Transparent images

Na11 · **Joined:** Dec 30, 2016 **Posts:** 12

GIMP Version: 2.8.14
Operating System: Windows
GIMP Experience: New User

I'm following this tutorial and I did everything right. There is just one issue. When I save my now transparent image, the supposedly transparent parts are filled in with white? I saved as PNG. How do I get it transparent?

Oregonian · **Posted:** Sat Jan 14, 2017 11:20 pm **(#2)**

Is your transparent image a single layer? If you have a background layer of white, saving it with the background layer will merge the two layers together.

Na11 · **Joined:** Dec 30, 2016 **Posts:** 12

Oregonian wrote:

Is your transparent image a single layer? If you have a background layer of white, saving it with the background layer will merge the two layers together.

I know what the issue is now! I have to create a transparent layer, open the image with the background as a layer, and use the selection and cut out and stuff- I'm gonna make a tutorial soon! Yeah the issue is that the image had a single layer!

Wallace · **Posted:** Sun Jan 15, 2017 1:46 pm **(#4)**

Na11 wrote:

Oregonian wrote:

Is your transparent image a single layer?
If you have a background layer of white,
saving it with the background layer will merge the two layers together.

I know what the issue is now!
I have to create a transparent layer,
open the image with the background as a layer,
and use the selection and cut out and stuff- I'm gonna make a tutorial soon!
Yeah the issue is that the image had a single layer!

The issue at hand is the Alpha Channel.

You can have an image with a single layer and still preserve transparency.
As long as the Alpha Channel hasn't been filled with data/pixels and the image is exported,
using a file extension which supports transparency.
The image should retain it's transparency.

Adding an Alpha Channel to a single layered image.
Without adding another layer to the image.
Can also produce an image with transparency.
However,
as stated above.
There would need to be empty space,
ie. (no data or pixels) present somewhere within the image.
For it to have transparency.

Also,
you can have images which contain an Alpha Channel,
as within some .png and .gif images.
Yet the image doesn't appear with a transparent background.

If you add an Alpha Channel to a single layered image.
Then remove the pixels or data for this image.
Effectively clearing the Alpha Channel of any unwanted data or pixels.
The data/pixels remove will retain transparency.
Without having to add another layer to the image.

Here's an example below.

This image is a single layer,
with transparency.

Attachment:

steampunk goggles_2.xcf [221.6 KiB]
Downloaded 179 times

Here's the original image.
Without transparency.