I'm such a graphics n00b. I have Gimp and I'm trying to take a .PSD image and resize it and save it as a .PNG or .GIF with a transparent background, but I'm not having much luck. This is the second image I try to do this for. The first one worked perfectly. I just merged all the layers, resized it and saved as and I didn't have any problems. With this second image, if I save to .GIF, it looks like crap when it does the color indexing. This happens even if I don't resize it. If I save to .PNG, it looks good, but it always has a white background instead of transparent. How can I create a sharp looking .GIF or .PNG with a transparent background???
you need to save it as a 24bit PNG with alpha transparency instead of the normal 8bit. PNG-24 instead of PNG-8. one a side note, i hope this isn't for web use Internet Explorer <= 6 doesn't support it. and unfortunately, people still use <=6. there is a javascript hack to make it work but it's a rather pain in the arse to get to work.
I don't see where Gimp is offering me any option on 8-bit or 24-bit .PNG formats. There is only .PNG as far as I can see from the Save As menu. How do I change the 8/24 bits? Is there no way to ensure the background is transparent?
Well, 3 hours later I figured out a solution. I had to use Gimp's semi-flatten tool with the background color that I plan to use to remove all the anti-aliasing in the image. Then I converted the image to indexed mode using optimal pallete and no dithering. Saved as .GIF and it maintained decent resolution with a transparent background (though the image has an edge around it with my background colored pixels). I'll have to redo this process if I ever decide to change the background color, but at least I got something I can use!
hey glad to see that you found a solution. sorry i had to step out earlier and couldnt get back to you sooner.