Photo Jumble Help for Mac

Non Rectangular or Transparent Layers


Non rectangular layers

Photo Jumble for Mac can works with non rectangular layers with alpha mask. You may create these layers by loading alpha masked image into layers. Current version supports few alpha masked file formats:

1 - Four channels uncompressed RGBA .TIF files.
2 - Four channels compressed JPEG2000 .JP2 files.
3 - Four channels RGBA .PNG file format.

To create your own RGBA .TIF files you need some third party graphic editor like Photoshop or Gimp. You need to trace object with lasso (or scissors) tool, create a selection around the object and save this selection as a new channel. The image below shows sea shell photo in RGBA .TIF format opened in Photoshop.

Transparent Tiff in PhotoShop

When you create objects for Photo Jumble libraries you must finish editing with similar four channel image and save it in .TIF format file with no compression.

Note:
Sometimes it is good idea to contract and/or soften selection edges before saving selection as the new image channel.

We recommend you make all images in the library with the same aspect ratio. Even if real objects have different width/height aspects we recommend to fit them into same aspect rectangle before cutting off background.

Bad library: images have different proportions:
Bad library, images have different proportions

Good library: the same images have the same proportions:
Good library, the same images have the same proportion:

When you create a new RGBA library with New Library Screen dialogue we recommend to use sampling about 12 or 14 for RGBA libraries.

Layers Border are not working properly with transparent layers. Usually you need to uncheck Draw Borders check box at the Main Screen. Please see also Layers Options - Borders and Shadows topic for more details.