Graphics Help Needed!

[hippywife]

I need to know how to use either PhotoShop or PaintShop to change the background on an existing image from white to transparent. Can it be done and can anyone explain it in layman's terms?

I'm not a graphic artist. I do a newsletter at work and we just switched to a color printer so now I want to try to remove the backgrounds from logos and such so it looks nicer.

Thanx for any help anyone can offer!

[democracyindanger]

1. Eraser?

Or select an area with the Magic Wand tool and <DEL>

[hippywife]

2. I've tried both

but neither have worked. These are existing images that I didn't create and I'm using just the basics of both sets of software and teaching myself as I go along. The Help instructions are no help at all and seem to be written so only a graphic artist would understand them.

Each new version of these kinds of software seem to get more and more complicated.

[welshTerrier2]

6. online Photoshop course ...

i've been working with Photoshop for only a week now and found the following free, online course to be fairly good ... the stuff you're trying to do might be covered in Chapter 4 ... you could probably skip chapters 1 - 3 if they cover topics you don't need ...

here's the link: http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/photoshop/l/bllps5out.htm

let me know if you figure out how to make the background transparent ... that would be really useful to know ...

[bvar22]

3. I use CorelDraw, so some terms might be different.

In CorelPhotoPaint, I would use a mask.

There are a number of ways to mask. In Corel, the easiest way to mask is with a tool called Magic Wand. If the color differential is big enough, you just tap the figure with the magic wand, and the mask is drawn precisely around the figure. Then it just a matter of cut and paste to the new background.

If the color differential is not large enough, or if the edges are blurry, you may need to freehand on the mask.

Hope this helps. The concept would be the same in any photo manipulation program.

[hippywife]

4. So, if I'm understanding this correctly

I need to open a new background adjacent to the old one. I use the magic wand and tap the image to create the mask, then cut and paste it to the new background. Is that right?

[bvar22]

5. Essentially, that is correct.

Try it and let me know if that works.

[Princess Turandot]

8. If you are trying this in photoshop, make sure the ..

"continuous" box for the magic wand tool is NOT checked. If the letters are separate but the same color, that will enable you to grab more of them at once.

[Princess Turandot]

7. Is the document in Levels?..

you might be able to use the sliders at the top of the level window
to slide it into invisibility.You would need to click on the 'background' line to highlight it, then use the the sliders at the top.

[displacedtexan]

9. For Photoshop

Mask the background (below), save a copy; then export as a GIF


Exporting an indexed-color image to GIF with a transparent background

If you are exporting an indexed-color image to GIF and want only the background to appear transparent, you may want to use an alpha channel to mask the background first. For example, certain elements in your image might have the same color as the background; if you define the background color as transparent, these elements will also appear transparent. By using a mask, you can apply transparency to just the background without affecting the elements that you want to remain visible. See Using Channels and Masks, for complete information on alpha channels.

Alternatively, you can convert the image to RGB mode, place the foreground selection on a new transparent layer, and hide the background before exporting the image to GIF. Converting the image to RGB lets you feather your selection and reduce the number of colors in an adaptive palette image when you convert the image to GIF (see Exporting RGB images to GIF). See Using Layers for more information on working with layers.

To export an indexed-color image to GIF with a transparent background:

1 In the image, select the area that you want to remain visible.
2 Click the Save Selection button at the bottom of the Channels palette to create an alpha channel based on your selection. Note the name of the channel in the palette.
3 Choose File > Export > GIF89a Export.
4 For Transparency From, choose the alpha channel that you just created.

To invert what will be transparent in the image, hold down Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows) as you choose a channel for Transparency From in the GIF89a Export Options dialog box.

5 Choose additional export options as described in the previous procedure, “To export an indexed-color image to GIF.”
6 Click OK to export the file. Choose a location for the exported file, and click Save. The extension .gif is added automatically to the filename.