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Masking
Diri [Avatar]
Member Joined: Jul 28, 2020 20:04 Messages: 52 Offline
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I have a logo in jpeg format which I want to either import with a transparent background or mask it out once imported.

When I make the BG transparent in Photoshop and then import it into PD, I lose that transparency and it appears with a white BG.

I have also tried to make a mask within PD but have failed so far. Everything I try in PD leaves me with a black BG. I can't find any instructions in the help menu, only where to locate the masking tool.

Here is the logo I want to use but without the white BG. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
[Thumb - ESP logo trans.jpg]
 Filename
ESP logo trans.jpg
[Disk]
 Description
logo
 Filesize
360 Kbytes
 Downloaded:
4 time(s)
JL_JL [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Location: Arizona, USA Joined: Oct 01, 2006 20:01 Messages: 6091 Offline
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jpeg does not support transparency, export out as png for use in PD.

Jeff
Diri [Avatar]
Member Joined: Jul 28, 2020 20:04 Messages: 52 Offline
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Quote jpeg does not support transparency, export out as png for use in PD.

Jeff


Eureka! Thanks Jeff for this. I'll give it a go.
Diri [Avatar]
Member Joined: Jul 28, 2020 20:04 Messages: 52 Offline
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Quote


Eureka! Thanks Jeff for this. I'll give it a go.


Well I failed again. I imported a png file with the transparent BG, applied a mask which only turned the BG to black. I know I'm doing something wrong, just don't know what? Here's a screen shot from my masking page, can you see where I've gone wrong from this I wonder?
[Thumb - mask.jpg]
 Filename
mask.jpg
[Disk]
 Description
 Filesize
161 Kbytes
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4 time(s)
JL_JL [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Location: Arizona, USA Joined: Oct 01, 2006 20:01 Messages: 6091 Offline
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I'm not sure what you are trying to do with the mask. If you put a transparent background to your logo and save as png you can use over any timeline content and it will be transparent as shown. Black is the default background color in editing.

Jeff
[Thumb - Trans_Backgroud.PNG]
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Trans_Backgroud.PNG
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576 Kbytes
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Diri [Avatar]
Member Joined: Jul 28, 2020 20:04 Messages: 52 Offline
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Quote I'm not sure what you are trying to do with the mask. If you put a transparent background to your logo and save as png you can use over any timeline content and it will be transparent as shown. Black is the default background color in editing.

Jeff


I am obviously missing something Jeff so I thought I'd post a step by step of what I'm doing. The ultimate goal is to do what you have done and have the logo appear against a background (which is simply a swirling cloud from PD's library.


  1. Create logo with transparent BG in photoshop, save as .png file.

  2. Import logo.png file into PD library.

  3. Drag logo.png file onto project time line with cloud as BG on another track above it.



After this process, I just see the logo.png file (with transparency pixels) with the BG cloud hidden below it. The cloud looks like a grey colour board in this screen capture but it is actually a swirling cloud. I have applied no masks at all. Any ideas where I'm going wrong? Really appreciate your taking the time to help me.
[Thumb - logo in PD project.jpg]
 Filename
logo in PD project.jpg
[Disk]
 Description
After placing in project timeline
 Filesize
239 Kbytes
 Downloaded:
2 time(s)
[Thumb - logo in PD.jpg]
 Filename
logo in PD.jpg
[Disk]
 Description
After importing into PD project library
 Filesize
32 Kbytes
 Downloaded:
2 time(s)
[Thumb - logo in PS.png]
 Filename
logo in PS.png
[Disk]
 Description
the source png file in photoshop with transparent BG
 Filesize
119 Kbytes
 Downloaded:
2 time(s)
Diri [Avatar]
Member Joined: Jul 28, 2020 20:04 Messages: 52 Offline
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Quote


I am obviously missing something Jeff so I thought I'd post a step by step of what I'm doing. The ultimate goal is to do what you have done and have the logo appear against a background (which is simply a swirling cloud from PD's library.


  1. Create logo with transparent BG in photoshop, save as .png file.

  2. Import logo.png file into PD library.

  3. Drag logo.png file onto project time line with cloud as BG on another track above it.



After this process, I just see the logo.png file (with transparency pixels) with the BG cloud hidden below it. The cloud looks like a grey colour board in this screen capture but it is actually a swirling cloud. I have applied no masks at all. Any ideas where I'm going wrong? Really appreciate your taking the time to help me.


I think I might have solved it. I just tried applying a mask to the logo within the project timeline and it removed the transparency pixels. Didn't think a mask was required though?
JL_JL [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Location: Arizona, USA Joined: Oct 01, 2006 20:01 Messages: 6091 Offline
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Quote I think I might have solved it. I just tried applying a mask to the logo within the project timeline and it removed the transparency pixels. Didn't think a mask was required though?

Does not look like your "logo in PS.png" is really on a transparent background. Try the attached. If on a transparent background you should not need a mask, it simply lays on top.

Jeff
[Thumb - ESP logo trans.png]
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ESP logo trans.png
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 Description
 Filesize
300 Kbytes
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7 time(s)
ynotfish
Senior Contributor Location: N.S.W. Australia Joined: May 08, 2009 02:06 Messages: 9977 Offline
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Hi Diri -

I was preparing a reply while Jeff was answering.

I don't think there should be any need for masking in your case, if all you wish to do is place your logo image on a background. Masking is best used when you want an image or video to appear "through" another image/video.



If you download this packed project (using your logo) you'll see the difference.

Cheers - Tony

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Aug 29. 2020 21:26


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Diri [Avatar]
Member Joined: Jul 28, 2020 20:04 Messages: 52 Offline
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Quote Hi Diri -

I was preparing a reply while Jeff was answering.

I don't think there should be any need for masking in your case, if all you wish to do is place your logo image on a background. Masking is best used when you want an image or video to appear "through" another image/video.



If you download this packed project (using your logo) you'll see the difference.

Cheers - Tony


Hi Tony and thanks for helping me. I tried downloading your packed project but got stuck when I unzipped the file. It just showed me four image files but no pds file. You probably worked out by now that I'm clueless and on a steep learning curve with PD. I have learned however that I when I import the png logo file into the PD image library, it should appear with a black BG which it currently doesn't. It appears with what is either a white BG or is actually transparent but just looks white because of the small thumbnail size.
[Thumb - logo in PD.jpg]
 Filename
logo in PD.jpg
[Disk]
 Description
 Filesize
32 Kbytes
 Downloaded:
2 time(s)
Diri [Avatar]
Member Joined: Jul 28, 2020 20:04 Messages: 52 Offline
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Quote

Does not look like your "logo in PS.png" is really on a transparent background. Try the attached. If on a transparent background you should not need a mask, it simply lays on top.

Jeff


Hi Jeff, yeah I think I'm doing something wrong somewhere but can't work out what and where. Basically, I need to get the logo into the PD project library with a black BG if I understand correctly? I can easily make this happen in photoshop and then import it into PD rather than making a transparent BG image. Would this method work?

As I explained earlier, when I import the transparent BG version into PD, it doesn't appear with a black BG in my library but retains the transparent pixels which then also appear in my project preview. Only when I applied the mask did the transparent pixels disappear. Grrrrr!
JL_JL [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Location: Arizona, USA Joined: Oct 01, 2006 20:01 Messages: 6091 Offline
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Quote Hi Jeff, yeah I think I'm doing something wrong somewhere but can't work out what and where. Basically, I need to get the logo into the PD project library with a black BG if I understand correctly? I can easily make this happen in photoshop and then import it into PD rather than making a transparent BG image. Would this method work?

As I explained earlier, when I import the transparent BG version into PD, it doesn't appear with a black BG in my library but retains the transparent pixels which then also appear in my project preview. Only when I applied the mask did the transparent pixels disappear. Grrrrr!

Does the image I uploaded not work either? Tony's pack project has a proper transparent image too of your logo. It too has a PD project file, namely, "Mask Overlay.pds", give it a try.

Jeff
Diri [Avatar]
Member Joined: Jul 28, 2020 20:04 Messages: 52 Offline
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Quote

Does the image I uploaded not work either? Tony's pack project has a proper transparent image too of your logo. It too has a PD project file, namely, "Mask Overlay.pds", give it a try.

Jeff


The issue seems to be centred around the transparency of BG when I import the png image. In Tony's library it is clearly a black BG which is PD's default representation of a transparency. When I import my png image with a transparent BG, it does not appear with a black BG. I've looked for a setting in preferences which may affect this default setting but can't find one.
[Thumb - Tony's library.jpg]
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Tony's library.jpg
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 Filesize
54 Kbytes
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3 time(s)
[Thumb - My library.jpg]
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My library.jpg
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 Filesize
32 Kbytes
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2 time(s)
JL_JL [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Location: Arizona, USA Joined: Oct 01, 2006 20:01 Messages: 6091 Offline
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Nothing in PD, your logo image for me does not have a transparent background, I made it transparent. Create a proper png with a true transparent background and I don't think you will have an issue. Tony's image works as does mine as they have a true transparent background.

Jeff
Diri [Avatar]
Member Joined: Jul 28, 2020 20:04 Messages: 52 Offline
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Quote Nothing in PD, your logo image for me does not have a transparent background, I made it transparent. Create a proper png with a true transparent background and I don't think you will have an issue. Tony's image works as does mine as they have a true transparent background.

Jeff


This is where I am falling down because my image clearly has a transparent BG - I can see the chequered squares in the photoshop png image before I import it (see screen shot below). Got me stumped.
[Thumb - logo in PS.png]
 Filename
logo in PS.png
[Disk]
 Description
 Filesize
119 Kbytes
 Downloaded:
3 time(s)
Diri [Avatar]
Member Joined: Jul 28, 2020 20:04 Messages: 52 Offline
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Quote


This is where I am falling down because my image clearly has a transparent BG - I can see the chequered squares in the photoshop png image before I import it (see screen shot below). Got me stumped.


FINALLY! I've worked out what I needed to do to guarantee the BG was transparent. You were right Jeff, even though my image appeared with a transparent BG in photoshop, when I saved it as a png file, it was saving it with a white BG. Don't know why it did this but I thought I would try a different way.

I opened up a new file with the BG set to transparent first and then colour-selected the blue logo and pasted it onto this already transparent BG. When I imported it into PD.....miracle of miracles, the BG was black! Thank goodness this saga is resolved and I can now move forward.

Thanks again to you and Tony for your help. If you hadn't been adamant that my BG wasn't transparent I would have just put up with a masked version to make it work. All's well that ends well.
JL_JL [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Location: Arizona, USA Joined: Oct 01, 2006 20:01 Messages: 6091 Offline
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Open your logo in basic MS Paint, which does not support transparent background. Do the same for Tony's or my image, see the obvious difference? Also see that you can erase your stippled background. I suspect that there is a layer that was transparent and all got smashed flat hence a stipple that is not transparent.

Jeff
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