how to make sure the background is transparent

[Mr.Krill]

when i make a doc,it is filled with the background color already,so how would i make it a transparent background?

and if i am for ex,making a sig which has a dark bg,how can i make it transparent? thanks for any help!

[tamlin]

The answer to your first question is pretty easy. In the New Document dialog box, make sure you have selected Transparent from the Background Contents drop-down list (see attached screenshot).

As to your second question: I'm not sure I understand. Can you be a bit more specific (and maybe post an example)?

[Mr.Krill]

when i choose transparency in the dropdown,i end up with a cherker board background indicating transparency.i was wondering if i could have color to it while being transparent in the beginning.

and then,for example....





these i made for someone else.see the white on the first one and the black on the second? could i change them once they are made to make the bg transparent?

[unleash]

that will be hard, because I don't think the BG is a solid color now. Then you could try to use the magic wand tool to select the background. then make a different layer, put it under the main layer and paste the selected BG on it(be sure to cut it). Then in the layer box, in the top right is a box called opacity, its at 100% at the moment just slide it down an the layer will be more transparant.

[tamlin]

Originally Posted by Mr.Krill

when i choose transparency in the dropdown,i end up with a cherker board background indicating transparency.i was wondering if i could have color to it while being transparent in the beginning.

The checkerboard background is just the default way that Photoshop indicates transparency, but you can change it if you wish. Select Edit > Preferences > Transparency & Gamut. In the dialog, choose the new colours for the checkerboard. If you choose the same colour in both boxes, you will get a solid colour (see attached screenshot, where I have selected a pale red in both boxes) but please be aware that this is still only an indicator of transparency - it doesn't have any effect on the final image.

As for making the background of an existing image transparent, unleash has probably covered that although there are many many ways to remove or replace a background in Photoshop - it's just a case of finding the right method for the image you're working on.

[Mr.Krill]

great!!! you two have helped me out immensely!! thank you guys soo much

[sethcapitulo]

maybe you mean u would like to combine the 2 images to look like a double-exposure...open both images and then make sure to change their background to layers..use move tool and move the other image over the other one..now, set blend mode to multiply and adjust opacity until u get what u want..

[clutch_hicks]

so..could that be used in a watermark too?

[Mr.Krill]

i was wondering for when i make a pic,i want it to show up without the square bg color. in sigs for example.

[agentxi]

what file format are you using? png? are you using ie?

[Mr.Krill]

png and opera.i just want it to show that way for when others look at it on boards.

[chuggs]

For making sure that I have a layer completely transparent where it should be, I typically cheat and throw a dummy solid layer behind everything. Make it a high contrast color like red or blue and then the areas that I didn't completely erase stand out like a sore thumb. If I'm still finding specs in the final image that I don't want, I'll go back into the PSD file and give the transparent layer some absurd blending option like a thick solid outer glow or a dark drop shadow.

In regards to the transparent sig, keep in mind that not all forums allow gif or png files as sigs. For these forums, you can either view the page source or just take a screenshot of a typical thread and paste it in Photoshop to determine the background color that the forum is using. Set that as the background color of your sig. Below are a few that I've done with gray backgrounds to match the forums at FullSizeChevy.com. The only way anyone will notice the difference is if the forum allows different settings for each user that allows different background colors. Note that this can also cut down on your finished file size, which will make it more user-friendly to other forum members who might not have high-speed connections.

[Mr.Krill]

thanks chuggs for the excellent info! i will use it wisely. and those are some great looking sigs! care to make a sig tut? lol

[chuggs]

I don't know how soon I can get to it, but sure, why not?

[chuggs]

For what it's worth, I submitted a basic sig tutorial in the submissions area. I don't know whether or not it'll be officially posted, but it's there.