Need Help w/Color-to-Alpha Plugin

[InteXX]

For the life of me, I can't get past square one with Tanel's Color-to-Alpha plugin.

I'm trying to get this foreground image:

to look halfway decent on both of these backgrounds:

To complicate matters further, there'll be more backgrounds to come, too, certain to be lighter in color (homage paid to Murphy's Law).

I think it's me. The concepts of hue, saturation and brightness escape me. I've tried combinations of settings all over the map, but nothing gets even close. The jagged edge just won't go away.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Jeff

[Ego Eram Reputo]

A more basic plugin might be Mike Ryan's Brightness/Darkness to Alpha.

What it does is change the dark bits of the first image to alpha (i.e. transparency). Then when you overlay the image onto a new background, the background will show past the transparent bits.

Tanels plugin is a little more complex (as you found).

[InteXX]

A more basic plugin might be Mike Ryan's Brightness/Darkness to Alpha.

What it does is change the dark bits of the first image to alpha (i.e. transparency). Then when you overlay the image onto a new background, the background will show past the transparent bits.

Tanels plugin is a little more complex (as you found).

I like that, it's definitely easier to use.

It still leaves jagged edges, though. I need to fade in the alpha, from 0 to 255 accordingly.

Right now I'm working on some VB.NET code for this; the results it's producing are the closest I've gotten yet. I was hoping there'd be something available 'out of the box,' but it's looking like I have to roll my own.

I'll post the code back here if I get it to behave.

Thanks,

Jeff

[InteXX]

I'll post the code back here if I get it to behave.

I couldn't get it to behave. I've settled for hosting the sign on a rounded-corner black square that itself has a gradient transparent drop shadow.

There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Thanks,

Jeff

Edited May 9, 2011 by InteXX

[InteXX]

I've settled for hosting the sign on a rounded-corner black square that itself has a gradient transparent drop shadow.

Here's the end result:

Thanks,

Jeff

[Ego Eram Reputo]

RE: cats/skinning/ways. Quite so

Glad you got it sorted to your satisfaction. Your rounded gradient frame looks rather nice!