Using one layer to color in font.

[peterthomas6]

Hello!

 

I'm new, so I apologize if this is in the wrong area, but I'm working in Paint.Net and I'm trying to do something new that I'm having a hard time with.

 

I have two layers: layer one is text, and layer two is a background. What I want to do is have the background that I've created "color" the font, but nothing else. This is basically allowing me to create cool textures and such that I can apply to the text itself.

 

Any thoughts?

[toe_head2001]

[Eli]

Using the Alpha Mask effect will give you transparency around the text.

 

To use it:

 

1. type your text as in layer 2 and copy it to the clipboard

2. Go to the layer containing the background and use Alpha Mask effect with the following settings:

 

Edited November 18, 2015 by Eli

[MJW]

There may be better ways, but you could create the text on a transparent background, copy it to the clipboard, then use BoltBait's Effects>Object>Paste Alpha plugin to copy the alpha values into the background layer. Select "Clipboard alpha" as the Alpha Source. (Or, perhaps, create the text as white text on a black background, and select "Clipboard shades of gray" as the Alpha Source.)

[Pixey]

To add to the great suggestions above, here are two videos which may be of help.  Although done in an earlier version of Paint.net, the basics still apply.

 

One and two

 

Good luck.

[Cc4FuzzyHuggles]

The Alpha Mask effect is actually a plugin. You can get the plugin here : http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/1854-alpha-mask-import-plugin-20/

[Marilynx]

To add to the great suggestions above, here are two videos which may be of help.  Although done in an earlier version of Paint.net, the basics still apply.

 

One and two

 

Good luck.

 

Is there a tutorial on either of these videos? I find them fascinating, but hard to do, stopping the video, popping back to PDN, and then restarting the video....

[MJW]

Forgive me for once again plugging my own plugin, but for effects similar to the second video, and for many other text effects, the Texture Shader can be useful. Here is a (quickly done) version of the the reflecting "a":

 

 

(Annoyingly, the light on the "a" is coming from the wrong direction. As I almost always do, I used an upper-left light. Then when I went to add the drop shadow, I noticed the video had the shadow up and to the left. If I get a chance, I'll fix it later.)

Edited November 19, 2015 by MJW

[Cc4FuzzyHuggles]

Wow, your "a" is so beautiful! Please, share your plugins and samples on what you can do with them as much as you won't. I love seeing what your plugins are capable of.

[MJW]

Thank you very much, Cc4FuzzyHuggles. I try not to seem too self-promotional. I am sort of hoping people will experiment with the Texture Shader plugin. The large number of controls may be a bit intimidating, but I think it can produce lots of interesting results. (Perhaps that's because parents always believe their children are beautiful.)