Alpha Channel Basics - Tutorial Textbook by Robin Sojourner

Alpha Channels puzzling you? Do you need to know what they are, what they do, how to make and use them, and more? This THiNC book by Robin Sojourner, based on the lectures that she gives at Livingtree and the Builder's Brewery, will clear up the mystery.

It begins with a clear explanation of the difference between a 24 bit and 32 bit .tga file. It goes on to give you two easy ways to make the Alpha Channel, either using the transparency already in the image, or making one manually by painting directly into the Alpha Channel, in the Channel palette.

Then find out exactly what makes "white halos," which will make it easy to see how to fix them.

Finally, Robin discusses the difference between .png and .tga, and when you might want to use which one. She finishes up with two examples of when .tga can just be easier, so you can get a clear grasp of which you might want to use when.

All told, it's 38 pages of information, with illustrations on nearly every page. If you hesitate to buy books sight unseen, come to the Texture Library at Livingtree (113, 97, 25) and check out the book before you buy it. You can read the whole thing, and then decide.