alpha

Photoshop Top 40, Feature #15: Alpha Channels

Submitted by deke on 5 January 2010 - 12:13am.
Feature #15: Alpha Channels

UPDATE: The good folks at lynda.com have replaced the bad old corrupted version of this video with a new one that plays properly. Thanks to everyone who let me know that the old one was messed up!

Masking an image is like poking a hole in the background to reveal the foreground. I use this analogy because A) I'm growing a bit weary of the "white reveals, black conceals" line; B) I'm just coming off a ski vacation in Big Sky, Montana, at the end of which I wiped out on a bunch of rocks at the top of the 11,166-foot Lone Peak (see diagram) and poked a purple-looking hole in my knee; and C) masking is exactly like that, except not so purple. Read more » 

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Photoshop CS3 Mask box art
Amazon.com

Photoshop CS3 Channels & Masks

Essentially a collection of luminance data that controls the transparency of an image, the modest alpha channel informs just about everything you do in Photoshop. and coming to terms with alpha channels (a.k.a. masks) is the most sure-fire way to boost the quality of your work in Photoshop. But masking isn’t easy. In fact, the elusive alpha channel has been described as the least understood feature in Photoshop’s enormous arsenal. Until now, that is. In Photoshop CS3 Channels and Masks, expert Deke McClelland blows the lid off the topic. Read more » 

List price: $149.95USD
Photoshop CS2 Mask box art
Amazon.com

Photoshop CS2 Channels and Masks

The elusive alpha channel remains one of the most misunderstood yet powerful tools in Photoshop. Alpha channels are collections of luminance data that control the transparency of an image, and they inform just about every aspect of Photoshop. Selections, layer boundaries, masks, the Quick Mask mode, layer masks, knockouts, and masking with the Channels palette all rely on alpha channels. In Photoshop CS2 Channels and Masks, award-winning author and Photoshop expert Deke McClelland teaches channels and masks comprehensively. Read more » 

List price: $149.95USD