How to use PS feathering to create transparent effects?

Transparent effect production method: Use selection tool and feathering to cooperate: select transparent areas and feathering to soften edges; change the layer blending mode and opacity to control transparency. Use masks and feathers: select and feather areas; add layer masks, and grayscale gradient control transparency.

How to use PS feathering to create transparent effects?

Many friends asked me how to achieve transparent effect of PS feathering. In fact, this question is interesting because "transparency" itself is an effect, and feathering is just a tool to achieve this effect. Their relationship is not a simple cause and effect, but rather a combination of means and purpose. The effect you want is actually to use feathering to control the gradient of the image edges, thereby simulating transparency, or creating a "fading" visual effect. So, simply put, you cannot directly use feathering to "make" transparency, but use feathering to assist in creating transparent visual experiences .

Let me talk about the basics first, don’t think I’m too long-winded. You have to understand that the transparency in PS is essentially the alpha channel information of the image. The alpha channel records the transparency of each pixel, with values ​​ranging from 0 (fully transparent) to 255 (fully opaque). Where is the feathering? What it changes is the edges of the constituency, making the edge transition softer, rather than being directly hard. Therefore, the connection between feathering and transparency is that it can help you control more carefully which parts need to be transparent and which parts remain opaque.

Now, we get to the point. There are usually two ways to create a "transparent" effect:

Idea 1: Use selection and feathering to cooperate with layer mixing mode

This method is more common. Suppose you want to make a part of a picture "transparent", you have to first use the selection tool (lasso, magic wand, rectangle, etc., to see how complex your picture is, to select the part that needs to be transparent. Then, the key is here, don’t rush to delete it, first use the feather tool (menu bar "Select" > "Feed") to adjust the feather radius. This radius value determines how soft the transition of the transparent area is. The larger the value, the softer the transition, the more natural the transparent effect, and vice versa. After the feather is finished, you can use layer blending mode to control transparency. For example, changing the layer blending mode to "overlay", "soft light", etc. can produce different transparent effects. You can also adjust the layer's "Opacity" property to further fine-tune the transparency.

Take a chestnut: You want the hair edges of the characters in the photo to look more natural and less stiff. You can use the Lasso tool to roughly check the hair area, feather it by 3-5 pixels, then lower the layer opacity, or try different layer blending modes until the effect is satisfactory.

 <code class="javascript">// 这段代码只是模拟PS的操作流程，实际PS操作是图形化的function featherAndBlend(selection, radius, blendMode, opacity){ // 模拟羽化操作selection.feather(radius); // 模拟图层混合模式和不透明度设置selection.blendMode = blendMode; selection.opacity = opacity; } // 例如： let hairSelection = getSelection("hair"); // 假设有个函数能获取头发选区featherAndBlend(hairSelection, 5, "Multiply", 70); // 羽化5像素，使用“正片叠底”混合模式，不透明度70%</code>

Idea 2: Use masks and feathers

This method is more flexible and professional. You should choose the district first and then feather. The difference is that you don't have to directly modify the opacity of the layer, but add a layer mask. The mask is like a layer of mask, and black, white and gray determine the visibility of the layer. White means completely visible, black means completely invisible, and gray means semi-transparent. The feathered selection will affect the grayscale gradient of the mask, resulting in a natural transparent transition. The advantage of this method is that you can modify the mask at any time and adjust the transparent effect without affecting the original image.

Remember, the choice of feather radius is crucial. Too small, the edges of the transparent area are stiff; too large, the transitions of the transparent area are too blurred, and the effect is not ideal. This requires more practice and more trials to find the best value. In addition, the details and colors of the picture itself will also affect the final effect. Therefore, there is no fixed "correct" value, only continuous trial and adjustment.

Finally, some small suggestions: observe more and imitate more. See how excellent works deal with transparent effects and learn their skills. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. PS’ undo function is very powerful. You can boldly try various parameters and methods so that you can find the workflow that suits you best. Practice to achieve true knowledge is the kingly way!

The above is the detailed content of How to use PS feathering to create transparent effects?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!