Paint Shop Pro support - Change red image to white on transparent background

Author

Change red image to white on transparent background

Samual M

2004-09-24, 7:18 pm

Hi,

I have a gif image (outline of a bird in flight) which is red on cream
background. The image has clean edges but is quite small - to small to
cut-out using the freehand tool.

I need to place the bird image (in white) on to a dark background layer.

Can anyone please explain how to change its colour to white on a transparent
background, using PSP7?

Ta.

Fred Hiltz

2004-09-24, 7:18 pm

Samual M wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a gif image (outline of a bird in flight) which is red on
> cream background. The image has clean edges but is quite small -
> to small to cut-out using the freehand tool.
>
> I need to place the bird image (in white) on to a dark background
> layer.
>
> Can anyone please explain how to change its colour to white on a
> transparent background, using PSP7?

Sure. To work with transparency, first increase the color depth to
16 million colors. Promote the background layer to a full layer so
it can have transparency.

The Magic Wand tool is probably the best way to select the bird,
since its edges are clean. Try setting Match Mode = RGB Value,
Tolerance = 10. Click on the bird and evaluate the result. Adjust
mode and tolerance as needed for the best selection.

Fill the selection with white (Flood Fill tool). Invert the
selection (Selections > Invert) and clear it (Edit > Delete).

If you want another GIF file of the result, File > Export > GIF
Optimizer. On the Transparency tab, choose "Existing image or layer
transparency." On the Partial Transparency tab, adjust the options
to get the edges of the bird right. On the Colors tab, choose number
of colors and color selection method to balance file size and image
appearance.
--
Fred Hiltz, fhiltz at yahoo dot com

Samual M

2004-09-24, 7:18 pm

Excellent. Thanks Fred :)

"Fred Hiltz" <not@home.ca> wrote in message
news:ypGdnWe15a9pzcncRVn-oA@adelphia.com...
> Samual M wrote:
>
> Sure. To work with transparency, first increase the color depth to
> 16 million colors. Promote the background layer to a full layer so
> it can have transparency.
>
> The Magic Wand tool is probably the best way to select the bird,
> since its edges are clean. Try setting Match Mode = RGB Value,
> Tolerance = 10. Click on the bird and evaluate the result. Adjust
> mode and tolerance as needed for the best selection.
>
> Fill the selection with white (Flood Fill tool). Invert the
> selection (Selections > Invert) and clear it (Edit > Delete).
>
> If you want another GIF file of the result, File > Export > GIF
> Optimizer. On the Transparency tab, choose "Existing image or layer
> transparency." On the Partial Transparency tab, adjust the options
> to get the edges of the bird right. On the Colors tab, choose number
> of colors and color selection method to balance file size and image
> appearance.
> --
> Fred Hiltz, fhiltz at yahoo dot com
>

Kris Zaklika

2004-09-25, 12:20 pm

Samual M wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I have a gif image (outline of a bird in flight) which is red on cream
> background. The image has clean edges but is quite small - to small to
> cut-out using the freehand tool.
>
> I need to place the bird image (in white) on to a dark background layer.
>
> Can anyone please explain how to change its colour to white on a transparent
> background, using PSP7?

Open the GIF file. Do Colors > Edit Palette. Double click on
the red and change it to white. File > Export > GIF Optimizer.
On the Transparency tab pick the cream color to be transparent,
setting the Tolerance as appropriate. Done.

> Ta.

Samual M

2004-09-26, 7:17 am

"Kris Zaklika" in message

> Open the GIF file. Do Colors > Edit Palette. Double click on
> the red and change it to white. File > Export > GIF Optimizer.

Thanks Kris, but when I replaced the red colours (there were quite a few as
the image was antialiased) I got jaggy edges.

S.

Uni

2004-09-26, 7:17 am

Samual M wrote:
> "Kris Zaklika" in message
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Thanks Kris, but when I replaced the red colours (there were quite a few as
> the image was antialiased) I got jaggy edges.

Skip the GIF and use PNG.

:-)

Uni

Kris Zaklika

2004-09-26, 12:16 pm

Samual M wrote:
>
> "Kris Zaklika" in message
>
>
> Thanks Kris, but when I replaced the red colours (there were quite a few as
> the image was antialiased) I got jaggy edges.

That's information you didn't give and it signals trouble
ahead for you. Antialiasing involves a gradual transition
in color from your bird to its background. You want to
make that background transparent so therefore you bird will
need a gradual transition to transparency. The catch is that
the GIF format does not support partial transparency. In
a GIF file one color, and no more than one, can be marked
as fully transparent and that is the limit of transparency
control in a GIF. The PNG format supports alpha channel
(i.e. variable) transparency but IE, the most commonly used
browser, does not render it properly unless you jump
through various hoops first. If you know the color of
your web page background, you can choose the edge colors
of your bird to lie between white and that background color
as if there was antialiasing with respect to the page
background. Then you can make the background proper of
your GIF transparent and partial transparency problems
won't show.

> S.