csm725 Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 (edited) Have you ever had an image with text that you wanted to put on the web, but it looked weird on your blue background? Maybe it looked something like this: Well, we can make it look like this: Notice how some transparency is preserved and how it blends in with the background. You will need to download ONE plugin, Alpha Mask: Alpha Mask Well, first you open your image: Step one, Select All (Ctrl-A) and Copy (Ctrl-C). Step two, Effects > Alpha Mask with the following settings*: Mask File - Choose which file to use as a mask. Here, we won't be choosing an image, but rather using the image on our clipboard. Invert Mask ✓ - This inverts the color of your mask. Remember white is kept and black is discarded. Mix Alpha ✓ - This ensures that transparency is kept (that is why the shadow blends in with the background) Paste From Clipboard ✓ - Rather than using a pre-saved image, the plugin will use whatever you have on your clipboard, which is, in this case, the image. OPTIONAL: Duplicate the layer and merge down for a darker shadow. See this post for some more tips. (Thanks Sarkut!) I encourage you to read all of the comments for alternative ways to do this. Also, set the logo to Multiply blend mode for a darker shadow. The result: #tut725 *Thank you for cutting down my tut to two steps, pipp92. **Not too simple, is it? (Mods) Edited June 26, 2010 by csm725 My deviantART | Sig Battles | My Tutorials | csm725.com Click to enter or vote in the official Paint.NET competitions! COMPETITIONS: LOGO OF THE WEEK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarkut Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 So, anyway, where can I find this John's Pie Gallery? Must have pie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csm725 Posted June 5, 2010 Author Share Posted June 5, 2010 Funny... My deviantART | Sig Battles | My Tutorials | csm725.com Click to enter or vote in the official Paint.NET competitions! COMPETITIONS: LOGO OF THE WEEK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisco97 Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 Nice tutorial, will help a ton of new users! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csm725 Posted June 5, 2010 Author Share Posted June 5, 2010 Thanks! My deviantART | Sig Battles | My Tutorials | csm725.com Click to enter or vote in the official Paint.NET competitions! COMPETITIONS: LOGO OF THE WEEK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipp92 Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 you don't have to invert the colors, just check the invert mask box in the alpha mask plugin Personal Gallery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csm725 Posted June 5, 2010 Author Share Posted June 5, 2010 Always good to teach users another tip. Added in to the tut. My deviantART | Sig Battles | My Tutorials | csm725.com Click to enter or vote in the official Paint.NET competitions! COMPETITIONS: LOGO OF THE WEEK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarkut Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 More tips. When done set blend mode to Multiply. This will give a shadow that is a black shade of the background color, rather than a whitish gray tone. Duplicate layers for a darker shadow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csm725 Posted June 5, 2010 Author Share Posted June 5, 2010 Added. My deviantART | Sig Battles | My Tutorials | csm725.com Click to enter or vote in the official Paint.NET competitions! COMPETITIONS: LOGO OF THE WEEK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarkut Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 You could change the title to "One-Step". Use the Grim Color Reaper plugin, set to white. Reduce Color Tolerance to around .60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csm725 Posted June 5, 2010 Author Share Posted June 5, 2010 I could, but I want users to download Alpha Mask and learn it. My deviantART | Sig Battles | My Tutorials | csm725.com Click to enter or vote in the official Paint.NET competitions! COMPETITIONS: LOGO OF THE WEEK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarkut Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 Yes. Getting people started using Alpha Mask is a worthy endeavor. Should I remove my post re: GCR plugin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csm725 Posted June 5, 2010 Author Share Posted June 5, 2010 No, I would like for users to see alternative ways to doing this. My deviantART | Sig Battles | My Tutorials | csm725.com Click to enter or vote in the official Paint.NET competitions! COMPETITIONS: LOGO OF THE WEEK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 No, I would like for users to see alternative ways to doing this. Hi Everybody, I am a complete novice and my question might sound silly. I am trying to make a desktop icon. And I get it with transparent background using both of the suggested here methods. The problem is that I can see two lines from the canvas. The lower and right side of the canvas can be seen as two tiny black lines. I will appreciate any suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XsiteproTemplates Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 pretty basic tutorial, but I KNOW its useful for a lot of people, thanks for sharing mate. I will start creating a few of these my self here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotterill Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) I downloaded the alpha mask, how do I get paint.net to access it? I have signatures I need to drop onto letter head with background, so do not want white boxes! Edited October 31, 2011 by scotterill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ego Eram Reputo Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 first, read through the alpha mask thread: HERE. If you have questions on the plugin's usage, post in that thread. If you're having trouble with installation, try this thread: http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/forum/36-how-to-install-pluginsgeneral-plugin-troubleshooting/ ebook: Mastering Paint.NET | resources: Plugin Index | Stereogram Tut | proud supporter of Codelab plugins: EER's Plugin Pack | Planetoid | StickMan | WhichSymbol+ | Dr Scott's Markup Renderer | CSV Filetype | dwarf horde plugins: Plugin Browser | ShapeMaker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T6Ber Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Hi, I'm very new to this but I tried this background removal with a photo and it didn't work. When I insert the photo into my document the white background is still there. What am I doing wrong? Only I could mess up a 2 step process... Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitenurse79 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Hi Tim, welcome to the forum In order to retain the transparency you will need to save it as a .png file. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copy Cat Master Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 (edited) Wow... Thank you so much, bro!. Also, my Alpha mask do not have Paste from clipboard. So, my question is does it put any effect on it or it just do some minor changes?. Edited February 19, 2013 by Copy Cat Master Glow Beam / Light Beam Tutorial Copy Cat Master Youtube Channel Audio Wave / Audio Spectrum Tutorial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrewDale Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Wow... Thank you so much, bro!. Also, my Alpha mask do not have Paste from clipboard. So, my question is does it put any effect on it or it just do some minor changes?. then you need to update it click on the top most download in this thread http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?showtopic=1854 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copy Cat Master Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 (edited) then you need to update it click on the top most download in this thread http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?showtopic=1854 Sorry but another question. I just need to replace the old Alpha mask with the new Alpha mask in the folder, right?. Edited February 19, 2013 by Copy Cat Master Glow Beam / Light Beam Tutorial Copy Cat Master Youtube Channel Audio Wave / Audio Spectrum Tutorial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sashwilko Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 If it has the exact same name as the previous version, you will be informed that it - exists and would you like to overwrite it - click on yes (or OK) and it will be replaced. Just remember before you do install the plugin to - right click the dll > properties > unblock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copy Cat Master Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 If it has the exact same name as the previous version, you will be informed that it - exists and would you like to overwrite it - click on yes (or OK) and it will be replaced. Just remember before you do install the plugin to - right click the dll > properties > unblock. Ok, thank you for helping. Glow Beam / Light Beam Tutorial Copy Cat Master Youtube Channel Audio Wave / Audio Spectrum Tutorial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamwizard Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I am having trouble getting this working, I have a file which has a white background but it's converting a lite grey inside the image also (which I admit, does touch the white) - the image is specifically only 8 colours, it's been "cartoonized" for lack of a better word. How can I set a transparency ONLY on the pure white (is that 0,0,0??) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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