Making background around subject transparent

FC
Posted By
Fred_Clewis
Jan 6, 2008
Views
296
Replies
8
Status
Closed
I have been using the help, but cannot yet do this basic task. I’m new to this, I may be off track somewhere:

1. using Quick selection tool, I select the subject.
2. select Layer > new > layer via cut
3. Delete background layer
4. File > Save for web devices, tried several things here

the resulting save always gets a white background even though I see the checkerboard background in PS.

thanks for any tips or more appropriate techniques to do this, fred
Related Tags
background transparency

Must-have mockup pack for every graphic designer 🔥🔥🔥

Easy-to-use drag-n-drop Photoshop scene creator with more than 2800 items.

JJ
John_Joslin
Jan 6, 2008
If you are saving for the web you have to use a format that supports transparency (GIF or PNG, not JPEG).

It all depends what you intend to do with the picture though.
FC
Fred_Clewis
Jan 6, 2008
Thanks John,

My source is a .gif.

If you can select a portion you do not want to be transparent, how would you turn the rest into transparent?

thanks,
fred
JJ
John_Joslin
Jan 6, 2008
Rename the Background layer by double-clicking it.

Select the portion you do not want to be transparent.

Invert the selection (Ctrl+Shift+I).

Press delete.
P
Phosphor
Jan 6, 2008
Sounds like that’s kind of what he’s doing.

Save for Web as gif. Make sure the Transparency box is checked.
FC
Fred_Clewis
Jan 6, 2008
Thanks All,

I still don’t have it working, but your tips are geting me closer.

1. Open .gif
2. duplicate, work with dupe
3. the only layer, background has a lock on it, so I double click and rename layer 0 and the lock goes away.
4. using Quick selection tool, I select the subject.
5. invert the selection (Ctrl+Shift+I).
6. Press delete.
7. File > Save for web devices
8. transparency is checked, image has a checkerboard background.
9. save
10. new gif shows in Bridge still having the white rectangle background. 11. Also when I import into After Affects and layer over a dark solid layer, it still has white rect background.

thanks for any ideas,
fred
FC
Fred_Clewis
Jan 7, 2008
I never did produce a transparent gif. Or if I did, Bridge and AE would not show them that way.

Then I remembered about how nicely CS3 apps integrate. I saved as a .psd and AE imported and there was my transparent background.

thanks to all for your tips, I learned a lot,
fred
JJ
John_Joslin
Jan 7, 2008
You won’t see the transparency in Bridge but, as you discovered, you will in applications that can show it.
MV
Mathias_Vejerslev
Jan 7, 2008
I think your problem is that you are opening a .GIF file and then working from that. The problem is that a .GIF file is locked to a color index, which is not changed automatically for you. If working from a .GIF file source, you must go Image>Mode>RGB as the first thing when opening it in Photoshop.

How to Improve Photoshop Performance

Learn how to optimize Photoshop for maximum speed, troubleshoot common issues, and keep your projects organized so that you can work faster than ever before!

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections