Forum Discussion

MichaelUtz's avatar
MichaelUtz
Community Member
3 days ago

Insert a picture on a shield/poster of a character

I would like to add an image to the empty space of a character's shield.
But there are always hands in the way.
Is there a way to insert a picture "behind" the fingers?
Or do I have to cut out an image in a separate program?

Thanks for help...

  • For that type of image, I would make the "shield" transparent. That requires using a .PNG, like what you attached. Then whatever you place behind the image will show through just that part. 

    Here's a copy of your .PNG with the shield transparent:

    Here it is with a picture behind it:

    I just did a quick edit in SnagIt, so the area around the hands might not be perfect. But it's often worth the time to make a good copy with the desired area transparent, because it can be reused. (I have a number of .PNGs with blank areas ready to fill. 😄)

  • For best results, you would export the character and edit it in another application. I use Krita (free) a lot for this kind of work. You can mask the white poster then clip any image you wish to place there, cutting around the hands.

    For a quick and dirty approach in SL, click on the Recolor option under Format when the character is selected.  Use Set Transparent Color, and click on the white panel. This will clear that color from the image. It may also clear more than you want. Try clicking on different locations to get the best results.

    Then you can simply crop another image and place it below the character, perhaps  with a white rectangle as a background. This gives the illusion of a clipped image. Example attached.

  • For that type of image, I would make the "shield" transparent. That requires using a .PNG, like what you attached. Then whatever you place behind the image will show through just that part. 

    Here's a copy of your .PNG with the shield transparent:

    Here it is with a picture behind it:

    I just did a quick edit in SnagIt, so the area around the hands might not be perfect. But it's often worth the time to make a good copy with the desired area transparent, because it can be reused. (I have a number of .PNGs with blank areas ready to fill. 😄)

    • MichaelUtz's avatar
      MichaelUtz
      Community Member

      Cool idea. This means that you replace a character in the form of an image in PNG with a transparent field. I wouldn't have come up with the idea. thank you very much. Have a nice day

  • For best results, you would export the character and edit it in another application. I use Krita (free) a lot for this kind of work. You can mask the white poster then clip any image you wish to place there, cutting around the hands.

    For a quick and dirty approach in SL, click on the Recolor option under Format when the character is selected.  Use Set Transparent Color, and click on the white panel. This will clear that color from the image. It may also clear more than you want. Try clicking on different locations to get the best results.

    Then you can simply crop another image and place it below the character, perhaps  with a white rectangle as a background. This gives the illusion of a clipped image. Example attached.

    • MichaelUtz's avatar
      MichaelUtz
      Community Member

      very cool! I didn't come up with your idea, although I always help myself with it in PowerPoint. thank you very much. I have to test the software, I haven't used it yet... have a nice day