What is Opacity?
The meaning of opacity can be considered anti-transparent. What does this mean? Another word for opacity is opaque. How opaque something is directly refers to how little light is allowed to transfer through it. The more opaque, the less light. In computer graphics, the more opaque, the darker the color on the image layer and the less opaque, the easier we can see the layer behind our current image layer.
100% Opacity would equal 0 light transfer or in graphic design terms, we would not be able to view anything behind the object in that layer.
Controlling the opacity of an object means controlling the transparency of that object.
Opacity Meaning
There are various definitions or meanings for Opacity. Everything from extremely technical to very simple explanations. None of them are wrong but here are a few of the definitions for Opacity.
- The percentage of translucency of an object or image layer.
- The amount of visibility of the layers below the active image layer.
- The total amount of light perceived to pass through an image layer.
- Opacity is defined as the level of transparency of an object layer allowing viewing of the objects of image layers behind the active layer.
While there are several definitions for Opacity, we will define it much simpler. Adjusting Opacity makes an object or image layer so we can or cannot view what is behind it.
How do I change Opacity?
This question typically refers to simply changing the opacity for the object within the active image layer. There are other, more advanced places for which to change opacity. We will list a few places to change opacity below.
The layers section in Photopea allows for easily changing the opacity of an object. We can change the opacity of an object by:
- Selecting the layer for which we desire to lessen the opacity.
- Click Layer on the menu header.
- Highlight our cursor over layer style. This will open up a secondary menu.
- Choose blending options from the second menu. This will open up the layer style window. There are two sides to this window. The left side are the options within the menu while the right side is features that can be accomplished using those options. We can move the layer style menu out of the way by left clicking and holding the cursor onto the title bar of the window, this is the darker part that says Layer style on it. Now drag it out of the way so we can view the image.
- By sliding the Opacity bar to the left the opacity will lessen on the selected object and likewise, by sliding the Opacity bar to the opacity will increase on the selected object.
Directly above the opacity option within this window, there are blending effects. It is important to learn these blending effects with the use of Opacity in order to fully utilize the tools in front of us. Once we understand what each of these do, we can start to get an idea of where we would use these effects in our images and to what percentage we should set our opacity setting for each blending option.
When should I use more or less Opacity?
There are some extreme nice effects that can be created with the correct amount of opacity on an object within your project.
Opacity is used to make images more visually appealing to the viewers. While the effects of opacity changes may be subtle and not be extremely noticeable, it provides spectacular effects that help send a message to the viewer.
As a beginner, layering and composition may appear to be just words in a tutorial but as progression happens and more is understood about graphic design, we will find learning how to work with Opacity becomes an integral part of our daily routine when working with digital images. Opacity allows us to blend layers together to create stunning effects whether we are editing images professionally or just for personal use.
Opacity can be used to draw a viewer's attention to a specific place. If we would like to create an effect of the inside of a coffee cup being green instead of white, but the desire is to allow our viewers to not to have such a solid green color, one of the tools at our disposal is to use Opacity to allow our viewers to see through the unrealistic green blob we have just created and allow it to appear as the inside of the coffee mug. We have drawn their attention to that spot within the image with a subtle effect and minimal effort. I hope we have a reason for drawing their attention to the inside of a coffee mug, but that was just a funny example of Opacity.
Using opacity with layer blending is a powerful combination to provide those surreal effects when combining multiple digital images into one image. Opacity allows us to help blend two images or even just two objects together to provide a smooth transition between the items in the project or on the layer.
Opacity Examples
We can see here images from 100% opaque or zero light coming to 50% then 25% and finally 0% opaque with 100% light shining through the object.
When we are beginning into the world of graphic design or photo editing, we only know what we know at the time. As we see things, we wish, wow, I wish I could come up with ideas like that. Here are ideas for where to use the newfound knowledge of opacity.
- Background Blur: This is an easily performed effect that involves creating a duplicate of the image layer, placing it on top of the original image, blurring it and reducing opacity. We can then cut out the focus target within the image.
- Color Tints: This was completed with the coffee mug example in this tutorial. We can select an area, add a new layer, add a solid color and adjust the opacity down around 13% to provide a color tint effect to the image.
- Ghosting Effect: The effect is a little outside the beginner tutorials. We can create this effect by selecting the object that appears to be in motion, copying and pasting just that object into a new layer and reducing the opacity. We repeat this for as many times as we want the effect.
- Gradient Fades: An excellent and easy to perform option would be changing the horizon of a background image. We can select the horizon, create a separate layer, apply a gradient to that later and then lower the capacity to obtain the desired effects.
- Watermarking: We can put our logo onto our images and reduce the opacity so it becomes a non-detracting part of the image. Using opacity in this method in an effort to try and keep images secure only keeps the honest people honest. This is very easily removable and is not a good security method. Discussing security methods on images is beyond the scope of this tutorial.
Conclusion
Learning and even mastering the use of opacity is a necessity for any graphic designer or photo editor. We use opacity in every image and we adjust opacity in most edited images at one point. Opacity significantly impacts the viewer's experience with the image. Not every image created or edited will be the star of the webpage or display but it is part of the composition that makes everything work together. Learn to use opacity correctly and the images edited will be spectacular.
