Guide: How To Create Image Background Transparent Using GIMP
Not everyone uses Adobe Photoshop, and not everyone likes it. Although it is the most popular and powerful photo editor, it is too complicated and heavy to use for a regular user. This is where GIMP, a great alternative to Photoshop, comes into play. While GIMP is also more complex than the conventional image editors, it doesn’t slow down your PC and is relatively easy to use. Removing the background is one of the most used graphic design actions. There could be many reasons why you might want to do that. For example, you don’t like the background, you want to add the image to a different background, or you just want to make the image transparent. We can use GIMP to remove the background from any image. When you make the image background transparent, it lasts up the color according to the background of the new image. For example, if you put a transparent image on top of a yellow image, the image now has a yellow background. This is very useful for graphic design. So here we will tell you a few methods to remove the background from an image and make it transparent with GIMP.
Remove solid background color
If your image has only one background color, you can remove it very easily. And it is not necessary for the color to be white (in case you were wondering). Here are the steps to achieve it.
Step 1. Load image
Launch GIMP on your PC and load the image into it with File> Open. Navigate to and open the image.
Step 2: Add Alpha channel
To make an image transparent, it is necessary to add an alpha channel to it. This can be done in two ways. In the first method at the top, click the Layer option. Then go to Transparency and select Add Alpha Channel.
You can also right-click the image layer on the Layer tab in the right sidebar and select Add Alpha Channel.
Once you have added an alpha channel, you will see the layer name in the Layer tab change from bold to normal. This is an easy way to check if the layer has alpha channel or not.
Step 3. Select Background
After adding the alpha channel, you need to select the background. To do this, you can use two tools: the Color tool or Fuzzy Select. Both tools are present in the left sidebar. Click on one of the tools to select it. Then click on the background color in the image you want to remove. You will see the background layer is selected.
Step 4. Remove background
Once the background is selected, go to Edit and click Clear buttonYou can also tap the Delete key on your keyboard to delete it.
Step 5. Complete selection
Then click the Select option at the top and choose None from the menu. This will cancel the current selection.
Step 6: Save image
This is one of the most important steps to take while saving PNG images. It is necessary to save transparent files as .png or .gif. The .png is the most commonly used extension and we recommend that you use the same extension. To save the image, click the File option at the top and select Export As from the menu. The dialog box will open. Type the name you want for your image followed by the extension .png.
Remove multiple color backgrounds
There are many methods to remove the multi-color background. We’ll cover the following two here: Mask and Path Tool.
Method 1. Use mask
Step 1. Load image and add alpha channel
Use the File> Open method to open the image in GIMP. As mentioned earlier, the first step involves adding an alpha channel. Right-click on the layer in the right sidebar and select Add Alpha Channel. The title of the layer changes from bold to normal.
Step 2. Add a double layer
Now right click on the same layer again and select the Duplicate Layer option to make a copy. From now on, make sure it’s the layer selected as you just need to work on it.
Step 3. Desaturate the layer
Select the duplicated layer by clicking it once, in case it is not selected, then click Colors in the top bar followed by Desaturate. In the dialog box that appears, click Brightness followed by OK.
Step 4. Adjust the brightness
Then click on Colors again and select Brightness – Contrast from the menu. From the dialog, increase the contrast to maximum and adjust the brightness so that you get an almost black and white image. Then click OK.
Step 5. Invert color areas and colors
Then select the pencil tool and make sure the hardness strength is set to 100 in the Brushes toolbox. Color the areas you want to keep with black color and delete the rest of the image with the white pencil. You can adjust the size of the pencil accordingly. Then go to the Colors option again and select Invert from the menu.
Step 6. Copy the layer and turn it off
Finally, go to the Edit option at the top and select Copy from the menu. You can even use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + C. Keep in mind that all the steps above should be done on the duplicated layer only. Once you’ve copied it, turn off this duplicate layer with the eye icon in front of the layer name. You will see the original image come back. Do not you worry.
Step 7. Add layer mask
Then select the main layer. I repeat, select the main layer and not the duplicate. From the options at the top, go to Layer> Mask and select Add Layer Mask. A dialog box will open. Select the White (full opacity) option and click Add.
Step 8. Paste the double layer
Here you have to paste the layer you copied. Go to Edit and select Paste or just use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + V. You will see that the background of the image has been removed and a new layer with floating selection is created.
Step 9. Anchor the floating layer
With the new floating selection layer selected, click the Anchor Layer option at the bottom. This will merge the floating and main layer.
Step 10. Create Final Statue
Finally, select (but don’t enable) the duplicated layer we had created and right click on it. From the menu, select New from Visible.
Then select the other two old layers and delete them. To do this, right-click on the layer and click Delete in the menu.
Step 11. Delete extras
If you’re happy with your image, skip to step 12, but if you think the sides aren’t perfect, use the eraser tool to remove the extra background and give it a good shape.
Step 12. Save image
Finally, use File> Export As and save your image with a .png extension.
Method 2. Using Path Tool
Step 1. Open image and add alpha channel
As usual, load the image into GIMP and add an alpha channel. You can right-click the image layer and select Add Alpha Channel from the menu.
Step 2. Use Path Tool
In this method we use the Path tool. Click on it in the left sidebar to select it. Then draw the outline of the image you want to keep with this tool. You have to do this manually by clicking on the outline with the mouse. Draw the path a bit inside the main boundary, and if you want to undo the last point, press the Ctrl + Z keyboard shortcut. Continue this until the two points meet, then press Enter buttonThe object is selected.
Step 3. Invert selection
Since we need to remove the background and not the selection, we need to invert it. To do this, go to Select and click Invert in the menu.
Step 4. Remove background
Now that the background is selected, hit the Delete key. You will see the image has been successfully extracted with a clear and transparent background. To deselect all selections, go to the Select tab and click None in the menu.
Step 5. Save image
Finally, using the File> Export As option, save the image to your computer with a .png extension.
Enjoy the transparency
We hope you enjoyed the tutorialNow use your newly acquired skill to surprise your friends with cool images.
How To Create Image Background Transparent Using GIMP: benefits
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