How can I have a custom alpha channel without using photoshop?

rubenjpneves

Hello everyone, long time lurker, first post.

I've been scratching my head for hours and installing every free image editing software I can find but so far have not been able to save/export an image with a custom alpha channel as I would do easily in photoshop.

Does anyone know a (preferably free) alternative way of making your own alpha channel? I would be happy with saving the alpha channel into it's own image and then using a software to combine/merge the rgb and the a.

Thanks in advance.

EmAr

It's not free but since you might already have a license: Substance Designer can do this with the RGBA Merge node.

lukors

Hey! I just released a first version of a tool that is perfect for doing exactly this! Let me know if it helps! http://www.orsvarn.com/channel-shuffle/

rubenjpneves

Thank you lukors. Your Channel Shuffle worked perfectly! :thumbup:

I have to confess I ran across it a few hours before posting here, but (obviously) wrongly dismissed it as "just a pointless transform-the-image-in-crazy-ways program" ugh. But it was exactly what I was looking for. I don't know why I made that assumption. I don't think I saw it on your website though, all I remember was the GIF with flashing colors R G B A and I was like "nah". :poly142:

Anyway thanks a LOT. Exactly what I needed.

lukors

Glad it works for you! I've had someone else say it sounds more like something to just randomly shuffle channels as well, so I might be changing the name to something else.

EmAr

That's a very neat tool. Thanks for making it, lukors!

Eric Chadwick

Gimp also can make alpha channels, and it's free.
http://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-channel-dialog.html