# How to make background transparent? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Questions\ **Created:** [December 3, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105 "2020-12-03T20:39:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Van](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/van/32/17541_2.png) [@Van](https://krita-artists.org/u/Van)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/1 "2020-12-03T20:39:54Z")
I’m working on an image with a single layer. I chose off-white for the background, but I’m now wanting to make parts of the image transparent. I thought I could just erase those parts I want transparent, but erasing simply leaves the layer white. Is there some way to make selected areas of my image transparent? ---
**Author:** ![Lynx3d](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/lynx3d/32/4678_2.png) [@Lynx3d](https://krita-artists.org/u/Lynx3d)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/2 "2020-12-03T21:22:11Z")
Go to Image -\> Properties and set Background Opacity to zero. ---
**Author:** ![Van](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/van/32/17541_2.png) [@Van](https://krita-artists.org/u/Van)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/3 "2020-12-03T21:36:53Z")
Ok, I asked the wrong question. I have everything on a single layer – there is no background layer. What I want to do is erase parts of my single layer such that they become transparent. ---
**Author:** ![Grum999](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/grum999/32/66488_2.png) [@Grum999](https://krita-artists.org/u/Grum999)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/4 "2020-12-03T21:43:38Z")
Hi On my side, I just press ‘Delete’ key (Menu _Edit \> Clear_) and background is erased (not filled with white like ‘backspace’ does when background color is set to white…) This doesn’t work? If no, maybe a screenshot can help to understand what is the problem… Grum999 ---
**Author:** ![Van](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/van/32/17541_2.png) [@Van](https://krita-artists.org/u/Van)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 10:15pm UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/5 "2020-12-03T22:15:01Z")
I’m not communicating my problem properly. There is no background layer… the image has only one layer, the layer I’m drawing on. I’d like to make some portions of that layer transparent… how can I do that? I thought I could just erase to transparent, but it erasing seems to turn the pixels white. ---
**Author:** ![AhabGreybeard](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/ahabgreybeard/32/2969_2.png) [@AhabGreybeard](https://krita-artists.org/u/AhabGreybeard)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/6 "2020-12-03T22:39:33Z")
A full screen screenshot (.png) that shows the Layers docker would be very useful at this point. Also can you do File -\> New and select the Content tab and post a screenshot of that? You may have background as canvas colour or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Van](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/van/32/17541_2.png) [@Van](https://krita-artists.org/u/Van)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/7 "2020-12-05T03:58:40Z")
I wasn’t expecting this question to be so challenging, but here are the screenshots you requested. This is a work-in-progress, and as I said, there is only one layer. I would like to make some of the white areas transparent. Is there a way to do that? ![Screenshot from 2020-12-04 19-53-13](https://krita-artists.org/uploads/default/original/3X/2/a/2a5d0ae64a9c321941ec7026378ac42bb66ff30b.jpeg) ![Screenshot from 2020-12-04 19-54-10](https://krita-artists.org/uploads/default/original/3X/5/7/57228571a07a9a5797393c6bc0bd8daf54958179.png) ---
**Author:** ![Van](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/van/32/17541_2.png) [@Van](https://krita-artists.org/u/Van)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 4:36am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/8 "2020-12-05T04:36:10Z")
Well, there may have been a better way, but I got the job done. I selected the areas I wanted to keep, copied them, and then created a new image with a single layer, called “Background”. Pasted the copy into the new image, thus creating a new layer called "Paint Layer 1 (pasted). Now, when I make the Background invisible, only the portions of the Paint Layer that I saved are visible; the remainder is transparent. So now I can change the background independently of the foreground, which was the whole point. ---
**Author:** ![Herbert123](https://krita-artists.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@Herbert123](https://krita-artists.org/u/Herbert123)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 6:23am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/9 "2020-12-05T06:23:49Z")
To remove a background colour from artwork, use the Colour to Alpha option. Filter–\>Colours–\>Colour to Alpha. Then create a new layer below the original art, and apply new background colour(s). ---
**Author:** ![AhabGreybeard](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/ahabgreybeard/32/2969_2.png) [@AhabGreybeard](https://krita-artists.org/u/AhabGreybeard)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 6:39am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/10 "2020-12-05T06:39:53Z")
Your image was a transparent paint layer. The white colour was the canvas which was coloured white, according to the Content options you’d selected. You were seeing through the transparency of the single paint layer to the white canvas underneath. The layer thumbnail shows a checkerboard because the thumbnail is produced in isolation from other considerations (such as the canvas colour). The usual (can I say ‘traditional’?) arrangement is to have background as raster layer then you’ll have a checkerboard canvas which makes image transparency much more obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Jeremiah](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/jeremiah/32/17860_2.png) [@Jeremiah](https://krita-artists.org/u/Jeremiah)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 6:40am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/11 "2020-12-05T06:40:57Z")
> [@Van](#): > > I’d like to make some portions of that layer transparent… how can I do that? Hi Van There are several ways to make portions of a layer transparent. You can use a transparency mask through clipping maks. I think this is the most convenient way and in many cases preferably because it is none-destructive. That means you just hide part but don’t delete them. 1. Select the layer you want to ad transparency to in the layers dock. 2. In the bottom of the layers dock hit that little down arrow on the first button. 3. Select “Transparency Mask”. This attaches the transparency maks as a sublayer to the layer you want to add transparency to. 4. take the basic 1 brush 5. set the paint color to pure black 6. make sure your transparency mask is selected (NOT the layer with your painting on it) 7. paint over the areas you want hide Everything you paint black becomes invisible through this. To reverse it quickly you can make the transparency mask invisible in the layers dock menu by clicking the eye in front of the mask. For smooth transitions from transparent to visible you can use another brush like the airbrush or a gradient. Just remember in terms of transparency masks: black makes transparent, white makes visible. This is explained in more detail here: > **[Transparency Masks](https://docs.krita.org/en/reference_manual/layers_and_masks/transparency_masks.html#transparency-masks)** > > How to use transparency masks in Krita. ---
**Author:** ![Deif\_Lou](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/deif_lou/32/231530_2.png) [@Deif\_Lou](https://krita-artists.org/u/Deif_Lou)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 8:25am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/12 "2020-12-05T08:25:44Z")
You can change the background color and trsnsparency in the `image->image background color and transparency` menu. You have an opaque white background color, as AhabGreybeard explains, so you have to set the alpha to 0 in the color chooser that appears when clicking that menu to have a transparent background color. ---
**Author:** ![Jeremiah](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/jeremiah/32/17860_2.png) [@Jeremiah](https://krita-artists.org/u/Jeremiah)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/13 "2020-12-05T14:04:35Z")
That’s good to know but I think this doesn’t answer his question. His question was on how to make _portions of a layer_ transparent. ---
**Author:** ![Deif\_Lou](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/deif_lou/32/231530_2.png) [@Deif\_Lou](https://krita-artists.org/u/Deif_Lou)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 2:20pm UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/14 "2020-12-05T14:20:30Z")
Yes, I know, but if you have the image background color set to white and its opacity set to 255, when you erase or set masks you won’t see the checkerboard pattern, but white, giving the impression that you didn’t erase anything. The thumbnail of his unique layer shows a checkerboard pattern, so it already has transparent areas. If he still sees white in the canvas, it may be caused because he has the image background color set to fully opaque white. @Van: the image background color/opacity is just a color that is painted behind all layers, it is not an additional background layer. ---
**Author:** ![Van](https://krita-artists.org/user_avatar/krita-artists.org/van/32/17541_2.png) [@Van](https://krita-artists.org/u/Van)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 4:57am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/15 "2020-12-07T04:57:11Z")
Ok, that’s the bit of information I was lacking, that the “background color” is not the color of a specific “background layer”. That clears up my confusion – thank you! My thanks to all of you who responded! So far, everyone in the Krita Artist’s group has been courteous and amazingly patient with my silly beginners questions! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://krita-artists.org/uploads/default/original/1X/e446d8b3077ddf6dfb5b2cd65199c20095b47dcf.png) [@system](https://krita-artists.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:57am UTC](https://krita-artists.org/t/how-to-make-background-transparent/15105/16 "2020-12-10T04:57:11Z")
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