Quick links to procedures on this page:

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Working with object transparency

You can change the transparency of an object to reveal image elements that lie beneath it. When you change the transparency of an object, you change the grayscale value of its individual pixels.

Changes to the transparency of an object are permanent. If you want to apply transparency changes separately, so the object is not affected, you can use a clip mask. For more information, see “Using clip masks to change object transparency.”


Changing object transparency

You can change the transparency of an entire object, or the transparency of an editable area. Changing the transparency alters the transparency values of all pixels in the object or editable area by an equal amount.

Photo Paint obj transparent Working with object transparency

The object has been flipped to create a reflection in water, and transparency has been applied to the reflection.


Applying transparency gradients to objects

You can apply a transparency gradient to an object so that the object fades from one transparency value to another. There are several gradient types that determine the pattern of the transparency: flat, linear, elliptical, radial, rectangular, square, conical, bitmap, or textured.

You can customize the gradient by adding and removing nodes, and specifying a transparency value for each node.


Making selected colors in objects transparent

You can make all pixels of a certain color or color range transparent in the active object. Removing one or all of the color selection nodes makes the pixels of a certain color opaque again.


Blending objects

You can create interesting effects by blending objects with other objects that are below them in the stacking order, or by blending objects with the background. As you experiment with settings, the transparency effect previews in the image window.


To change the transparency of an object

Photo Paint btnbacktotop Working with object transparency
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Select an object.
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In the Objects docker, type a value in the Opacity box.
If the Objects docker is not open, click Window Photo Paint onestep Working with object transparency Dockers Photo Paint onestep Working with object transparency Objects.

Photo Paint note Working with object transparency

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Transparent objects have a grayscale value of 0, and opaque objects have a grayscale value of 255.
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The Opacity box is not available for black-and-white (1-bit) images.

To change the transparency of part of an object

Photo Paint btnbacktotop Working with object transparency
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Select an object.
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In the toolbox, click the Object transparency brush tool Photo Paint pgx objtrans brush tool Working with object transparency.
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On the property bar, open the Nib Shape picker, and click a shape.
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Type a value in the Size box.
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Type a value in the Brush transparency box to set the transparency level for the brushstroke.
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Drag across the object.

Photo Paint tip Working with object transparency

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You can quickly choose a square or round brush shape by clicking the Round nib button Photo Paint pgx round nib button Working with object transparency or the Square nib button Photo Paint pgx square nib button Working with object transparency on the property bar.

To apply a transparency gradient to an object

Photo Paint btnbacktotop Working with object transparency
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Select an object.
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In the toolbox, click the Interactive object transparency tool Photo Paint pgx interobj trans tool Working with object transparency.
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On the property bar, choose a gradient from the Fill type list box.
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In the image window, drag the nodes to set the gradient arrow.
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Click a node, and type a value in the Node transparency box on the property bar.
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Click the Apply button Photo Paint pgx apply button Working with object transparency.

You can also
Modify the fill
Click the Edit button on the property bar, and modify the fill settings.
Add a node
Drag a color swatch from the color palette to the gradient arrow in the image window. Then type a grayscale value (0 to 255) in the Node transparency box to specify the transparency for the node.
Delete a node
Right-click a node, and click Delete.

Photo Paint note Working with object transparency

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For information about editing fills, see “Filling images.”
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Because the bitmap, texture, and flat gradient types affect an entire object, you cannot add nodes to customize their transparency values.

To make selected colors in an object transparent

Photo Paint btnbacktotop Working with object transparency
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Select an object.
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In the toolbox, click the Color transparency tool Photo Paint pgx color transp tool Working with object transparency.
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Type a value in the Tolerance control box on the property bar to specify the range of colors that will become transparent.
If you want to blend the surrounding colors with the transparent pixels, type a value in the Smoothing box. Higher values create a smoother transition.
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Click a color in the image window.

To blend an object

Photo Paint btnbacktotop Working with object transparency
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Select an object.
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In the Objects docker, click the flyout arrow Photo Paint pgx flyout arrow Working with object transparency and click Object properties.
If the Objects docker is not open, click Window Photo Paint onestep Working with object transparency Dockers Photo Paint onestep Working with object transparency Objects.
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In the Object properties dialog box, click the General tab.
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Choose the channel you want to blend from the Blend list box.
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On the Active object graph and the Composite underlying graph, drag any of the following nodes:
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Increasing maximum (top left node) — specifies the upper maximum grayscale value of the pixels in the object
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Increasing minimum (bottom left node) — specifies the upper minimum grayscale value of the pixels in the object
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Decreasing maximum (top right node) — specifies the lower maximum grayscale value of the pixels in the object
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Decreasing minimum (bottom right node) — specifies the lower minimum grayscale value of the pixels in the object

You can also
Choose a blending method
Click a merge mode in the Merge box.
Adjust the opacity
Drag the Opacity slider.

Photo Paint note Working with object transparency

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The boxes to the right of the Blend list box display the grayscale and transparency values of the selected object’s pixels.
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You can specify the grayscale values of pixels on a scale of 0 (black) to 255 (white), and the opacity of pixels on a scale of 0 (transparent) to 100 (opaque). Pixels in the active object that fall outside the specified range are hidden, so the pixels of the underlying object are visible.

Working with object transparency