Forum Moderators: not2easy
I assume the bg doesn't have its own layer? If so then its really easy but can't you just fill the bit around the image or use the lasso to pull the part you want to keep onto its own layer and then fill the bg?
....can't you just...use the lasso to pull the part you want to keep onto its own layer and then fill the bg?
Yeah. That's what I was trying to do, but couldn't figure it out. However, I didn't think of adding a layer. I'll try to figure it out, but if you or anyone else knows, please post. Thanks.
Once you lasso the part of the image you want, go to Edit -> Cut. If you go to Edit -> Paste, you should automatically create a new layer with only your selection. If the foreground needs to remain in the same place, copy the selection, instead of cutting it, and use Paste Into, rather than Paste. If you don't get a new layer when you paste, you'd probably want to go to Image -> Mode and check RGB Color, then try that again.
Then you can go to your bottom layer and fill it indiscriminately by selecting the whole thing and using Edit -> Fill, or fill pieces using the Paint Bucket tool (shares a spot with the Gradient tool).
Does that help?
g.
<added>There's also quick, dirty, and not so reversible: Once you have it lassoed, go to Select -> Inverse, then Edit -> Fill. Tada.</added>
If you selected the object instead of the background, choose Select>Inverse to get the background.
The other thing you could do is make a new layer, fill it with the color you want. Move it below your image and erase around your image to reveal the background. (You could select with the lasso and delete as well)
Then there's the mask tool... but I don't think you really need that for this. ;)
<oops posted at the same time. or just after anyway.>
The catch is the bg of the webpage that I am dealing with has a gradient effect. And the times that I have tried to insert a gif file with just text with a transparent bg, it has not worked at all. It didn't work mainly because the gif needs a matte color, and there are no matte colors with a gradient effect.
if it is just text you could try setting the antialiasing to 'none' in the photoshop text options - this should give you crisp text that will not need a matt when you save as gif with transparent bg.
ben
With respect to your tip on the gif with text, will that work even if the text has a drop shadow effect? That was another thing that really screwed it up, as it added a white blob behind the drop shadow effect when I peformed the "save for the web" function. Not sure if white was the matte color at the time or not. I also tried changing the matte to "none" when I did that, and that made it worse. Apparently, gif's need matte colors?
for the actual optimising its probably worth jumping to imageready - it allows you to preview and change things a lot quicker. in imageready just select optimized at the top of your image, and select the optimize palatte from the window menu. that way you can try different matts, color tables and diffusion to see what works for you.
ben
open the background image in photoshop and place your desired text as close as possible to where it would be on the web page (sort-of a mock-up). now crop the image, third tool down on left, as tight as possible. you will be left with a rectangular document--your text with the dropshadow on the gradient background. save this for the web and insert it into your site.
this is a trial and error method as the image may show up a few pixels away from where you want it in the browser window. also, it may appear in slightly different position in dif browsers.
this has worked for me in the past with tricky bg images, but a gradient may be harder to line up. go with whichever technique looks best in the end.
good luck
