Gimp + Blender Tutorial : Making transparent maps

transparency map

The rendering above is created using Blender's default Internal Raytracer.
It highlights transparency mapping.The transparency map was created using GIMP

The following is a tutorial about creating maps that contains transparency information.

They are tips for making transparent map using GIMP for Blender3D

On the GIMP side...
Steps to create Transparent Background layer in GIMP

When prompted to create a new image in GIMP, set the Fill With Property as Transparency.

Put the decal/image on a layer above the transparent background. Note: Do not flatten or merge image. Doing so will lose the transparency.

Save the image to be made a transparent map as Targa format file (*.tga)

In Blender 3D environment...
In the Texture Setting . load the targa file that was created in GIMP. Turn on Use Alpha. This will make the background of the image map transparent.

In the Material Setting . , under the column 'Map To', activate/turn on Alpha, along with Col. The Preview should display the image map with transparent background.

If you wish to truly make the rest of the material invisible, set material Col, Spe, Mir and A to RGB(0,0,0).

That is all to the tutorial. Happy Gimping and Blendering.

Transparency map in action

	>>
A Blender screenshot of objects with transparency map		The rendered image

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