How to make layers transparent.

[suenicole30]

Hi,

I just started learning corel draw 12 graphics suite and have a question about making layers transparent. I have a hillshade bitmap file in one layer with a lens on top of it, and contour lines in another area. I also have various other layers but it's these two layers (3 items) that I would like to work with. I want to try make the edges of the map transparent, and not in a square or round shape though at this point I'd take even that.

I've tried selecting the two layers and using the interactive transparency tool but I can't change the square shape to rectangle shape so the tops of my rectangle do not become faded. It also doesn't seem to fade both layers but just the lens on top of the hillshade layer.

I also tried editing the hillshade bitmap which worked fine but then I wasn't able to export and edit the contour layer - it's not a bitmap and if I copy and paste it from corel draw into corel photopaint (?) I seem to lose resolution.

I've also tried exporting both layers and making one gif image but that also seems to muck up my resolution on my contour layers.

So is there any way within coreldraw that I can make just specific parts of a layer transparent? Or is there even a way that I could create a fading to white effect on the edges. I've seen loads of maps and graphics that seem to fade into nothing, how do you do that in corel draw? Or do you need to do it in corel paint? If so then how do I do that with my contour lines too?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sue

 

[dedotch]

Sue I am not sure what you are trying to do....

Scott

 

[javabearSTL]

what is a "hillshade"? Are working with bitmaps or vectors? There is no application called "Corel Paint" - do you mean Photopaint? GIFs only allow for a single color to be "transparent". It would help if you mention what you're actually trying to do - i.e., what is the final purpose for this project?

 

[szergely]

Hi,
I would like to know how to make a multiple layer drawing to one layer.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx:
Szergely

 

[suenicole30]

To detoch and Javabear...I'm trying to make a hillshade bitmap and the corresponding contour lines transparent at the edges so it fades out into the backgroun of my poster. Hillshade is just a term for a elevation layer..ie..elevation information has been used to create a picture of a mountain..hillshade is when they apply various shades of a colour to show the shadowed areas so that you get that 3D look to it. It's just a bitmap. Now along with the bitmap I'm mapping contour lines..these are just lines of equal elevation, so for say the 27000 feet, all along that line is an elevation of 27000 feet. This on top of the hillshade make it easy to see and gauge how high the mountain is in the picture. I'm working on mount everest and the surround mountains (ie. Lhotse, Nuptse).

The project involves taking this hillshade bitmap and this contour information and bring them in as layers, afterwhich we add supporting information to make a map about one of the successful expeditions up Everest. The hillshade bitmap and the contour lines came to us in rectangular shape...I want to fade out the areas of these two layers that I really don't need..so that I can put pictures and text around it. Ideally I wanted to fade these two layers (hillshade and contour) into transparency so I could put a textured background behind it. However when I tried to bring both into photopaint and do this and convert to gif I ran into problems I described above.

Anyways..the project was due a couple weeks ago so I Improvised and went with a white background then used the eraser tool on the largest setting with the most feathering (?) to fade out the edges and shape the hillshade layer. I then just copied an end portion of each contour line and lightened that then repasted it ontop of the original contour line to give the effect of it being faded as I couldn't fade out the contour lines without them looking more pixelated (?). When you zoom in it looks nasty but as the 72dpi resolution that was required of the project and the size of it it worked fine, you couldn't see how I made the contour lines fade out.

So...from your answers it also seems that I couldn't make it transparent anyways because I wanted to fade out the edges which would I think mean making more than just one colour transparent. I'm sure there's a way to do it..I see it all the time on posters where an image is faded so you can see another image behind it.

Thanks for getting back to me on it though.

Sue

 

[Brushman]

If I have understood the question correctly I would do your bitmap editing in PhotoPaint using vignette/feather once you have applied a mask. Either double click on the bitmap in Draw which should launch PP for editing or put the bitmap in PP - edit as required - save - import into Draw. The bitmap can be placed onto a layer which you can lock so you don't select it when placing wording etc. on top.
Alan

 

[javabearSTL]

I'd agree with Brushman - do all your bitmap editing in Photopaint first. Then you can bring the CPT file into Draw for any vector work you need to do.