"Free Form" Gradients

[Arcanus]

Hello all, and thank you in advance for your patience. 

 

I recently downloaded Paint.net so that I could make parts of images around the subject fade to transparent. I have been trying to understand the gradient tool, but I'm obviously not using it correctly and I am officially getting frustrated with the program so I am turning to you all for help. 

 

Below is a sample picture that I wish to edit. 

What I would like to do is to make the right side and bottom of the image fade to transparent past the red line, as I have indicated here: 

 

I have tried making a new layer to the picture and applying a gradient, but I can never seem to get it how I want. Half the time, the gradient doesn't even seem to be working because I can drag my cursor all over the image and no changes seem to happen. I have tried watching and replicating what one or two video guides do, to no avail. And none of them attempt to do the kind of thing I am doing, so I am starting to think that perhaps this isn't something that paint.net can actually do. 

 

I would really appreciate any assistance or tips that you could provide. I don't have the patience to spend 6-8 hours figuring out how to do this through trial and error without some targeted guidance. 

 

Thank you.

[Arcanus]

This is what happens when I actually get the gradient tool to look like it's working. Spoiler alert: it didn't work as I wanted it to. 

I don't know where I'm going wrong. 

 

[Eli]

We can not see your images.

[Arcanus]

(How do I delete this?)

 

Edited August 21, 2017 by Arcanus

[Arcanus]

edit: I hate links sometimes. Give me a second.

Edited August 21, 2017 by Arcanus

[Roly Poly Goblinoli]

They still do not work for the rest of us. Try dragging those files to the clipboard icon area just under the editing textbox (for attachments), then click each attached image to visibly include it in the message.

 

It sounds like you're asking about how to make a transparency gradient. Set the primary and secondary colors to have no alpha (fully transparent), then set the gradient tool to transparency mode and draw gradients.

 

How to set transparency mode for the gradient tool

 

Making both colors fully transparent (for full-strength with the transparent mode)

 

Drawing a gradient

Edited August 21, 2017 by Joshua Lamusga

[Arcanus]

I realize the issue, but now imgur is over capacity and I can't fix it just yet. 

 

In the mean time, I'll try to paint a picture with my words. 

 

I have a picture of a man pointing. I want to make the entire right side past and below where he is pointing completely transparent, as well as the bottom of the image, that way the image seems to simply emerge from the coloured background of the document I'm placing the image into, as opposed to there being a clear line where the image stops. 

 

What I've been trying to do is use the gradient tool with everything set to transparent (including the gradient type). Unfortunately, what ends up happening is that the part of the image that has the checkerboard pattern indicating that it is transparent instead is white when I save the image. I don't want it white, I want it no colour. I want it to let me see what's below the image. 

Edited August 21, 2017 by Arcanus
corrected a typo caused by a wayward crumb under one of my keys

[Arcanus]

Here is the image I am trying to edit: 

 

 

Here is the red line I mentioned in my first post showing the point past which I want the image to be totally transparent: 

 

 

Here is what happens when I use the gradient tool and it actually works (as opposed to doing nothing): 

 

 

All the parts that are white I want to be grades of transparency, down to full transparency. 

[Roly Poly Goblinoli]

You might be merging the layers down if you have a white layer below, since you can't preserve layer information when saving to a regular picture format. Any layers that would be visible are left visible when saving.

 

If you can view the transparency up until you save the image, you might be saving it in 24-bit mode. There are 4 channels in common use (RGBA) describing red, green, blue, and alpha, each of which take 8 bits to store. 24-bit images only have red, green, and blue, in which case Paint.Net mixes transparent pixels with white to make them opaque, creating the exact same look as the image you have above. When saving the image, ensure that you're saving for 32 bits.

Edited August 21, 2017 by Joshua Lamusga

[Arcanus]

I only have one layer: the background layer of the original picture that I applied the gradients to.

 

Also: How do I get to that menu?

Edited August 21, 2017 by Arcanus

[Roly Poly Goblinoli]

Save configuration is visible only when you attempt to actually save the image. It will not appear if you save over a file that you've already saved to since Paint.NET has been open. And as Welshblue just reminded me, this one is only visible for PNG files.

Edited August 21, 2017 by Joshua Lamusga

[Arcanus]

6 minutes ago, welshblue said:

On the transparent gradient point ... You may have more control using a radial gradient set to transparency mode rather than a linear gradient.  Right click on the mouse and make small 'nibbles' at the part you want to fade

 

Daft question possibly but are you saving as PNG to preserve transparency ?

 

 

Good idea for the radial gradient. 

 

Daft answer: Nope, I did jpg. I'm an idiot. Thank you for pointing out the .png part. Somehow I forgot that jpeg doesn't do that. 

Edited August 21, 2017 by Arcanus

[Eli]

[Arcanus]

2 minutes ago, Eli said:

 

I have spent approximately 4 hours with this program, 3.5 of which have been me trying to get a decent-looking gradient... how do I add another image in as the background like you have done?

 

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Layers > Import from file.

 

Alternatively, add a new layer and copy + paste into the new layer.

 

In both cases, make sure the new layer is below the existing one (you can drag it or use the Down arrow at the foot of the Layers window).

[Arcanus]

Thank you everyone for your assistance. I now have a much better grasp of some of the paint.net features I need. 

 

Best! 

[MJW]

For that type of effect, I think you should try BoltBait's Paste Alpha. You can create a greyscale mask of the area you want to be transparent, then paste it in as alpha.

 

The advantage is that Paint.NET has more tools and effects for creating greyscale masks than for altering transparency. For example, you can paint the initial mask with the Paintbrush, then soften the edge with blurs.

 

If you set a layer above the image layer to white, and set the layer's Blend Mode to Multiply, you should be able to get a feeling for its effect on the transparency as you darken the areas that will be transparent. Or to better match the example you gave, set the initial mask to black, and use the Additive Blend mode. The transparent regions would be lightened. (Use the Paste Alpha's Invert Calculation option in that case.)

[TrevorOutlaw]

2 hours ago, Arcanus said:

Here is the image I am trying to edit: 

 

 

Here is the red line I mentioned in my first post showing the point past which I want the image to be totally transparent: 

 

 

Here is what happens when I use the gradient tool and it actually works (as opposed to doing nothing): 

 

 

All the parts that are white I want to be grades of transparency, down to full transparency. 

 

Hello, I remembered a tutorial written by Rick Brewster, and after hunting around in the Tutorials subforums, I found the tutorial.  It gives you the basic idea of manipulating the image by using gradient transparency blending.  https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/12184-fading-blending-gradient-tool-on-a-camaro-picture/