Join Deke McClelland for an in-depth discussion in this video The origins of the alpha channel, part of Photoshop Masking and Compositing: Fundamentals.
In this exercise I'm going to introduce you to the Alpha Channel.…I'm looking at the final version of the toucan from the previous chapter, I've…gone ahead and called this file Last- seen toucan.psd and I'm going to switch…over to my Channels panel.…Notice that I'm seeing all of my channels in grayscale, that's very important,…by the way, if you're still seeing errors in color then press Ctrl+K or…Command+K on the Mac to bring up the Preferences dialog box.…Switch to Interface and turn off the Show Channels in Color check box.…Mine is already off so I'll go ahead and click the Cancel button.…
Now in addition to the color bearing channels red, green, and blue in this case,…the ones that actually contribute to the colors inside the image we have these…extra so-called Alpha channels.…Now an Alpha Channel can contain a mask which is typically a grayscale…representation of a selection outline.…It may contain a layer mask which conveys transparency to a layer, or it may…contain some other kind of mask.…
Author
Deke McClelland
Released
11/4/2011- Setting up a workspace
- Working with the seven key selection tools
- Using the Color Range command
- Automating masking
- Matching a scene with Smart Filters
- Choosing the ideal base channel
- Converting a channel to a mask
- Painting with the Overlay and Soft Light modes
- Using History to regain a lost mask
- Working with the Calculations command
- Extracting a mask from a Smart Object
- Masking and compositing light
- Masking with black and white
- Working with path outlines
- Combining pixel and vector masks
- Creating and feathering a vector mask
Skill Level Intermediate
Duration
Views
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Introduction
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Adjusting the color settings4m 29s
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Setting up a power workspace5m 59s
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Welcome1m 8s
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1. It All Starts with the Channel
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How color channels work7m 7s
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Viewing channels in color3m 24s
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How RGB works4m 12s
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Single-channel grayscale5m 12s
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2. The Magic of Masking
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How a mask works7m 10s
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Making an alpha channel4m 2s
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Using the new channel icons6m 27s
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Putting a mask into play3m 55s
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3. The Science of Compositing
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Painting inside a mask6m 3s
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Cleaning up and confirming5m 18s
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Combining masks5m 10s
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Blending image elements6m 1s
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Introducing clipping masks5m 29s
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4. The Essentials of Selecting
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The marquee tools6m 31s
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The lasso tools5m 49s
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The Quick Selection tool8m 13s
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5. The Versatility of Combining and Transforming
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Selecting an eye7m 1s
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6. The Unmatched Power of Color Range
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7. The Unearthly Joy of Refinement
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Automated edge detection8m 23s
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Turning garbage into gold6m 19s
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Creating a fake blood effect5m 38s
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Establishing trails of blood7m 40s
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8. The Rewards of Everyday Masking
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9. The Mechanics of Layer Masks
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Working with path outlines7m 10s
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Recreating missing details8m 49s
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Masking glass5m 50s
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More to Come
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Next steps1m 17s
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Video: The origins of the alpha channel