note that with any color-to-alpha transition you may wind up with "residual" 
alpha values (very low transparency) in areas.  If you need to clean these up 
you can do so with the eraser tool or with a Levels/Curves adjustment (shadow 
end specifically) on the alpha channel.

-- Stratadrake
strata_ran...@hotmail.com

Numbers may not lie, but neither do they tell the whole truth.


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